New PC, but Low Spec Graphics Card

Hello all, I recently got a new PC as my old one was getting up there in years. I can currently play GW2, but only on low settings and I'm looking for advice on a graphics card that would allow for higher quality visuals etc.

I have the PC found here: https://www.nfm.com/cyberpowerpc-gaming-desktop-ultra-gua3120cpg-amd-fx-6300-8gb-ram-radeon-r7-240-2gb-1tb-hdd

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hmm nice comp, if I have to say for Graphics Card, go for Nvida 1070 and up.

@RaevynFyre.5794 said:Hmm nice comp, if I have to say for Graphics Card, go for Nvida 1070 and up.

Thanks for the advice, RaevynFyre!

Despite its' good looks GW2 isn't a very GPU intensive game, a 1070 would be a waste of money. A GTX 1050 Ti is more than enough for this game at 1080p.

What you should be aware about is your CPU, the FX-6300 CPU is very old and even slower than a 2011 Intel i5 CPU. Don't get me wrong, the game will still be playable, but not optimal, especially in populated areas and expansion maps.

@ArmoredVehicle.2849 said:Despite its' good looks GW2 isn't a very GPU intensive game, a 1070 would be a waste of money. A GTX 1050 Ti is more than enough for this game at 1080p.

What you should be aware about is your CPU, the FX-6300 CPU is very old and even slower than a 2011 Intel i5 CPU. Don't get me wrong, the game will still be playable, but not optimal, especially in populated areas and expansion maps.

That's good to know! Hypothetically, what CPU would you suggest as an upgrade?

Sadly, as your components are actually very aged (the whole system is FAR from new/up to date), you will not be able to upgrade it easily. To be precise, an Upgrade of anything but the graphics card, unless you stick to 'better' versions of the outdated and now obsolete hardware, will require a new Mainboard, CPU, CPU Cooler and Memory Sticks. Which means you can nearly get a new PC for the money.

To put it blunt, if you got that rig 'now' and it was sold as a gaming rig, brand new? You got ripped off and baited into blowing money on an obsolete pile of garbage that is a dead end for upgrades.If you still can return it, consider doing so, and get something more in line withhttps://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Desktop-Graphics-Operating/dp/B0771NRPN4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1545599141&sr=1-3&keywords=gaming+pc&refinements=p_36%3A2421881011

@"Lesan.4903" said:Sadly, as your components are actually very aged (the whole system is FAR from new/up to date), you will not be able to upgrade it easily. To be precise, an Upgrade of anything but the graphics card, unless you stick to 'better' versions of the outdated and now obsolete hardware, will require a new Mainboard, CPU, CPU Cooler and Memory Sticks. Which means you can nearly get a new PC for the money.

To put it blunt, if you got that rig 'now' and it was sold as a gaming rig, brand new? You got ripped off and baited into blowing money on an obsolete pile of garbage that is a dead end for upgrades.If you still can return it, consider doing so, and get something more in line withhttps://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Desktop-Graphics-Operating/dp/B0771NRPN4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1545599141&sr=1-3&keywords=gaming+pc&refinements=p_36%3A2421881011

Wow, really? Hmm, I might just return it then. I'll see what my better half thinks about getting something like this: https://www.nfm.com/dell-inspiron-gaming-desktop-core-i5-8400-8gb-ram-gtx-1060-3gb-1tb-hdd

@"Ravenflame.5890" said:Wow, really? Hmm, I might just return it then. I'll see what my better half thinks about getting something like this: https://www.nfm.com/dell-inspiron-gaming-desktop-core-i5-8400-8gb-ram-gtx-1060-3gb-1tb-hdd

That system is more like it :)

I hope they will give you a refund for it.

GW2 cares much more about single core performance than lots of cores. So a reference here is:https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.htmlFor the ones you are looking at, the fx-6300 is rated at 1407, ryzen 1400 at 1717, and i5-8400 at 2335It looks like you like NFM, and I'd go for this then:https://www.nfm.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxi11100cpg-desktop-intel-i5-9600k-8gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-240gb-ssd-1tb-hddThe price is basically the same as the i5-8400, but the i5-9600k is rated at 2682 and is near the top of the charts.However, a lot of this advice is based on running guild wars 2 really quickly. If you are looking to run other tasks, they may have different requirements. The 240 gb SSD in that last model will also greatly speed up boot, and if you can install GW2 onto that drive, map loading and other stuff.The i5-9600k has a list price of ~$250, and aside for i3's, you have to go down the list pretty far before you find something significantly cheaper. I3s only have 2 cores, which is probably too few for GW2, so I'd stick with i5s.

@Solvar.7953 said:I3s only have 2 cores, which is probably too few for GW2, so I'd stick with i5s.

