gw2 download size

**pmgbro** · 2012-08-22, 02:55 PM

Hey All: Thinking about giving this game a try. Can anyone tell me how big the game is for the digital download? I have to go to my friends house to download it because I have strict data limits where I live.

Thanks!

**Frozenbeef** · 2012-08-22, 02:56 PM

16gb give or take a gb

**rhandric** · 2012-08-22, 02:57 PM

Well, if you actually get the disks, it's only ~2 GB download, but if you are going for the pure download you're looking at ~14 GB

**pmgbro** · 2012-08-22, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by rhandric

Well, if you actually get the disks, it's only ~2 GB download, but if you are going for the pure download you're looking at ~14 GB

Yeah I plan on playing the early access so I guess getting the disks isn't option unless I want to wait another 3 days

**charlieprince** · 2012-08-22, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by rhandric

Well, if you actually get the disks, it's only ~2 GB download, but if you are going for the pure download you're looking at ~14 GB

^ this

2 days ago I deleted my GW2 folder and went for a fresh clean install..

if you had been playing all the bwe's and stress tests like I have, the folder size was about 16GB or so

a fresh new clean install is only 14GB

not sure what the extra 2GB was for but heck it's free space you get back, lol

**rhandric** · 2012-08-22, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by charlieprince

^ this

2 days ago I deleted my GW2 folder and went for a fresh clean install..

if you had been playing all the bwe's and stress tests like I have, the folder size was about 16GB or so

a fresh new clean install is only 14GB

not sure what the extra 2GB was for but heck it's free space you get back, lol

It has to do with the file structure of the dat file -> leads to fragmentation, you can get more information at http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Gw.dat_file_format
But basically you have 512 B blocks, and files take up consecutive blocks; so if you're updating and the new version doesn't fit in the space of the old version it gets moved to the end and the space where the old version was is freed, but still contained within the bounds of the dat file.

**Kelesti** · 2012-08-23, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by rhandric

Well, if you actually get the disks, it's only ~2 GB download, but if you are going for the pure download you're looking at ~14 GB

You sure about this? Because like, even the GW1 disks only had the digital installer on them, which then downloaded and patched the entire game from them.

**DrakeWurrum** · 2012-08-23, 01:22 AM

Took my girlfriend about 2 hours, at about a 1.5MB/s download (which I'd say isn't necessarily fast, but is fairly standard, yes?).

**Vahaal** · 2012-08-23, 01:39 AM

Right now my GW2 takes 17.1G of space... Probably will increase in the next couple days.

**Spriggan** · 2012-08-23, 02:13 AM

16.3 GB so far. Will probably be over 17 by launch day.

**Lurker87** · 2012-08-23, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by rhandric

It has to do with the file structure of the dat file -> leads to fragmentation, you can get more information at http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Gw.dat_file_format
But basically you have 512 B blocks, and files take up consecutive blocks; so if you're updating and the new version doesn't fit in the space of the old version it gets moved to the end and the space where the old version was is freed, but still contained within the bounds of the dat file.

Could this lead to performance issues? If so, I'll do a clean install asap.

**Karizee** · 2012-08-23, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by Lurker87

Could this lead to performance issues? If so, I'll do a clean install asap.

I'm curious about this as well.

My file is currently 16.3 GB

**charlieprince** · 2012-08-23, 03:12 AM

just do a fresh install like I did, 14GB ain't that much a download (for me)

free up 2GB as well as having the peace of mind you have the freshest cleanest version, if you think that way

**rhandric** · 2012-08-23, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by Kelesti

You sure about this? Because like, even the GW1 disks only had the digital installer on them, which then downloaded and patched the entire game from them.

That's based on the thread http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/c..._comes_on_the/

**Lurker87** · 2012-08-23, 05:17 AM

Originally Posted by charlieprince

just do a fresh install like I did, 14GB ain't that much a download (for me)

free up 2GB as well as having the peace of mind you have the freshest cleanest version, if you think that way

I did this and missed the stress test

**Arkuri** · 2012-08-23, 05:19 AM

Anyone else fresh install recently? I'm wondering if there are files that are remaining from the previous beta events that never got changed or something.

My GW2 folder is only 14.6GB.

**Kelesti** · 2012-08-23, 05:20 AM

Originally Posted by rhandric

That's based on the thread http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/c..._comes_on_the/

Interesting change of pace then. Not that it functionally really fixes anything.

**rhandric** · 2012-08-23, 05:21 AM

Originally Posted by Lurker87

Could this lead to performance issues? If so, I'll do a clean install asap.

Originally Posted by Karizee

I'm curious about this as well.

My file is currently 16.3 GB

So. That's an interesting question. There's 2 things to note here. First, a larger file size will mean a higher chance of (external) fragmentation -> ie, the GW2.dat file will be separated into different chunks on disk. That already will lead to poorer performance on a hdd (not important on a SSD). Additionally, the file structure of the .dat file will cause internal fragmentation, which will increase seek times within the file, even if you ignore the effects of external fragmentation. So, on a hdd, it will definitely cause performance issues, and those effects can be increased. On a ssd, the performance impact will be non-existent (or negligible at worst), but will cause you to waste ssd space, which is usually at a premium.

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