I know my computer doesn't even meet minimum specs to run GW, but I was hoping you all could tell me how best to maximize what I've got.
This is my laptop - click on the specifications tab to see what I'm running. My laptop is still stock, obviously.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834101084
What would you all recommend? -noshaders? Can I set the affinity to only one core and see how that works? I run no higher than 20 fps, oftentimes lucky to get 15.
Anything I can do to improve playability?
Crimson Flame
moriz
run GW in a window.
GMA950 should give you playable performance at 1024x768, at minimum graphics (keep texture on high, GW looks terrible with textures on medium or low).
GMA950 should give you playable performance at 1024x768, at minimum graphics (keep texture on high, GW looks terrible with textures on medium or low).
Kattar
I was given this advice a few months ago.
That helped a little. Running is windowed mode helped a little bit too. Turn down the graphics settings to lowest, if they're not already set there.
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Originally Posted by old thread
Have you tried this?
command line parameters add -dx8 -noshaders -fps 30 |
Rothan Celt
Oooooo Only person with a red user name in this thread..... :s feel outta place....
Anyway for me running it in windowed mode works great im used to dealing with crap pc's windowed always works for me
Anyway for me running it in windowed mode works great im used to dealing with crap pc's windowed always works for me
moriz
also, the GMA950 has a "turbo" mode, which you can set via the BIOS. whether your laptop allows you to do anything to the BIOS is another story.
Crimson Flame
How do I access the BIOS to set turbo mode?
moriz
depends on your laptop. for my desktop, i press the del key at bootup to enter bios. refer to your user manual if you still have it.
btw, i take no responsibility if there's no turbo mode. i know that my school's lab computers have this feature, and it uses the GMA950.
btw, i take no responsibility if there's no turbo mode. i know that my school's lab computers have this feature, and it uses the GMA950.
Crimson Flame
No worries. I'm just trying things out. 
Crimson Flame
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Originally Posted by TomLaPrise
you can come out
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Right now I'm running in windowed (I assume 1024x768, no way to specify that) with -noshaders -fps 30 and all graphics except textures at minimum. It seems to be pretty steady at 17-20 fps, so I'll settle for that for now.
Dark Kal
-fps 30 just limits your FPS to 30 frames per second there's no need for you to use it since you're not even getting 30 FPS, remove the command it won't change a thing. Playing on minimal settings/low resolution will be the best option. Also disable anti-aliasing you won't notice much difference.
Aera
Quote:
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Originally Posted by moriz
run GW in a window.
GMA950 should give you playable performance at 1024x768, at minimum graphics (keep texture on high, GW looks terrible with textures on medium or low). |
moriz
1024x768 windowed mode is worse than 1024x768 full screen. however, since the OP has a widescreen display, full screen mode will look horribly distorted. GMA950 SHOULD support maintain aspect ratio, but i could never get it to work properly on my school's lab computers.
btw, were you able to find the turbo feature? it might be something to look into.
btw, were you able to find the turbo feature? it might be something to look into.
Crimson Flame
I went into the BIOS but there wasn't an option to set the processor to turbo mode.
I'm out of town now but when I get home I'll give full screen 1024x768 a try.
I'm out of town now but when I get home I'll give full screen 1024x768 a try.
moriz
actually, you set the GMA into turbo mode. did you look under the onboard graphics settings?
Crimson Flame
I meant GMA, yeah. There was nothing in BIOS that even looked like it would deal with the GMA, and none of the options I had said anything about a turbo mode.
Crimson Flame
Double post to bump this to the top - in the hopes that other users might see this and know what to do.
My computer's actually a little less powerful than the one I originally posted. I'm running on the following:
Intel Dual Core T2060 (1.6 GHz)
Intel GMA950 integrated chipset
Windows Vista Home Premium
1 GB RAM
At max settings, I get a lot of choppiness. I tried all the suggestions, but it didn't seem like running in windowed mode helped. Then I read something online that got me thinking. I know that there had been some issues with GW/Vista compatibility, so I right clicked gw.exe, went to Properties>Compatibility and selected to run GW in XP SP2 compatibility mode. I also checked "Disable Visual Themes" and "Disable Desktop Composition" for good measure. Tutorial can be found here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...tibility-mode/
I reset the game to open in fullscreen mode, and added the -noshaders tag. I'm not positive that'll do much, but it's something you can try. I tinkered with the resolution a little bit and it looks like I can play pretty well at 1280x720. All settings are on lowest, obviously, except for textures which I keep at high. With all of these settings, I run a typical 30-35 fps, and in less graphic-intensive areas (read: sitting right next to a wall or cliff) I bump up to 60+ fps. I don't know how I played this game at 13 fps.
