Guild Wars 2

Depends on your definition of run…. I can tell you with my 2560 × 1440 monitors on a 2GB card I hit a VRAM wall when playing games like Battlefield 3, etc. What that means is the game will become sluggish and unresponsive.

If you don’t plan to upgrade the video card, stick to 1920 × 1080.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/pimg/WC-272-XS_77519_350.jpg

The D5 photon at work

XSPC Photon is something I had my eyes on since release, I may be changing out my dual bay for the Photon lol.

For loop order, well here is some reading material,
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?225485-Test-Report-Loop-Order-does-it-make-a-difference

To summarize:

Conclusion
There’s no change in flowrate and basically no change in CPU temps. The rad-before-block config performs slightly better, but the difference is insignificant (even with a lot of heatdump from the pumps). I think this myth is busted. Thanks for reading

Just make sure the reservoir is before the pump, outside of that… then you can say go gpu -> rad -> cpu -> res.

What you can do is do a dual rad setup and place a rad before each block if you want to aim for the most “efficiency” in that regard so the water is as cool as it’s going to be before touching the blocks.

My recommendation for a pump choice would be the D5 Laing or Swiftech MCP655, hands down. They are indeed the same pump, before you go look at pics of them

If you want a SINGLE good rad, the Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm would be my vote with some Scythe GentleTyphoon AP15’s on a fan controller.

Do you want a dual bay reservoir? Or do you want a tube res? For instance, to keep my case somewhat roomy I opted to stick with dual bay reservoirs, this is the one I use currently,
Boxgodz Monsoon Series 2 Premium. It also has 2 antimicrobial silver plugs that screw right into the top of the res so no need for a killcoil.

One thing to keep in mind, do not mess with dyes, stick with distilled water + biocide/killcoil. Dyes will clog up your loop and gunk up your water blocks, and offer 0% performance over just using distilled water anyway. If you want colored water, get colored tubing instead.

http://www.simplifiedstyle.com/IMG_20130729_023300.jpg

Simply XSPC HighFlex UV Blue tubing for that light blue look I wanted just as an example.

We have a wonderful beginners watercooling sticky over at Overclockers.com,
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=674257

Also, Martins Liquid Lab is a great go-to for reading material!
http://martinsliquidlab.org/

You will want to stick to 1920 × 1080 in that case

Couple things here, if you want Lightboost and up to 144Hz grab a 24" panel like the ASUS VG248QE, which is the first GSync capable monitor as well and is currently on the market.

If you want 27" getting 1920×1080 at that size is pointless IMO, and no need for IPS since Samaung’s release of their own PLS panels. Look at a Qnix QX2710 panel, you get IPS color quality but an overclockable panel that can see 100Hz and higher (you arent garaunteed an overclock), and cost is very good too. If not a PLS panel though, an Achieva Shimian, Yamakasi Catleap, Crossover q27, will do as IPS displays.

^ You are sitting at 992 MB VRAM usage in that picture. 2GB will be OK for now for 1920×1080, but if you play at a modern res of 2560×1440, even 3GB is cutting it close.

Bamboula.6579:

I didn´t ignore your post, I was just hoping to find a better solution before I accept alt tabing all the time But now it seems I have to. Your examples are quite convincing that it´s a problem with the 7xxx chips. Many of the examples in the thread are very similar to what I experience.

This one f.e.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sJrcXakkGLw

This happens to me from time to time. But then there are bigger artifacts like the one I posted in the screenshot. They disappear when I move the camera and sometimes they even produce a shadow ingame!

The last days I was very displeased as I was thinking that my card has a malfunction and I would have to make a RMA. On the other hand I installed a few DirectX 9 games, played them for hours and hours without any problem and also ran furmark stress-test many times. Now your post makes me calm down a bit. So here the first thank.

Then my second thank for forwarding this issue to AMD.

