[Solved] need pc upgrade for guild wars 2, any help appriciated

[needhelpplz]

Hi, My PC isnt the newest i'll admit but has always put up a good performance. i have played a few online games (mmo's) with next to no lag issues atall... now..

 

i have just started guild wars 2 at its release and have found that it seems the time has come to think about upgrading. in pve and small scale World v world, its fine, but in anything larger than a very small fight im getting anywhere down to about 5 fps, and on occasions cant even see the people that are apparently all around me killing me!

 

i am not computer minded so please bear that in mind, but i have checked for what of my pc spec i can find and will post them below, im rather hoping that i will be able to replace one part to decrease my lag, but i realise it may not be that simple. what i have read leads me to believe that the processor or graphics card will be the most likely problem, please tell me what you think and if it is even possible to upgrade either one without refitting the whole pc. or is it a lost cause and i just need a new pc altogether ? thnx

 

Acpi x64-based pc motherboard

GeForce GTX 260

AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core processor 6000+

4 gb ram

windows 7 64 bit

[needhelpplz]

any thoughts appreciated :)

[Vr5fx]

This made my laugh a little. I bought 2 copies of Guild Wars 2 yesterday, one for my Girlfriend and one for myself. It runs on my PC like a dream, but fails miserably on her laptop, which should run it. So I ended up paying out for a new PC parts.

 

I can't find any information regarding that motherboard.

 

Download Speccy which can be found here http://www.filehippo.com/download_speccy Download link is on the right hand side

 

Install and run it, then copy the information that it gives you. That way I can tell you if it's worth buying all new, or just a few parts.

[KenB]

In addition to what Vr5fx has suggested ....

 

Take a look here:

click here

[Vr5fx]

In addition to what Vr5fx has suggested ....

 

Take a look here:

click here

 

The requirements for Guild Wars 2 are rather false, I myself used this to see if my Girlfriends laptop would run GW2, which surpasses every requirement, but fails in execution. :(

[KenB]

I will leave this in your capable hands Vr5fx as I am in no way a gamer :)

[needhelpplz]

thankyou :)

 

Operating System

MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

CPU

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 51 °C

Windsor 90nm Technology

RAM

4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 374MHz (5-5-5-15)

Motherboard

ASRock A785GXH/128M (CPUSocket) 45 °C

Graphics

LM02 (1440x900@60Hz)

896MB GeForce GTX 260 (ZOTAC International) 63 °C

Hard Drives

298GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD321KJ ATA Device (SATA) 32 °C

Optical Drives

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-112D ATA Device

Audio

VIA High Definition Audio

[Helcaraxe]

I don't know if it has any relevance to your problem but i run exactly the same processor as you have only mine is overclocked by 20% from stock speed and mine is idling at 29 °C. Thought that yours might be running a tad hot.

[needhelpplz]

i really dont know anything about pc hardware, so anything is worth looking into i guess , thanks :)

 

was already running the game on lowest settings, have now lowered the resolution which has helped a little but now the game looks awful, lol

[Helcaraxe]

Might be worth taking a look at the heatsink on your processor just in case, it could be full of dust bunnies. If so could probably do with cleaning out the fluff from the heatsink fins.

[Vr5fx]

Might be worth taking a look at the heatsink on your processor just in case, it could be full of dust bunnies. If so could probably do with cleaning out the fluff from the heatsink fins.

 

In relation to what Helcaraxe has just said, your Graphics card is looking hot aswell....

Could you restart your PC, let it idle for 5 minutes and then take the temperatures again?

[Vr5fx]

Your graphics card may be the problem, due to it's age. A GTX 550 ti or a GTX 560 ti would most definitely work, but then there is the problem if your processor is good enough.

Do you by chance have a budget on buying new parts?

I would look at one of those cards, the 560 is far better, but more expensive....

[needhelpplz]

Your graphics card may be the problem, due to it's age. A GTX 550 ti or a GTX 560 ti would most definitely work, but then there is the problem if your processor is good enough.

Do you by chance have a budget on buying new parts?

I would look at one of those cards, the 560 is far better, but more expensive....

 

i dont mind paying out if it will fix the problem, im a little concerned about paying out and it still not working, do you think that one of the graphics cards you mentioned would be a solution ? and would it be compatable with everything else thats in there ? if the processor then would be holding me back is that replaceable or does it mean a whole new motherboard etc? :(

also if i got the 560 card you are talking about would that be usable in a new pc if the time came in the future to upgrade altogether or would it be obselete outside of this pc ? sorry for all the questions, thnx for helping btw :)

 

oh turned the pc off for 10 mins and redone the speccy thing....

