Should I get a new CPU?

I've got a i5-4690K processor and a GTX 960 graphics card. However I can get pretty bad fps when playing the game - in part because of the crowds, but I think I might be due for a CPU upgrade to run GW2. I'd like to run max settings - however I feel like the 960 should be fine for performance while the CPU would be a bit slower. Plus, I don't do a lot of other things that warrant a newer graphics card while I can never really have a good enough CPU.

Would I see drastically better performance? Because as it is I sacrifice textures and shadowing quite a bit just to have a stable FPS.

i5 and max settings.. no can't do, even with a gtx1080 it would be 20-40fps max.. with high crowds.I suggest get a i7-6700 - DDR4 1600+ memory (16gb) and a gtx1050.. this is what i got ( i consider my PC slow for GW2 ) and run mostly low settings .Don't really care for nice and beautiful, just want 60-100 fps allways.. only placed my CPU starts to whine and moan (60%to80% cpu usage) is at Palawadan Istan area with many people.

I can get pretty bad fps when playing the game

What FPS and during what "play"? There's a huge difference between wandering around Queensdale and clashing in a 3way zerg. Not to mention some people see anything <50 as bad, others are more realistic(when it comes to gw2).

the 960 should be fine for performance

Truth. It is perfectly fine for all areas of Gw2.

Would I see drastically better performance?

No. I run a 4690k @ 4.4ghz and get performance on par with people who run the newest i7s with DDR4 RAM. +50fps in HoT/PoF and a steady 62fps(custom limit) everywhere in vanilla gw2 under normal circumstances.

Even some of the more troublesome world bosses, like The Frozen Maw, I get better performance than some people(in that post) with an i7 8700k and a 1080ti. Better performance WHILE using my piddly GPU to record. Lots of that comes down to streamlining your machine and graphics settings.

I'd like to run max settings

Max settings are a pipe dream, still, unless you can stomach dropping multiple thousands on a PC while still dipping below 40fps in moderately heavy combat situations, you might be able to keep around 30 in 3v3 zerg fights if you turn down your character limits.

That said. Turn your character model quality and limits to medium, turn your reflections completely off, make sure effect LOD is ticked and put your FoV slider more towards the center if it's all the way maxed out. Those have by far the largest impact on performance while the loss of visual fidelity is negligible and nearly non-existent in the case of Reflections.

If you have the initiative to learn about overclocking, and a decent cooling solution, that by far is your best bet for increasing performance without easily spending over a thousand dollars.

You have to keep in mind that if you want a new CPU, thanks to intel going with a new/different socket every tick/tock update, at minimum you need a new motherboard, new ram DDR4 ram(which is stupidly priced atm) and, less likely, a new powersupply.

@MrFayth.3546 said:No. I run a 4690k @ 4.4ghz and get performance on par with people who run the newest i7s with DDR4 RAM. +50fps in HoT/PoF and a steady 62fps(custom limit) everywhere in vanilla gw2 under normal circumstances.

If you have the initiative to learn about overclocking, and a decent cooling solution, that by far is your best bet for increasing performance without easily spending over a thousand dollars.

This. Ultimately, technical limitations in the GW2 client mean that single threaded CPU performance is the ultimate limiting factor on FPS in high activity areas. (That is, if you buy the absolute fastest everything, you will hit a wall with the CPU before you hit one with the GPU, in GW2.)

So, anything that speeds up single threaded CPU performance - like overclocking - will definitely help. (Though GW2 also uses multiple threads / cores, one of them is the sticking point. So you can't completely neglect multi-core performance here, and of course, while a 960 should be fine, GPU performance can also limit the ultimate frame rate.)

@"MrFayth.3546" said:

I can get pretty bad fps when playing the game

the 960 should be fine for performance

Would I see drastically better performance?

I'd like to run max settings

Thanks for the insight. My fps drops considerably to usually around 10 when running zergs and it's a noticeable stall in performance. I figured it was always due to my CPU's performance rather than graphics - GW2 recommends I use rather modest settings, while Nvidia likes to think I can optimize at nearly maximized performance. I have almost no problem with most of the game except I tend to choose to limit FPS to 30 just to keep the system cooler and conserve power, but it's the zergs that can be a pain - like when I'm trying to accomplish legendary bounties for mosaics.

Even with a 8700k @ 5GHz core and 4.8 GHz cache, 4266-CL17-17-17-28 fine tune RAM and a 1080ti I sometimes drop to 30 fps (or slightly below) on max settings. Not much you can do about it, but fast RAM with manually tuned timings helps a lot (I saw 20% boosts on average compared to XMP profile)

Make sure LOD is checked in your graphics settings. I recently replaced a R9 290X with a GTX 1080 on my system (i7 5930K, 32 GB RAM, etc) and thought I could uncheck that box to improve quality with the new GPU. Everything was fine until the first 50v50 fight in SMC, at which point the game turned into a slideshow. Rechecked LOD and everything runs fine.

@"Optimator.3589" said:Everything was fine until the first 50v50 fight in SMC

The main thing you want to do there is turn Character Model Quality to low or lowest and, obviously, put the character model limit at high/highest.

It will force enemies to draw their "Standard models" with basic textures but allow you to see high amounts of players on screen.

@MrFayth.3546 @Optimator.3589 Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be out for a week but I'll definitely hope this helps improve performance without hurting textures too much.

i5 despite the older generations, is pretty good alreadynot too sure just how much fps you can possible gain by changing to 8 seriesperhaps 20%?

you can search single thread benchmark and make a comparison between your current and the newer processor

@Optimator.3589 said:Make sure LOD is checked in your graphics settings. I recently replaced a R9 290X with a GTX 1080 on my system (i7 5930K, 32 GB RAM, etc) and thought I could uncheck that box to improve quality with the new GPU. Everything was fine until the first 50v50 fight in SMC, at which point the game turned into a slideshow. Rechecked LOD and everything runs fine.

The LOD uncehcked is important though, otherwise, there are aoe that you can't see.