WTB 60 FPS in GW2

[MonsieuRoberts]

Gateway DX4850-43c. Windows 7 64 bit, Intel i5 2300, GeForce GT 420 1GB GPU & 6GB DDR3 RAM. 1600x900.

WTB 60 FPS in GW2. Show me what I need to buy, oh Gods of MMO-Champ Computer forums.


If you need any other info, let me know and I'll get back to this thread in about an hour, at work atm.

[Vober]

Are you talking 60 FPS with max settings? or 60 fps in low to high settings?

[lockedout]

Gateway DX4850-43c. Windows 7 64 bit, Intel i5 2300, GeForce GT 420 1GB GPU & 6GB DDR3 RAM. 1600x900.

WTB 60 FPS in GW2. Show me what I need to buy, oh Gods of MMO-Champ Computer forums.


If you need any other info, let me know and I'll get back to this thread in about an hour, at work atm.

A better GPU wouldn't hurt.

[Binaris]

chances are a store bought gateway would need a powersupply upgrade to support a better gpu

[lockedout]

chances are a store bought gateway would need a powersupply upgrade to support a better gpu

More than likely.

[Deleted]

You would most certainly need a new GPU; the GT 420 is far from capable to run modern games at any decent settings/framerate. As others have mentioned, this most likely requires a PSU upgrade as well. Depending on what computer you got, you might need a PSU change (some slim pre-builds use a modified, custom PSU formfactor - open your case and check).

[MonsieuRoberts]

Depending on what computer you got, you might need a PSU change (some slim pre-builds use a modified, custom PSU formfactor - open your case and check).

Will do. Further info inc. in 20 minutes.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 08:06 PM ----------

PSU is a standard 450W.

I want GW2 to look nice. I don't NEED 16xAA or anything, I want a nice looking, detailed 60 FPS experience.

[lockedout]

Whats your budget?

[xxf2dxx]

A better GPU wouldn't hurt.

GT 420 is a smaller card, so make sure you can fit something larger if you're taking this advice.

Found this, but I'm not sure if it's the same thing since it says the PSU is 300w.

[MonsieuRoberts]

Whats your budget?

I don't have thousands to spend. I understand that I'm going to have to reach into the multiple hundreds to get what I want, but I don't need extra bells and whistles.

That's a very convoluted way of saying "I don't want to spend a lot of money". I want results, nothing more.

[protput]

A budget would be ideal to work out something perfect for you tho...

[Triggered Fridgekin]

He's playing at 1600 x 900 so he won't need anything extravagant in the GPU department in order to push decent numbers with eye candy. However, the processor may provide a bottleneck in performance which may require you to upgrade the PSU, GPU, and CPU. Knowing those Hateway machines though, I would not be surprised if they have proprietary 'security' measures to keep the processor from being removed as easily as it should.

My advice, given what we have so far and for for price/performance, this is what I can throw together without much searching:
Radeon HD 6790 - 129.99 (this is debatable once I think about it, especially if you catch some 6870s on sale for nearly the same price)
Intel Core i5-2320 - 189.99 (I hear GW2 will be coded for quad core and dual core is pretty much a dead end at this point)
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 - 69.99 (79.99 after - even this might be more than enough juice)

I haven't seen any charts which point to either nVidia or ATI performance favoritism which seems to happen quite often so if this is the case, you could even swap the 6790 for a GTX 560 which will cost about another 50$ outside of a sale. The great thing about that is that GW2 is still a couple months away so you can pick and choose as sales come along to see if you can capitalize on 'dem savings from week to week.

[MonsieuRoberts]

My advice, given what we have so far, is:

For price/performance, this is what I can pick off the top of my head:
Radeon HD 6790 - 129.99

This video card. How does it stack up to, say, a $239.99 Nvidia GTX560? There's one sitting on the shelf at work, but I've been told to aim for a Ti instead of the plain 560 in the past.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 10:32 PM ----------

A budget would be ideal to work out something perfect for you tho...

If that's the case, then I theoretically don't want to spend up to $500. Realistically, I could save around $300-400 before August 28th.

If you NEED a guideline, I'd use that.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 10:33 PM ----------

That budget puts Rustweaver's upgrades in a nice spot. Is that processor really necessary though? Why exactly would I want to upgrade from mine, and will the difference be noticeable on it's own?

[Triggered Fridgekin]

A fairly quick overview between a 6790 and a 560 vanilla looks like this. Granted, there are more detailed comparisons out there but it will boil down to whether the performance premium will justify the extra cash. There's a good chance that one is sitting on your shelf for a reason though, especially for that price.