 

Operating System

MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

CPU

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 46 °C

Windsor 90nm Technology

RAM

4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 374MHz (5-5-5-15)

Motherboard

ASRock A785GXH/128M (CPUSocket) 41 °C

Graphics

LM02 (1440x900@60Hz)

896MB GeForce GTX 260 (ZOTAC International) 53 °C

Hard Drives

298GB SAMSUNG SAMSUNG HD321KJ ATA Device (SATA) 31 °C

Optical Drives

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-112D ATA Device

Audio

VIA High Definition Audio

Edited September 10, 2012 by needhelpplz

[Vr5fx]

The GTX 560 is a modern card, and will fit with your current system and a new one if needed, only if you have a good enough power supply... (I know, more things to check)

Do you know what watt your PSU is? If your not sure you can take the case off your tower and it should be on the side.

 

But I would try a new graphics card first, as long as you have a good enough power supply (600w to be safe) which also has 2x 6pin connectors.

 

Let us know about your power supply, and we can move on from there.

[needhelpplz]

hey thanks :)

the power supply isnt actually old, it was replaced 6 months ago it was either 700 or 750,w but definately over 600. think i will go for trying that 560 and see if it works, if not atleast it wasnt wasted money i guess. would you happen to have a link to it so that i know for sure which i am getting, would hate to get one that isnt compatible or something by accident, although i will possibly order from my local pc shop, so im sure they would be able to check for me.

anyway a link would be great if you happen to have one, thanks so much for your help, i really hope it fixes the problem... did you manage to get your girlfriends game working in the end btw ?

[Vr5fx]

Where are you from? I can give you a link if your from the UK, or I can search around other sites if your are from somewhere else.

I would recommend popping into your local shop and double check compatibility. It's safer to make sure

 

From the Specs of your motherboard

"- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (green @ x16 mode, orange @ x4 mode)"

 

GTX 560 Ti

PCI-E 2.0 x16

 

Regarding to my girlfriend, her laptop refusing to run nicely, very similar to you. Her computer parts are arriving today. Once it is up and running and plays the game I will post her specs and parts.

I know it's all waiting but hopefully we will get you there in the end.

 

Off topic, what server do you play in? :D

[needhelpplz]

thanks, yes im in the uk. i will make sure to double check with the pc shop but think this is the route i will go down so youve been really helpful , im playing on blacktide.

 

hope your girlfriends game work for her soon :)

[needhelpplz]

just spoke to the pc guy , he says he can order the 560 for £170 and will fit free, or if i can get it cheaper elsewhere he will fit it for me for £10.

 

Does £170 sound about right or is he adding big numbers onto the actual cost ? have looked about briefly online and £170 doesnt seem to far off the mark.

 

is the difference between the 550 and 560 massive? i only ask because im a little concerned about spending £170 and still having the same problem in game, that would be a bummer ( although i would have a shiny new graphics card :P)

[needhelpplz]

just spoke to a different pc guy who says the 560 should go a way to fixing my problem (dependant on how the processor handles it) being a big step up from 260, and would obviously be more useful in the future if i were to rebuild entirely. im fairly sold on it so the question now is to let the pc guy order it or order myself and have him fit it ? :)

 

quite excited about the possibility of seeing an end to this now :)

Edited September 11, 2012 by needhelpplz

[Helcaraxe]

GTX 560 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-156-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1341 £134.99

 

GTX 560 TI http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-560-Ti-900MHz-Graphics-Card-PCI-Express-1GB-HDMI-SuperClocked-/330778469628?pt=UK_Computing_Computer_Components_Graphics_Video_TV_Cards_TW&hash £155.94

 

 

Fitting it is fairly straight forward, just make sure you get up to date drivers for the card, saying that £10 is cheap enough for fitting.

[needhelpplz]

thanks for that :)

definately wont be fitting myself as i have no idea about these things but your right £10 isnt bad.

[Vr5fx]

Well, I can say that the 560 ti is more than chunky enough to handle GW2

I built my girlfriends PC today (after about an hour of swearing at it and pulling my hair out for not working) and runs GW2 very well. Around 35-50 FPS@1280x1024

AMD Quad core 3.4

8GB DDR3

550 ti

 

The 560 will last quite a while, so I would recommend it. :)

 

10 quid aint bad to get someone to fit it.

 

Feel free to PM me your in game name, if you want to and I will add you.

[needhelpplz]

Glad you got it working. will let you know the result after trying the new graphics card :) thanks again.

[needhelpplz]

well... new graphics card is in, still getting lag but is has definately eased up and no more invisible guys killing me yet. graphics are better also so all in all im happy, dissapointed that im still getting lag at all but i guess the processor of something isnt upto par :(

 

at any rate the game is atleast playable now :)

[needhelpplz]

updated to newest divers and another marked improvement! yay :)

still lag at keep doors but other than that its looking pretty good. definately bareable at any rate. thanks to you guys for all your help;)