The 8th gen i3's are full quadcore nowadays, it's quite good for GW2 if you're on a tight budget.

@Solvar.7953 said:GW2 cares much more about single core performance than lots of cores. So a reference here is:https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.htmlFor the ones you are looking at, the fx-6300 is rated at 1407, ryzen 1400 at 1717, and i5-8400 at 2335It looks like you like NFM, and I'd go for this then:https://www.nfm.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxi11100cpg-desktop-intel-i5-9600k-8gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-240gb-ssd-1tb-hddThe price is basically the same as the i5-8400, but the i5-9600k is rated at 2682 and is near the top of the charts.However, a lot of this advice is based on running guild wars 2 really quickly. If you are looking to run other tasks, they may have different requirements. The 240 gb SSD in that last model will also greatly speed up boot, and if you can install GW2 onto that drive, map loading and other stuff.The i5-9600k has a list price of ~$250, and aside for i3's, you have to go down the list pretty far before you find something significantly cheaper. I3s only have 2 cores, which is probably too few for GW2, so I'd stick with i5s.

@ArmoredVehicle.2849 said:

@Solvar.7953 said:I3s only have 2 cores, which is probably too few for GW2, so I'd stick with i5s.

Thanks for the info guys. My wife is not receptive of the idea of taking this comp back as we are already on a very tight budget with a baby girl on the way in April. We were using NFM because we have one close by and they have 24 month financing right now. It looks like I am stuck with this computer for the foreseeable future, and due to how it runs I'll probably end up playing LOTRO or even DAoC instead of this glorious game. Thanks for all the advice folks! :) Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Sorry to hear that, but congrats on the new arrival.Just a thought:Since it seems to be primarily budget concerns you can still return that one and pick one of the lower end intel setups something likehttps://www.nfm.com/dell-inspiron-3670-core-i3-8100-8gb-ram-1tb-hddWith the intel i3 8100 (2101 single thread rating via Passmark) and integrated graphics and use the other $130 saved to find a GTX 1050, RX 560 or the like to drop in for graphics.

@"No One.3716" said:Sorry to hear that, but congrats on the new arrival.Just a thought:Since it seems to be primarily budget concerns you can still return that one and pick one of the lower end intel setups something likehttps://www.nfm.com/dell-inspiron-3670-core-i3-8100-8gb-ram-1tb-hddWith the intel i3 8100 (2101 single thread rating via Passmark) and integrated graphics and use the other $130 saved to find a GTX 1050, RX 560 or the like to drop in for graphics.

Not a terrible idea. I'll run this by her, but I think she has already shut down on the idea of returning it as all she sees is me "complaining" about a new computer which is completely understandable.

I think at this point I am going to have to stick with what I have an upgrade as I go, so hopefully, it can last a few years until I can convince my better half to fund a new machine.

I'm thinking: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HJQrtg

I might have enough Amazon gift card funds coming in to get the processor and cooler and save up for the graphics card.

The FX 8350 is still an absolute dog in Gw2 and will be a huge bottleneck to the 1070 in other games unless they can utilize the 8cores/16 "modules"(almost like Threads but not quite) effectively. Which is getting better for some games/software, but Gw2 is not going to be one of those titles in the foreseeable future.

Maybe try showing her that you aren't "Complaining about a new computer", you're complaining about being sold an OLD computer under the guise of it being new hardware....It's not new at all.

The Motherboard in it, an AMD 700 chipset, was debuted in 2007 and the very latest one made in 2010. The fx6300(Vishera codename) was launched in october 2012.

Those dates are absolutely ancient as far as PC hardware goes. And even then the 6300 was heavily underpowered for single thread dependent tasks like MMO games.

When the FX 6300 was a newer model CPU, it was absolutely trounced in Gw2 performance by a CPU that came out a year earlier, the i5 2500k.

The FX6300 launched at $132 and scores 1,408 in single threaded performance(according to passmark, which I dont like) and the 2500k launched at $205 while scoring 1,897

The difference in Gw2 was massive.

Edit: my technical details might be off or mislabled..It has been almost a decade since I looked at those processors.

@"Ravenflame.5890" said:Not a terrible idea. I'll run this by her, but I think she has already shut down on the idea of returning it as all she sees is me "complaining" about a new computer which is completely understandable.

New to you, maybe, but the system you’ve described hasn’t been “new” for years. If it was sold as a gaming system, I’d call it straight-up false advertising.

would recommend the rtx 2060 instead of an 1070 its basically the same but cost less. Make sure to get an 8 gigabyte vram edition.

And holy hell is that cpu cooler their serious?!"?! Its a freaking FX they run hot and they use a cpu cooler like from the 90s?