But I think it is also working needed on Arenanets side. When this is a problem happening to many 7xxx chips, it means, that it exists for a longer time now. Then after the rebrand of the 7970 chips it will apply to even more people. Here in germany the demand on the r9 280x is very high for 2 months now, they are out-of-stock nearly everywhere, no matter which manufacturer.

So for me it´s a tough decision between a RMA without a clear evidence, where I am tending to exclude a malfunction of my card, and leaving GW2 as I am very PvP/WvW oriented and such failures take me at least 3 seks for tabbing, where my enemy will kill me. I think GW2 will lose this(((((((

Don’t RMA your card, not until 100% sure. We don’t know for sure, and since you’ve been able to play other games without reproduces the issue, I would definitely hold onto it and play around with various drivers or settings.

Meh, 7970 did about the same as the GTX 680 I had in here prior as far as performance, no graphical issues though with the latest drivers(13.9, didn’t mess with 13.11 beta drivers).

Those graphical “glitches”, issues, or whatever you want to call them certainly look software related, nothing like the issue that crops up with failing gpu’s similar to what OP posted. I hope for him of course it is not that.

If you take a single post of someone having an issue and say it affects an entire line of products, that’s a little…. well… :/

I’ll dig around, I might still have a 7970 Toxic laying around from a previous benching setup. Can put the 7 series conspiracy to rest.

Aza.2105:

Bamboula.6579:

zerk.9701:

That looks like a driver issue I have never had a problem with this game with my AMD card.

First thing to do is make sure you have the direct X 9 updated.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34429

Down load the newest version of the non beta AND CCC http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

Use a driver sweeper to remove all the old driver and traces of it. Then install the new download.

If you still have problems go to the performance on CCC and up the power to +20 this is needed sometimes for high factory overclocks on cards.

Well,
I updated my DirectX 9 but I already have the newest version. My Catalyst drivers are the officially newest but I will search for an older one the next days.
I also tried to play the game in fullsreen window but it didn´t help.
I switched the power in the CCC to +20 and it seems to help a bit. The graphic failure happen less often. Don´t know if I can switch it to +30 or +40. I will give it a try later when I can play again.
Anyone else having an idea? Maybe the tech support? Any known troubleshooting with AMD cards?

You ignored what I wrote to you. Its a AMD bug, which seems to only affect the r9 280x/7970 series. I have the r9 280x card and I experience it as well. No matter what driver I use the bug is still there. Initially I thought the card needed to be rma, but then I found this:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/tech/Flickering-fractures-with-Radeon-7970-card/first#post1513575

There were other users posting the same issue. All of them had the 7970 card. The reason why it affects the r9 280x is because its only a 7970 revision. Today I decided to join amd forums and submit the bug. Hopefully a tech support reads it and send it to the guys who code the drivers so it can be squashed.

I used your picture, since it shows very well what occurs. I didn’t have any on hand personally. Anyhow you can find the thread here:

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=443&threadid=169434&enterthread=y

Mind citing this “known issue” with these cards outside of the gw2 forums? I’d be interested in reading the article or posts relating to “alt tabbing”.a

Glad it’s working better for you

Agreed, if you update via Windows and something goes wrong, completely the user’s fault. As far as map loading, pick up an SSD. No sense in having new hardware and running a hard drive as your primary these days.

I would recommend just using Adaptive Vsync. It will turn vsync off if your fps is below “60”, and if it hits 60 then Vsync kicks in to keep your screen from tearing due to running at a higher fps than your monitor can do.