Thanks for your help, everyone. I'm looking forward to having a computer at some point that'll play this well when my settings are maxed.
My computer's actually a little less powerful than the one I originally posted. I'm running on the following:
Intel Dual Core T2060 (1.6 GHz)
Intel GMA950 integrated chipset
Windows Vista Home Premium
1 GB RAM
At max settings, I get a lot of choppiness. I tried all the suggestions, but it didn't seem like running in windowed mode helped. Then I read something online that got me thinking. I know that there had been some issues with GW/Vista compatibility, so I right clicked gw.exe, went to Properties>Compatibility and selected to run GW in XP SP2 compatibility mode. I also checked "Disable Visual Themes" and "Disable Desktop Composition" for good measure. Tutorial can be found here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...tibility-mode/
I reset the game to open in fullscreen mode, and added the -noshaders tag. I'm not positive that'll do much, but it's something you can try. I tinkered with the resolution a little bit and it looks like I can play pretty well at 1280x720. All settings are on lowest, obviously, except for textures which I keep at high. With all of these settings, I run a typical 30-35 fps, and in less graphic-intensive areas (read: sitting right next to a wall or cliff) I bump up to 60+ fps. I don't know how I played this game at 13 fps.
Thanks for your help, everyone. I'm looking forward to having a computer at some point that'll play this well when my settings are maxed.
Quaker
One of the things most often overlooked is the AA (AntiAliasing) setting under the graphics tab.
AA makes the edges of things look smoother, but it requires a lot of GPU power. Make sure that AA is set to off. (Or, if it was set to 4x, set it back to 2x and try that)
AA makes the edges of things look smoother, but it requires a lot of GPU power. Make sure that AA is set to off. (Or, if it was set to 4x, set it back to 2x and try that)
moriz
intel GMAs do not support AA, so there's no need to check.
Dark Kal
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Crimson Flame
I know that there had been some issues with GW/Vista compatibility, so I right clicked gw.exe, went to Properties>Compatibility and selected to run GW in XP SP2 compatibility mode. I also checked "Disable Visual Themes" and "Disable Desktop Composition" for good measure. Tutorial can be found here: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...tibility-mode/
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Crimson Flame
Fair enough. My understanding was that there were still a few kinks to be worked out on full Vista compatibility. Ignore that section, then.
cant.take.a.hint
Get the most RAM you can possibly fit in there.
That helped me a bit when I only had a laptop with integrated graphics.
That helped me a bit when I only had a laptop with integrated graphics.
Dark Kal
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Crimson Flame
Fair enough. My understanding was that there were still a few kinks to be worked out on full Vista compatibility. Ignore that section, then.
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Crimson Flame
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Originally Posted by Dark Kal
There probably are some kinks, my main point was that the article you referenced is aimed more at games a bit older than GW. Didn't mean to sound mean about it though.
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Anyway, lowering the resolution works fine in Tyria and (from what I can tell) Cantha, but I loaded up my paragon and Vabbi was still a bit choppy. Vabbi is supposedly a pretty big graphics hog, correct? I remember there was a problem a while back with some integrated graphics chips getting hung up right after Moddok Crevice, so basically right when they got into the Vabbi area. Luckily mine doesn't have that problem but it does still run a bit rough.
Etta
Yeah Vabbi area uses a certain lighting and effect the doesn't support by most onboard card, same with Gwen as far as I know.
Time for a new cage for your hamster, perhaps? Wouldn't you rather play the game as y'know..."the way it's meant to be play"?
Time for a new cage for your hamster, perhaps? Wouldn't you rather play the game as y'know..."the way it's meant to be play"?
Crimson Flame
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Etta
Yeah Vabbi area uses a certain lighting and effect the doesn't support by most onboard card, same with Gwen as far as I know.