Just be aware that the demands required to provide eye candy and performance at your resolution will not require a 300$ video card. You can get roped in to spending waaaaay too much when you may never use it to its full potential.

Without knowing how well GW2 performs between a DC and a QC, especially for WvWvW PvP, (since I'm not in the beta to test myself), it's more of a assumption that a QC will provide a little extra 'oomph' when it comes to overall performance especially if GW2 is coded in such a way which can split the load between four processors. I would personally take a QC over any DC because gaming is getting better at accommodating proper QC optimization.

Best option is to really pick away at upgrades as they come on sale. That's what I always do and it's really the best way to save money for the same end performance and you can use that saved cash for something else. Chances are there will also be some more 'official' preview benchmarks released to give a better idea of what's what too.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 11:57 PM ----------

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that the Hateway case could be too small for the PSU too so you may need to factor in a new case as well for like 40 - 50$.

[MonsieuRoberts]

A fairly quick overview between a 6790 and a 560 vanilla looks like this. Granted, there are more detailed comparisons out there but it will boil down to whether the performance premium will justify the extra cash. There's a good chance that one is sitting on your shelf for a reason though, especially for that price.

Just be aware that the demands required to provide eye candy and performance at your resolution will not require a 300$ video card. You can get roped in to spending waaaaay too much when you may never use it to its full potential.

Without knowing how well GW2 performs between a DC and a QC, especially for WvWvW PvP, (since I'm not in the beta to test myself), it's more of a assumption that a QC will provide a little extra 'oomph' when it comes to overall performance especially if GW2 is coded in such a way which can split the load between four processors. I would personally take a QC over any DC because gaming is getting better at accommodating proper QC optimization.

Best option is to really pick away at upgrades as they come on sale. That's what I always do and it's really the best way to save money for the same end performance and you can use that saved cash for something else. Chances are there will also be some more 'official' preview benchmarks released to give a better idea of what's what too.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 11:57 PM ----------

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that the Hateway case could be too small for the PSU too so you may need to factor in a new case as well for like 40 - 50$.

Before I read anything else, I want to thank you for showing me this site.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 11:01 PM ----------

Also, what the hell is this?

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 11:02 PM ----------

"Please note that the price comparisons are based on search keywords, and might not be the exact same card listed on this page. We have no control over the accuracy of their search results." Nevermind.

---------- Post added 2012-07-08 at 11:08 PM ----------

Okay, read your post Rustweaver. Thanks for the info.

I talked to the computer guys at work and potential is something they neglected to mention. I know that resolution plays a large part in fidelity & FPS, but they seemed to ignore it. Can't blame them, they're salesmen.

A cheap case too? This is looking like less of an upgrade and more of a build. For someone who has never built a computer, I'm excited. My wallet isn't though. Saving for some of this stuff is going to kill me.

Once again, thanks for the info guys.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

That HIS card uses a very old trick in the book to bait sales by throwing on a ton of RAM in spite of never being capable of using it all anywhere near its potential. It's pretty much a HTPC card.

As for the case, it depends on whether your current case is a ATX or uses a proprietary design. If it's a regular ATX, you're in luck!

[MonsieuRoberts]

As for the case, it depends on whether your current case is a ATX or uses a proprietary design. If it's a regular ATX, you're in luck!

How would I know what kind of case it is?


Would it be safe to assume that "a proprietary design" means things like integrated USB, card readers and audio/mic in? Perhaps it has something to do with what's inside and how adaptable it is?

[Merendel]

My newer computer is runing an i5-3570k, 8gigs of DDR3 and a somewhat older Radeon HD 5770. Got to try it out during the most recent stress test and it handled even a zergfest WvW on max settings at a completely smooth framerate, I ran it at 1920X1080. Didnt try to fraps it to get the actual framerate but I never saw it drop low enough to be noticeable. I only ever saw 1 framerate stutter and that was right as I moved into rendering range of the zerg and to be honest I think that had more to do with having to load all those models and textures in one go. Soon as everybody was rendered on screen it never hiccuped again.

[endersblade]

One of the reasons I stopped playing. My computer blows the requirements for GW2 out of the water, and I was kicking around 20FPS with mid settings. Screw all that nonsense.

On a slightly similar note, what games are people using lately for benchmarking?

[Vober]

On a slightly similar note, what games are people using lately for benchmarking?

Crysis 1 / Metro 2033 / 3DMark Vantage & 3DMark 11 (I know it's off topic but just helping out)