Kraeje.5861:

Berelious.3290:

Actually the European Servers are located in Frankfurt, Germany, which is why most European countries are recommended to connect to those servers. They’re a lot closer and tend to have a shorter ping time. That being said, there have been issues in the past where certain European ISP’s have had issues routing GW2 data, causing frequent disconnects or preventing connection entirely.

well, iptrackeronline.com tells me that every GW2 server ip i have checked so far, is located in Austin, Texas, USA.

i will try to trace a game server ip right during a disconnect and get back to this thread as soon as i have the information.

at the moment i am on Dzagonur [DE] and resmon.exe tells me the IP addresses that GW2.exe is connected with are 206.127.159.122 (game server) and 64.25.47.121 (login server)
if i trace the game server, i get (as already listed above):

Routenverfolgung zu 206-127-159-122.plaync.com [206.127.159.122] über maximal 30 Abschnitte:
(…)
9 2 ms 1 ms 1 ms c76wintx2-tge3-2.net.uta.at [212.152.192.106]
10 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms wen3-core-2.tengige0-1-0-3.tele2.net [130.244.49.117]
11 2 ms 2 ms 1 ms wen3-peer-1.ae2-unit0.tele2.net [130.244.64.73]
12 16 ms 2 ms 2 ms peer-as3257.wen3.tele2.net [130.244.200.98]
13 17 ms 16 ms 17 ms xe-4-1-2.fra61.ip4.tinet.net [141.136.111.21]
14 18 ms 18 ms 18 ms cdnetworks-gw.ip4.tinet.net [77.67.71.122]
15 20 ms 20 ms 19 ms 206-127-157-94.plaync.com [206.127.157.94]
16 17 ms 17 ms 16 ms 206-127-157-102.plaync.com [206.127.157.102]
17 * * * Zeitüberschreitung der Anforderung.
18 * * * Zeitüberschreitung der Anforderung.

i don’t know where you have your information from, but for me that clearly states that the EU servers are in fact located in Texas US and not in EU.

Verify your server-ip by typing /ip while on your server. I don’t think you will be seeing ~20 ping from Germany to the U.S. The EU servers are at the Frankfurt, Germany MMO server farm location.

What server are you on?

Have you run a test to the server ip to check your latency through a direct trace?

Bamboula.6579:

AkiraZero.8514:

Having the same issues with the R9 280x Toxic edition I bought, Tried old drivers, new drivers, reinstalled GW2 and kept getting them so I’m going to send mine back for testing/replacement. Was always at random, could be when I just booted up the PC or randomly after an hour or 2 of play

Been told it could be bad memory or an unstable clock speed on it but as I’m not particularly experienced with OC’ing/UC’ing I figured Id just send it back for the retailer to decide!

Hmm,

I think it´s very unlikely that we both have the same problem with the same GPU, but from different companies, and the same game whereas there´s absolutly no entry from google about r9 280xs with memory leaks. The cards are on the market for 2 months now and i read nearly all the tests about them The problem must be somewhere else. Can someone tell me which DirectX version GW2 uses? I will try another game intensely.

It’s not that simple. Faulty memory can be straight from the factory, the units being new has nothing to do with manufacturing defects. The tests performed before the cards are set up are nothing near what you’ve read about “game tests” or what websites use to test cards, each unit on the PCB are tested to reach a certain point for success before being shipped out, so long as they reach that specific point required by the factory they are shipped out. Same principle as RAM, you can always get a DoA set….

The “polygoning” that is in appearance in the first post is similar to that of faulty memory on the cards, which companies like XFX, EVGA, Sapphire, Galaxy, etc. will agree on being faulty clocks or faulty memory. It IS in your best interest of course to weed out possibilities such as driver issues, or anything software-related. Going through RMA isn’t the best of fun to be had.

I would test for 30min in furmark then run through some other games for hour long sessions or however long it takes for GW2 to have the issue crop up to see if the issue persists with other games.

Try official release drivers and also try underclocking from OC/TOP speeds for both gpu core and memory.

I mention when you got the card because if you need to return, returning to the etailer is easiest as ASUS holds a wonderful F rating when it comes to customer returns.

Looks like a video memory leak. Where did you purchase the vid card and how long has it been?

Have you tried other games or run furmark? It really looks like a leak/failing vid memory to me though.