Time for a new cage for your hamster, perhaps? Wouldn't you rather play the game as y'know..."the way it's meant to be play"? |
Etta
Um, I see. Women the bane of gamers everywhere. Can't you buy a cheap pci-e graphic card for your desktop? Load of cheap ones are out and about, not a bad prices as well, about the same as a night out in town. Can't really do much for the laptop sadly.
Crimson Flame
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Etta
Um, I see. Women the bane of gamers everywhere. Can't you buy a cheap pci-e graphic card for your desktop? Load of cheap ones are out and about, not a bad prices as well, about the same as a night out in town. Can't really do much for the laptop sadly.
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Snograt
"Oh but honey, with a desktop, we'll be able to stream movies direct to our TV. I can get a desktop in a colour that will exactly match your décor. All the fans in a desktop will suck all the dust off the rug, no need to vacuum around it. I hear Gladys next door got her husband to get her one..."
Just takes practice
Just takes practice
Crimson Flame
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Snograt
"Oh but honey, with a desktop, we'll be able to stream movies direct to our TV. I can get a desktop in a colour that will exactly match your décor. All the fans in a desktop will suck all the dust off the rug, no need to vacuum around it. I hear Gladys next door got her husband to get her one..."
Just takes practice |
moriz
one thing that puzzles me is why you are getting so little performance out of the GMA950. your performance is similar to my old computer, which is a P4 1gb ram and GMA915. that shouldn't be the case, since your hardware is better.
could vista really make that big of a difference?
could vista really make that big of a difference?
DarkNecrid
Quote:
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Originally Posted by moriz
one thing that puzzles me is why you are getting so little performance out of the GMA950. your performance is similar to my old computer, which is a P4 1gb ram and GMA915. that shouldn't be the case, since your hardware is better.
could vista really make that big of a difference? |
Crimson Flame
Quote:
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Originally Posted by moriz
one thing that puzzles me is why you are getting so little performance out of the GMA950. your performance is similar to my old computer, which is a P4 1gb ram and GMA915. that shouldn't be the case, since your hardware is better.
could vista really make that big of a difference? |
I wish I knew why my performance wasn't better. I didn't feel like the -dx8 did a lot for me, and it made parts of the game look pretty bad, so I took it off. Should I put it back on and see what that does?
Lord Sojar
It is Vista doing this Crimson. It utilizes the GPU systems in a fundamentally different way from XP. It also has embedding technology for programs, similar to MAC OSX.
Go back to XP Pro, and that will fix the issue. Only solution unfortunately, because this is the fault of Vista, not your PC.
Go back to XP Pro, and that will fix the issue. Only solution unfortunately, because this is the fault of Vista, not your PC.
Crimson Flame
Based on what you said, Rahja, I think I understand.
Better graphics cards can handle Vista's different way of utilizing the GPU and still play games well. My GMA 950 can't do both at the same time. I'll see if I can pick up a copy of XP Pro from IU for cheap and hope that solves the problem.
Pity though, I was a big fan of Aero.
Better graphics cards can handle Vista's different way of utilizing the GPU and still play games well. My GMA 950 can't do both at the same time. I'll see if I can pick up a copy of XP Pro from IU for cheap and hope that solves the problem.
Pity though, I was a big fan of Aero.
Lord Sojar
Exactly. You got it, hook line and sinker.
Crimson Flame
Follow up question regarding XP:
If I did install XP, would I have to force GW to run on one core?
If I did install XP, would I have to force GW to run on one core?
moriz
the answer is maybe. it's really hard to tell, since winXP will have the multiple core problem on some machines, and other machines run it just fine.
i installed winXP on my HP laptop (T5450 core 2 duo processor) and it runs it just fine.
i installed winXP on my HP laptop (T5450 core 2 duo processor) and it runs it just fine.
Lord Sojar
I never had to. SP3 seemed to fix that on many peoples' systems. It is hit or miss, like moriz said.
krasusboy
thats not that bad for running guild wars, that laptop, just saying i hav ran it on way worse oens before even a 733 MHZ with 512 mb ram, at lowerst settings without window mode and textures at med, i averaged 15 fps at most non populated places, but thats horrible and its the pasts, i run it on an 8800 GTS now with 2gb ram an da 2.4 ghz procy