12 replies to this topic

[Biatalie1]

Hi guys

I am looking to buy this. How do you think GW2 play on it?

Alienware X51
Intel® Core™ i7-3770 (8M Cache, up to 3.4 GHz)
16GB
1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660

Thank you!

[Jornemormel]

It'd run smooth as it should, I'm running a similar specced processor with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 570, and 8GB RAM and I've no lag other then the occasional lag spike caused by the server/my internet connection.

To be fair, such specs are overkill for a game like Guild Wars 2.

If you do buy it, enjoy it though.

[typographie]

If you have the option to customize, you could save some money by going with a Core i5 instead of i7, and 8 GB of RAM rather than 16 GB. You don't need either for a gaming system. That money could be put into a better video card, SSD or whatever else you might want.

[Typhoris]

16GB, jesus christ.

Get a good cooling system for your rig, GW2 is extremely CPU intensive, and typo's advice is good too

[Athletic]

duh                       ,

[qbar24]

typo's advice isn't good, really. GW2 is heavily CPU intensive and it does use 4 cores. Mobile i5 has 2 cores and hyperthreading. The difference in other games isn't that huge, but in GW2 it does make a difference.

Source: http://www.notebookc...rs.81855.0.html

Also, aliens are configurable and you might want to save some cash on ram and get a better graphics card. While 660m is an okay solution, it might struggle - especially in the FHD resolution. It's not future proof as well - its desktop equivalent is an AMD HD7750, so by no means a high-end card.

Edited by qbar24, 18 November 2012 - 06:03 PM.

[Gremlin]

Depends on your game settings but its running fine on my 5 year old system.
2.4 ghz  intel quad core
4 gig memory 3.5 usable as I'm on Vista Home Premium 32 bit
Geforce 220 1 gig graphics and that's a low spec entry level card.

Only time I have had a problem were in the beta test end games where hundreds of players were casting spells then at times I had a slide show.

This has never repeated during the actual game no matter how intense the fights.

[typographie]

qbar24, on 18 November 2012 - 06:02 PM, said:

typo's advice isn't good, really. GW2 is heavily CPU intensive and it does use 4 cores. Mobile i5 has 2 cores and hyperthreading. The difference in other games isn't that huge, but in GW2 it does make a difference.

I'd love to agree, but an Alienware X51 isn't a laptop. But even if you didn't know that, the OP stated he started with an i7-3770 which is a desktop chip.

http://www.dell.com/...lienware-x51/pd

[atomicmew]

typographie, on 19 November 2012 - 03:10 PM, said:

I'd love to agree, but an Alienware X51 isn't a laptop. But even if you didn't know that, the OP stated he started with an i7-3770 which is a desktop chip.

http://www.dell.com/...lienware-x51/pd

The point being, you would get significantly more performance (10-15%) from an i7 than an i5 in heavy WVW zergs.  Downgrading to an i5 is good advice only with the caveat that you'll see a performance drop and the fact that it's probably better bang for the buck.  However, some people are willing to pay the extra amount to get top performance.

[Swedemon]

atomicmew, on 19 November 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

The point being, you would get significantly more performance (10-15%) from an i7 than an i5 in heavy WVW zergs.  Downgrading to an i5 is good advice only with the caveat that you'll see a performance drop and the fact that it's probably better bang for the buck.  However, some people are willing to pay the extra amount to get top performance.

Games these days do not utilize i7's hyper-threading tech.  Therefore, clock for clock of the same generation it is a waste of money.  

Buy an i5 2500k or 3570k, a cpu cooler, and overclock to 4.4+ghz => GW2 at it's best, at least for now.

[typographie]

atomicmew, on 19 November 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

The point being,

Are you sure this isn't a new point entirely? The guy I replied to thought we were talking about laptop hardware, this is definitely a new topic.

Swedemon, on 19 November 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

Games these days do not utilize i7's hyper-threading tech.

I too have heard that i7's help a bit in GW2. I just question by how much. I do think 10-15% seems oddly precise given how benchmark-unfriendly the situation is where an i7 would make any difference at all. I agree that an overclocked i5-3570K is, within a tight margin, the best you're likely to get for a mid-range budget.

I stand by what I recommended earlier: the i7 might be luxurious, but its an extra $100 poorly-spent when the system only has a GTX 660. It doesn't make any sense to splurge without following priorities.

[qbar24]

typographie, on 19 November 2012 - 03:10 PM, said:

I'd love to agree, but an Alienware X51 isn't a laptop. But even if you didn't know that, the OP stated he started with an i7-3770 which is a desktop chip.

http://www.dell.com/...lienware-x51/pd

My bad. Maybe that's because where I live Alienware sells only laptops. I should have paid more attention to what the OP wrote. :-)

In this case I aggree with typo... i5 will most likely suffice.

[atomicmew]

Swedemon, on 19 November 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

Games these days do not utilize i7's hyper-threading tech.  Therefore, clock for clock of the same generation it is a waste of money.  

Buy an i5 2500k or 3570k, a cpu cooler, and overclock to 4.4+ghz => GW2 at it's best, at least for now.

Why do people keep saying this when its been proven false?  I'm not going to dig up old threads for you.  Do your own research and stop just assuming you know everything.