Do you have a copy of Windows already? If not, that would eat a rather hefty sum of $$($) up.

sirsquishy.8531:

hitmanxmx.1286:

true words my friend Zero day Infection is very bad and silent
but that wont work with a java free system and sandboxed browser
i have coded a vb.net tool that logs all unauthorised copy extract… and connection…
if i don’t click authorise ip or program or even win service nothing will happen
maybe i’m missing something , maybe i was hacked …. i will check again
ps: My ISP is stealing gmail facebook and bank accounts …. but GW2 account is too looooooow
http://www.fastcompany.com/1715575/tunisian-government-allegedly-hacking-facebook-gmail-accounts-dissidents-and-journalists

Sandboxed Browsers get exploited all the time. But the Exploit has to be tailored for the sandbox (runs in Memory, when the sandbox closes injects into system using known exploits).

Java free doesn’t save you from buffer overflows. unless you are running Strict open source HTML (Not encoded) are you open to buffer overflows of your browser. Not just in Java, Flash, ASP, CGI based API’s.

This ^ It seems there is information about your actual knowledge you are leaving out, as some of this is rather… well…

i know every way to hack an account , phishing (web site or mail) fake tools (gold giver ….)

Every way to “hack” an account, but you mention phishing or an application requiring download? wut…. My years attending DefCon must have been a waste, I should have watched Youtube videos of people “hacking” by recording themselves attempting to have people download an infection-driven app :/

I wouldn’t consider “fake tools” or “phishing” hacking, neither white, gray, nor black hat. If an actual hacker wanted into your pc and you ran Windows, they would gain access rather quickly, that’s the way it is and if you attended such DefCon events you would see how easy it can be for those with actual experience and knowledge in the area.

Those " upgrades" can have detrimental affects on performance and reliability.

At 4GB on the RAM side you are already on the low-end, but what vid card does the lappy have? Or is it integrated?

Why don’t you give us a budget to work with first, because I would personally try to push for an Intel rig especially if GW2 has your interest.

Moved my GW2 file location to test a new download, my 100Mbit connection is sitting at around 11MB/s for downloading via the GW2 launcher. So it’s not server-side.

AkamaiTechnologies has 10,000+ servers located all over the world that stream and provide content for almost anything and everything. Why it is grabbing the stream though from the launcher is strange, as it should be direct.

Try a speedtest to Dallas, TX using Softlayer and see what results you are seeing. That would be a good starting point to see a different connection to Dallas.

Well that’s good to know, thank you

Sgloomi.4103:

Actually, there is a resume. The files you already downloaded are there on your computer.

When you resume the download, the client is telling you that you have downloaded 0% of the files that are left. You’re not going right back to the start.

I believe a GW2 Moderator already mentioned that there is no Download Resume feature in the GW2 Client. Could be wrong but….

We’re not here to cause a stir

Glad you are enjoying your experience in GW2 on your AMD setup. Something that is not seen much around these forums, so I’m glad that you are enjoying yourself and the game for that matter.

I know it’s not particularly what you wanted to hear, but so long as you turn off the power saving features so it doesn’t go to sleep, it should be fine to download non-stop.

Quick suggestion, open Power Options in Windows, and make sure it is set to High Performance and not Power Saver or Balanced.

There is no resume feature, keep your laptop plugged into an outlet and turn off power saving features in Windows so it doesn’t go to sleep or shut off.

Honestly you can get ANY usb adapter and so long as it doesn’t “die”, it can last an uncertain amount of time.

As far as your issue you were having, DLink drivers are known for their conflicting issues with different hardware and software setups, not too much you can do about that, so don’t sweat it.

For brands though, if you want to go ASUS you can, if you want to go Netgear, really whatever you want to grab honestly. I would look at Wireless-N or Wireless-AC though, just in case you happen to move and an area offers either of those.

