Guild wars 2 Low Frame rates

[l00pus]

So I just recently got GW2. Reading over the forums I see several cases of GW2 issues that sound driver related. Overall my setup plays ok the performance just isnt where i want it for when i seriously start to PvP. I am currently running on autodetect which sets some to high and some things to low. Setting things to low or high do not really seem to change my framerate one way or the other, I tend to avg 45 no matter what I do. Right now I am trying to make a decision on if I will need to upgrade or simply wait out the driver issues on the Nvidia side.

I am currently running 1920x1080
w/ some older components.
CPU = AMD Phenom 2 X2 555 stock
mobo = Asrock A770DE+
Memory = 4g DDR2 1066
GPU = Nvidia GTX 460

I have been putting off CPU/Mobo upgrades since i know GPU is generally the main bottleneck. Just wanted to get some other opinions on if it seems like swapping the Mobo/CPU/Memory is necessary or not at this point.

 

[Eroge]

You don't drop under 45fps during WvW?
How is your frame rate during dynamic events with 10+ other players near by?

 

[Herr_Koos]

Have you monitored CPU utilization to verify that your CPU is not the culprit? Constant framerates regardless of graphics settings normally point to the GPU not being the bottleneck.

 

[generalkai]

You need an upgrade with an average of 45FPS?... I play with 7-10 FPS normally and 2-5FPS in WvW l0l. I know call me a froob cause my laptop sucks.

 

[l00pus]

You don't drop under 45fps during WvW?
How is your frame rate during dynamic events with 10+ other players near by?

Sorry should of been more clear. I am leveling atm and haven't done much WvW so my avg is doing just normal things in the world not the heavy load of WvW. I expect significant drop off when i get to WvW that's why sitting around 45 FPS when im not even doing much is a big of a concern.

 

[Eroge]

Even the AMD PhenomII x4 680 runs GW2 like poop I have a feeling you'll have no luck playing WvW. I have the same graphics card and a faster AMD processor giving me the same low FPS whether I'm on low or high settings. Game was unplayable to me so I'm going to have to wait until I can buy a new motherboard and Intel Core i5

I'm surprised you don't drop under 20fps during Dynamic Events that include other players being around you. I was Good Lucks

 

[fulle]

The" AMD Phenom 2 X2 555 stock" is a bottleneck. They cap out at about 40 FPS:
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/44572-beta-weekend-3-benchmark-review/

Keep in mind you're doing a little better than in the link above, since ArenaNet has made optimizations. In the link above the Phenom II X2 was getting stuck at 40 FPS average on any settings. You're at 45.

Meanwhile, Tom's had that particular GPU at 35.7 FPS on their 1920x1080 Best Appearance benchmark.... so, it's impressive that driver improvements and optimizations by ArenaNet have improved enough that you're getting your current FPS with that GPU.

Very balanced setup, honestly. But to get anything better out of it, both the CPU AND the GPU need upgrades.

Edit: The mins on a Phenom II X2 would be pretty bad though, as Eroge mentioned in his post. If I was going to upgrade one vs the other, I'd chose the CPU.

 

[AntiZig]

Hi, first of all make sure you got the latest beta driver, 306.02 has optimizations for GW2.

Secondly, as it has been pointed out already, the bottleneck is your CPU.

 

[l00pus]

Yea I grabbed the Aug 27 released beta driver.

I was concerned this would be the case. Thanks a ton for your guys info. I will begin to look into CPU upgrades. I am guessing I will end up in i5 territory at this point. Any quick suggestions on bang/buck category's feel free to drop them in. I will start researching soon.

 

[srcy]

Yea I grabbed the Aug 27 released beta driver.

I was concerned this would be the case. Thanks a ton for your guys info. I will begin to look into CPU upgrades. I am guessing I will end up in i5 territory at this point. Any quick suggestions on bang/buck category's feel free to drop them in. I will start researching soon.

Grab a 3570k and an ASRock Extreme4 board.

 

[l00pus]

Grab a 3570k and an ASRock Extreme4 board.

newegg had a nice deal on a 3570 and was giving away 8 gigs of ram with that board. So great suggestion/timing on the deal

 

[kcsmacker]

If you are by a micro center you can get a good asrock motherboard with sli/crossfire capabilities along with an i5 3570k for about 300 bucks. After that you may want to look into a graphics card upgrade as well. the 460 is pretty old and will still be a huge bottle neck. Maybe a 7870, gtx 660ti or if you can maybe a 670.

 

[l00pus]

If you are by a micro center you can get a good asrock motherboard with sli/crossfire capabilities along with an i5 3570k for about 300 bucks. After that you may want to look into a graphics card upgrade as well. the 460 is pretty old and will still be a huge bottle neck. Maybe a 7870, gtx 660ti or if you can maybe a 670.

Unfortunately I am not near a microcenter. Wish I was. Newegg had a 3570 and a decent asrock mobo on sale this weekend though so i ended up getting that for about 330. Going to get that in then I will see how things do... if i need to get a graphics upgrade after that then so be it.

 

[l00pus]

Best answer selected by l00pus.