Technical knowledge requested to enhance FPS by purchase PC parts

Hey All,

I recently purchased an ASUS ROG PG279Q (G-SYNC 2650 x 1440) monitor thinking it was going to increase my FPS. Boy was I wrong - it seems, my FPS has gotten even worse and have read that tends to happen to folks playing GW2 with G-SYNC monitors. The main issue is the CPU from what I read. Below are my PC Specs:

• Intel Core i7-4820k CPU @ 3.70 GHz running a NVidia GTX 1080 8GB

I've read that people with the latest CPUs such as the i7 8700k 5.0 GHz (OC) have no issue with FPS on G-SYNC monitors. Source: ( https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/28394/frame-limiter-values )

My question to you folks with technical compute knowledge is if I decide to purchase the latest i7 8700k CPU, what other things will I have to purchase? Will I need a new motherboard? Will I need a cooling system? How much would these things cost me?

I appreciate all the help.

Thanks much!

The loss of FPS when you upgraded your monitor to the ASUS PG279Q is likely because it's 2560x1440 and your previous monitor was 1920x1080.

Settings that impact frame rate the most are character model limit/quality, shadows, and reflections.

With an i5-3570K @ 4.5 GHz (Z77), 16 GB DDR3-2400 @ CL 10, a GTX 1070 @ 2050 MHz, and a 2560x1080 monitor, I have seen as high as 170~ FPS in low-population/low-activity areas on older maps with shadows on low, character model limit on low (sometimes lowest), character model quality on low or medium, and reflections turned off. Everything else is on/max. Visual quality is minimally impacted, imo.

Also note that newer expansion (HoT, PoF) and LS maps are more demanding, and the more models there are to render in an area, the lower your FPS will be.

As Aneirin alredy pointed out, your loss of FPS is due to the increased resolution. What I may suggest, before investing in a new CPU, is to try to squeeze a little bit of performance out of your current CPU and see if that does the trick.

You have a K series processor, which are meant to be overclocked and GW2 will benefit way more from raw Ghz than anything else.

If it's your first time overclocking a CPU, do some research first, the process is pretty straightforward (usually a safe OC just requires you to set the multiplier and up vcore a little) and of course you will need something better than the default cooler, but nothing extravagant like an expensive liquid cooling.In case you decide to buy a new CPU anyway, you will still be able to recycle the cooler, so maybe invest in something on the 50-100 dollar range (Noctua NH-D15 for example is very good, but it's like 90 dollars).

To answer your question, yes you would need to buy a new motherboard aswell (about 150 dollars, depending on brand), since the CPU sockets are different and possibly a new PSU (about 40 dollars, depending on brand), if you current one is below 500W.

Just keep in mind that buying new hardware won't instantly give you better frames in GW2, you'll probably have to overclock it regardless.

To put things in perspective, the difference between my 4670k at default clock and OCd to 4,6ghz is 15fps flat, at the same settings.(I play with reflections set to terrain only, native sampling, character model limit on medium, everything else on high)

@wisebear.9176 said:As Aneirin alredy pointed out, your loss of FPS is due to the increased resolution. What I may suggest, before investing in a new CPU, is to try to squeeze a little bit of performance out of your current CPU and see if that does the trick.

You have a K series processor, which are meant to be overclocked and GW2 will benefit way more from raw Ghz than anything else.

If it's your first time overclocking a CPU, do some research first, the process is pretty straightforward (usually a safe OC just requires you to set the multiplier and up vcore a little) and of course you will need something better than the default cooler, but nothing extravagant like an expensive liquid cooling.In case you decide to buy a new CPU anyway, you will still be able to recycle the cooler, so maybe invest in something on the 50-100 dollar range (Noctua NH-D15 for example is very good, but it's like 90 dollars).

To answer your question, yes you would need to buy a new motherboard aswell (about 150 dollars, depending on brand), since the CPU sockets are different and possibly a new PSU (about 40 dollars, depending on brand), if you current one is below 500W.

Just keep in mind that buying new hardware won't instantly give you better frames in GW2, you'll probably have to overclock it regardless.

To put things in perspective, the difference between my 4670k at default clock and OCd to 4,6ghz is 15fps flat, at the same settings.(I play with reflections set to terrain only, native sampling, character model limit on medium, everything else on high)

Thanks wisebear - I was able to get my FPS up by playing around with those settings you mentioned. At what voltage are you runnning the OC to 4.6 GHz?Also, I might wait until the i7 9700k comes out before upgrading.

it's VCCIN 1.8 and VCORE 1.275

A friend who has a 4820k told me his can reach 4.7Ghz with VCORE 1.295 but he keeps it at 4.6 at 1.250 for daily use.

Basically you could start with 46 multiplier and 1.3 VCORE, if it's stable just start lowering voltage (a bit at the time) till it's not stable anymore.Ideally you just want to lower the voltage, not raise it (eg: don't go VCORE 1.4 if it's not stable at 46, it's useless and potentially dangerous, instead lower it to 45 and try again from 1.3 VCORE)It's a bit trial and error and the purpose is ofc to have it stable but also have it work at the lowest voltage possible, to avoid overheating.

Ideally you want it to be at max 80C when 100% load.Anything above 90C and the CPU will start to throttle down speed, basically nullifying your overclock.Also keep in mind that every CPU will overclock slightly differently, you just have to find the sweet spot for yours.

Good luck!

Something not mentioned, you would also have to replace your memory [RAM] if you go with recent generation cpus as the current standard is now DDR4. This means you would have to replace your RAM, motherboard, and possibly cooling system if you go for an 8700k/9700k.

@Yamazuki.6073 said:Something not mentioned, you would also have to replace your memory [RAM] if you go with recent generation cpus as the current standard is now DDR4. This means you would have to replace your RAM, motherboard, and possibly cooling system if you go for an 8700k/9700k.

Main reason I'm waiting for 2020 and hoping to be sufficiently impressed with Intel and AMD's offerings then before I upgrade from my Z77/i5-3570K/DDR3-2400 platform. I have the 'upgrade itch' like crazy (platform's from 2012), but I have no reason to upgrade. It's a good problem to have. :expressionless:

Precisely, Moore's law has stopped being relevant some years ago. Buying the next hardware generation currently brings just some % increased performance (instead of X2, X3 and so on like it was 10 years ago or so), for a cost that doesn't really justify it.

i5-4670k, i5-3570k, i7-4820k are still perfectly good CPUs for modern games, especially if you can overclock them.

Besides, videogames industry is still heavily dictated by consoles hardware anyway, I personally will consider buying a new rig only when the next generation of consoles will be released and only if the bar gets raised enough for my hardware to be really considered obsolete.