Netgear or ASUS seem to be the current go-to for home users. Your motherboard will have a spot on the back of the case to plug in a network cable directly, so in the meantime you can simply uninstall the drivers and remove the DLink USB dongle and use direct connection. Then when you purchase a new dongle, whatever the brand, you can go back to wireless.

Assuming you overclocked your CPU, the 0×1E would represent increasing vcore. That is assuming you have overclocked.

Maybe this will help:

Ashley Segovia.8276:

Hi there Palm Tiger (and anyone else experiencing this issue):

The instructions below will change the way Guild Wars 2 connects on your network. In short, this will force all inbound and outbound data to use port 80. Since port 80 is a very common port, it usually has the least amount of issues with transmission of data. To do this:

1. Locate the file “GW2.exe” and right-click it, selecting “Create Shortcut.”
2. Rename this shortcut to “Guild Wars 2 Port Test.”
3. Right-click on this shortcut and select “Properties.”

4. Edit the “Target” line to include /clientport 80 at the end. Note: Please make sure /clientport 80 is outside of the quotes.
• Correctly Formatted Example: “C:\Games\Guild Wars 2\GW2.exe” /clientport 80
• Incorrectly Formatted Example: “C:\Games\Guild Wars 2\GW2.exe /clientport 80”

5. Once completed, click “Ok” to save your changes.

If you get an error trying to save, your target line may not have the correct format. Please try Step 4 again.

6. Double click “Guild Wars 2 Port Test” and try connecting again.

Hope this helps!

Quick question for curiousity on my part. Why do you not just keep vsync on? Your monitor cap is 60 FPS, so if you have issues with vsync disabled, why not just leave it running?

First question to get out of the way, is this laptop going to be used as a desktop replacement?

Second question I have would be, if NOT a desktop replacement, how much mobility would you be looking for? Where can you see yourself taking the laptop often?

Third, I would agree to go with Sager as well, that being said the +$100 for a gloss screen is absurd. To get a reference on matte vs glossy, those matte screens have ruined so many a display from being great displays. Of course using gloss can have it’s downside if you don’t have a room set up for gloss screen glare.

That being said, I would definitely add a small SSD for boot drive in the lappy, whichever you choose, because that will make you feel at home with a new setup.

Picture taken from Vega from our [H]ardForums and OCN. It shows how a removed matte screen taken off a monitor looks.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1359419/ar-film-removed-matte-vs-glossy-lcd-coating-film-direct-comparison-same-panel-polarizer

Dude, you’re getting a Dell… But maybe this will help:

Ashley Segovia.8276:

Hi there Palm Tiger (and anyone else experiencing this issue):

The instructions below will change the way Guild Wars 2 connects on your network. In short, this will force all inbound and outbound data to use port 80. Since port 80 is a very common port, it usually has the least amount of issues with transmission of data. To do this:

1. Locate the file “GW2.exe” and right-click it, selecting “Create Shortcut.”
2. Rename this shortcut to “Guild Wars 2 Port Test.”
3. Right-click on this shortcut and select “Properties.”

4. Edit the “Target” line to include /clientport 80 at the end. Note: Please make sure /clientport 80 is outside of the quotes.
• Correctly Formatted Example: “C:\Games\Guild Wars 2\GW2.exe” /clientport 80
• Incorrectly Formatted Example: “C:\Games\Guild Wars 2\GW2.exe /clientport 80”

5. Once completed, click “Ok” to save your changes.

If you get an error trying to save, your target line may not have the correct format. Please try Step 4 again.

6. Double click “Guild Wars 2 Port Test” and try connecting again.

Hope this helps!

They kept the PCP&C name even after the buyout as a “sub-division” or whatever you want to call it of OCZ, I’m assuming they did that to keep the familiar name for customers.

