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Graphics card recommendations for GW2?
AzurePrower
Member UncommonPosts: 1,550
My PC stats are as follows:
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120503-2030)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
Memory: 12288MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9800 GT
Display Memory: 4069 MB
Dedicated Memory: 997 MB
Shared Memory: 3071 MB
Current Mode: 1600 x 1024 (32 bit) (59Hz)
My GeForce 9800 has served me well and still does. Though trying Guild Wars 2, it's a little laggy in some areas if I have settings at high even with HD avatar textures, AA, Shadows and reflections off.
I had my eye on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 Overclocked 2GB. Wondering if that would be a good choice or if there is better for around the same price?
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
Comments
This might help. With further driver and game optimizations, these charts might change, but as of recently:
Arenanet's-bill-freist-talks-optimization-and-performance
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
That chart pretty vague at best.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
Azure! I will make it easy for you:) Get that card you looked at. You did some good research. I'll explain why.
First
The 670 OC edition is yielding the same peroformance as a stock 680GTX and in some games as much as 7% more. Not bad for over 100$ off.
Second, that gigabyte version actually uses a "modded" board from the stock 670GTX. Gigabtye uses a 680GTX board instead for their 670 which allows for much better power usage (which makes the OC better then most of the other OC 670 versions). Also the fan keeps the card MUCH cooler then the stock version.
Third, that is nvidia new version so comes with a ton of stuff like TXAA, Tessalation perfomance nearly double that of the 500 series. Gives you a lot of leg room for future games and ofcourse expansion packs from GW2 which might have better visuals.
On a minor side note, Nvidia did just release the new GTX 660ti this month and it is getting great reviews and has great perforamcance as well. So if you wish to still get a TON from a card and want to spend even less money..it is a serious contender on the gaming from. Here is a link that compares them.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/23419
But as I said, if your going to get a 600 series card ...spending the extra 15 bucks to get the OC version is a great idea. That 670 is my personal favorite (BTW my wife has it as I have the 680 version...and shes like 3 FPS slow then mine....I should of just got two and saved myself 100$)
BTW the card is SUPER quiet and ..also be careful you have the space in your case. This card is about an inch longer then a stock 670GTX
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
No offense but in my 24+ years of pc gaming ang gpu's AMD cards have required the most work and driver manipulation to get the performnace of nvidia cards. Maybe I had bad luck with AMD cards, but I doubt it. This problem is very apparent in betas. Nearly every beta I have been in has been problematic due to driver and hardware support with AMD cards. Never have had an issue with Nvidia cards. The cards also seem to not last as long either. I have never had an AMD GPU last more than 3 years. I still have nvidia gpu's from the late 1990's that still work.
I find AMD cards good for people who like to tinker with their pcs, as I have gotten older that is not enjoyable for me. Nvidia cards only get better with newer drivers, AMD cards have been the opposite in my experience.
Keep in mind I gave up on AMD gpu's with their 4000 series 4 years ago.
Cheers!
Edit: Above was for desktops. I do have to say that every mobile AMD card I have had has been ok, but still problematic with drivers. Last one was the 5870m in my G73.
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
How funny then, because in GW2 beta, those who had problems were the nVidia owners. Amusing coincidence, isn't it?
Never had problems with ATI/AMD in any of the game's I've played. Driver problems were before they introduced the catalyst unified drivers and that was in 2002 when they released the Radeon 8500. Since then, nVidia and ATI/AMD both have their own share of driver problems with specific games.
Oh, and I still have a prototype Radeon 8500 I got back then before it was released which still works...
Graphic card "fanboism" is stupid. Both brands work well, both have occasional problems with specific setups and software/games. The time of crap drivers is long gone.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
Yeah, the 670 OC is more my price range and I like my cards to last a while. Less time wasting fiddling about in the box.
So thanks for the confirmation there!
And not to worry. I have a monster case.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
If the 670 is within your budget, that's a very good card to get.
However, the performance of the 9800 doesn't seem right, especially not at that resolution. I'm running a 8800GT at 1660x1050 and with some smart settings I rarely if ever dropped below 30FPS. What driver version are you using?
Driver Version: 8.17.12.6099
Seems there's always a problem with some latest drivers. So I stuck with what works.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
Sure, it is an excellent card. Nvidia cards seems to perform better in GW2 at least so far so for that price a 670 is probably the best choice unless you can find a discount 580 somewhere.
Fair point. The latest driver should bring a bit of a performance hike though, as it comes with optimizations for GW2. The difference is larger with newer cards, but I definitely think, based on my own experience, that your card should be able to perform better.
I think that particular driver update is still in beta status, but the release of the certified version should be any day now. Maybe check the Nvidia site every other day for news?
Buy the new gtx 660 TI. It performs very well. Im going for that card on the next payday
The "official" average FPS chart seems to disagree with that statement...
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
For a i7 CPU he should really go for a bigger card. 560 performance well compared to its price, but it really gets beaten in performance compared to cards like gtx 670 or even gtx 570.
Again i would recommend the new gtx 660 TI. It performs better than 570 and are not that exspensive.
gtx 560 TI is getting outdated very soon.
Really? Last I checked Nvidia was doing better but then again it was a while ago. The only thing I can say out of personal experience is that my 480 GTX max out the game fine and that my laptop 230M at least can run it, the rest is based on friends and people talking here.
I personally prefer Nvidia because they seems to mess up their drivers slightly less even if ATI have gotten better. Then again ATI is cheaper so it is a trade off anyways.
Even worse when you check their driver comparison chat. Looks like they've totally screwed up optimisation for Nvidia cards. 10 fps difference between a 200 and 600 series.
I have used Ati cards for a long long time now, and i will never ever buy one ati card again.
Setting up the new drivers can take 1 min or 5 hours.
For some reason Cataslyst Control Center may not be installed properly, so when yo have driver 12.4 and upgrade to 12.6 with a clean instal you may end up with a shit instal for some weird reason.
Nvdia is where my money go to from now on.
I tried ATI once and i will never buy one again.. I had so many issues with drivers and the whole Catalyst thing.
Been a loyal Nvidia customer for many years now and i really never had any problems.
Yes the ATI cards are normally a little cheaper, but if you ask me its not worth it. Rather pay a little extra for something that just runs smooth, than buy something cheaper and then having driver issues.
Will a 15" MacBook pro with windows 7 handle this on high?
Yes you should be ok with that setup.
Though you could use more RAM (recommend 8 GB for gaming) and another HD, but that's another discussion
im building a new pc together already have this stuff
Motherboard: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/295752/asus-republic-of-gamers-rampage-iv-extreme.html#tab:info
CPU: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/295262/intel-core-i7-3930k-boxed.html#tab:info
Graphic card: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/307145/asus-gtx680-2gd5.html#tab:info they didnt had it in stock so i have to wait
Tower: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/277189/antec-twelve-hundred-v3.html#tab:info
rest of my new pc stuff dont have them yet hehe have to wait a few months till i have enough money again to buy my self a new power supply some ram memory and hard drive and all the stuff i need more to complete it
cant wait till i have them all then gw2 runs smooth
You may be able to destroy planets, but you can never destroy what I am, friend. I am the hope of the universe, I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am the protector of the innocent, I am the light in the darkness, I am truth. ALLY TO GOOD, NIGHTMARE TO YOU
Should run it on mid-high settings in Windows or mid settings on WINE/Crossover in OSX.