For warranty under the PCP&C name I believe all the units are 5year warranties. I could be wrong, but I believe they are all 5year. This is the reason I tend to stick with straight Seasonic or Corsair units (depending on pricing between the 2 equal units), as Seasonic make their own and their name is attributed over @ JonnyGuru as a go to for quality units from a top name company. Then of course with Corsair units you have the Seasonic units then the ChannelWell Tech units, which have excellent rating right alongside the Seasonic units over @ JonnyGuru. Which is why I have no problem recommending any Corsair unit, and quite the majority of Seasonics.

NeedCoffee.1402:

zerk.9701:

darkmaze.2576:

Do you guys think it would be better to get a bad power supply and maybe look to get
Intel Core i7 4770 – 4+4 Cores @ 3.4Ghz (OC to 4.2 Ghz)

The i7 will not help much but a low quality power supply will hurt a lot.
You don’t need the XFX 850 that you picked the XFX 650 would have plenty of power. That’s a good brand choice made by Seasonic.

That PC won’t use but about 400 Watts during a full system stress test so 550/ 650 is enough overhead and the 650 will allow you to upgrade to a high end video card in the future.

RIGHT BACK to my statement here.
That is pretty much junk look for a Seasonic or XFX in the 550/650 watt range.

Main other concern is if you are buying 2 X 4GB of the memory you might be better off posting a link to where you are buying this from.

i have had a few junk power supplies. they use poor quality parts, which means the advertised wattage isnt real. They also tend to only last a year or 2.

pc power and cooling make the best power supplies (in my opinion). They actually make their own power supplies instead of purchasing them from a 3rd party adn slapping their name on it, they use high quality parts, their advertised wattage is way under what they can really push, and they come with a 10 year warrantee.

Hate to tell you this, but OCZ owns PCP&C these days after their buyout, and they also do not make their own units, nor have they ever. Purchasing a newer PCP&C unit you may get a Seasonic, Super Flower, Win-Tact, or Sirtec depending on the unit you purchase. The older Silencer 610 models were Sparkle (FSP).

darkmaze.2576:

Do you guys think it would be better to get a bad power supply and maybe look to get
Intel Core i7 4770 – 4+4 Cores @ 3.4Ghz (OC to 4.2 Ghz)

NO!!!!! NO NO NO!!!!

Uneducated people may lead you to think it’s ok, but it is NOT! If you want to skimp on ANYTHING in your build, skimp on anything BUT the power supply. The power supply is possibly the most crucial part of any system. You skimp on that to “get better parts”, you have a good chance of frying those parts that you spent more on by cheaping out on the power supply.

If you need help regarding a certain power supply’s quality, just post the brand and model and I will give you any appropriate information I have on that specific unit. Just be sure to post here or PM me and I will get back to you when I am able.

For your build though, I would recommend a 600~ watt to save some money with since saving seems to be what you want. The 600~ will have plenty of power to run your system fully overclocked no probs.

abomally.2694:

sobe.4157:

So your complaint is that you don’t get 534287 fps in an “ingame video”? Are you kidding….

I’m probably safe in assuming you don’t even see 90+ fps anyway as your monitor is 60Hz, meaning it doesn’t matter once your fps is @ 60 as that’s all your monitor can display anyway.

That only applies when vsync is enabled, which locks FPS to the monitor (vertical sync) refresh rate. With vsync off, there is no limit as to how many frames per second can be rendered.

When his monitor can only display the 60, what’s the point? Vsync on or off, his monitor will still only display the 60 that the monitor is capable

Indeed, if GuildWars 2 overheats your cpu something is wrong. Zuiq, posting your specs would be a start, including what cpu cooler you use.

So your complaint is that you don’t get 534287 fps in an “ingame video”? Are you kidding….

I’m probably safe in assuming you don’t even see 90+ fps anyway as your monitor is 60Hz, meaning it doesn’t matter once your fps is @ 60 as that’s all your monitor can display anyway.

NeedCoffee.1402:

sleepless.7583:

I think CPU. clock is the king here, when I upgraded my very old i7 920 overclocked 3G to latest i7 4770k3.5Ghz, I couldn’t notice the fps improvement, I regretted so much for spending this huge amount of money, but after I overclocked i7 4770k to 4.5g, I got huge fps gain, so if you can’t get more Hz from CPU upgrade, dont buy new CPU

That seems to hold true with alot of what people are saying.

thats pretty awesome you got a haswell to OC to 4.5. Did you use a water setup?

I watched a newegg video where a guy OC’ed like 8 different haswell cpu’s. Only about half of them got to 4.5

I believe it was ASUS that tested 100 4770k’s and learned that only about 70% of Haswell chips will make it to 4.5GHz. Silicon lottery is strong with this.

Just a heads up, System Restore causes more problems than it’s worth. I recommend disabling that and keeping a static backup image on-hand.

Let us know if that app was causing the issues for you. If not, please list your system specs

Behellagh.1468:

Luigi.1584:

Hi guys. I’ve just ordered my new PC.

I’m going from my:
GeForce GTX 275
6GB Ram DDRII
Core 2 Duo E8400 (stock 3.0Ghz)

To:
MSI GTX 760 Twin Frozr OC Edition
8GB Ram DDRIII
i5 4440 (stock 3.1 GHz)
+SSD

Now my main question. Is it enought for GW2 to play on Full HD (1920 × 1080) smoothly ? I’m asking becouse I know people who have low frame rate on PC’s with i7, which is … weird for me.
Peace.

Well everything is faster than what you had. You moved from a dual core to a quad which helps with GW2 as well as 4 generations of CPU design which adds a nice boost as well. Overall per core you’re looking at 50-60% performance improvement so I’ll guess at least double the frame rate you currently have (due to having more than 2 cores). GPU side is also faster, almost twice as fast.

So the question revolves around your definition of “smoothly”, your current frame rate at 1920×1200 and where in the game you would like this “smoothly” to take place.

If you are looking for it in the middle of WvW zergs or boss events then I would say it would likely be tough to stay consistently above 30fps.

What Behel said, moving from an E8400 to a Q9550 is a decent bump, even further so to an i7-920, but jumping to an i5 4670k would be truly a jump in performance. And since GW2 takes advantage of Intel’s per thread performance, you can bump an overclock rather nicely on the 4670k on top of having a good resell value.

Keep the GTX 760 vid card IMO, the only thing I would change would be the CPU to a 4670k. Will last much longer and has a tendency to overclock similar to the E8400.

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/74587-guild-wars-2-and-sweet-fx-performance/

Perhaps that can be of some help

It helps alleviate parking issues associated with newer AMD moduled cores and how Windows parks the cores. For instance, if you run Windows 7 and an i7, you can run tests that will show you remain within the margin of error (1.5%) for unparking all cores or letting Windows do that for you.

The 780 Ti is a full GK110 chip

I say dump the H100i, those Asetek units are utter garbage and you are buying one waiting to have issues… If you want water cooling, go for water cooling, not cheap out on a cheap unit. Then again water cooling is a hobby, and can cost upwards of $400+, not just something you “get”. You need time to learn and understand water cooling, flow rates and restrictions, etc.
(For those that own it, don’t jump up here, lol. It’s performance isn’t bad, that’s not the issue with those units)

As for inquiry on i5 vs i7, honestly it depends on your usage…. If you just mainly play games and don’t really work in large project Photoshop environments, 3D rendering and modeling, encoding, etc. You can save some money and grab an i5 and put that extra cost into a better vid card.

As far as GPU, the GTX 780 Ti reviews have just hit the net with a storm with a 10-15% performance increase over the 290×. So more options for gpu goodness, along with a new toy for sobe’s test bench

For cooling a radiator, the Scythe GentleTyphoon AP15’s on a fan controller are definitely a good way to go.

Also agree with Essence, there should be some nice deals coming up soon.