Laptop-GPU for GW2?

[Taylan.2187]

I have a pretty neat laptop provided by my workplace, which I can use privately too and therefore use as my primary PC. The CPU is an Intel i7 3740QM and I've got 24 GB of RAM. Only problem is the GPU, which is an Nvidia Quadro K3000M and can't even run the game with 1080p@60fps in the lowest settings. (Lowest except for native sampling instead of subsample.) I've been playing at 30 FPS all this time.

 

Recently I bought myself a 28" 4K monitor. (For when I work from home, primarily.) When I change the settings to subsample I can still play at 30 FPS (and it looks similar to how 1080p looks at native sampling), but when I've already got such a big fat monitor with "retina" sharp graphics I thought I'd like to enjoy the game with better graphics also.

 

I'm no expert on hardware but looked around a bit and can't find a good solution. "Pre-packaged" external GPUs apparently use Thunderbolt 3, an interface my laptop doesn't have, and it's being said that adapters can't help with that. Apparently you can somehow use the M.2 slot of your laptop to connect a GPU (and I think I have a spare M.2 slot), but that means opening the casing of the laptop and messing with obscure M.2 to PCIe adapters.

 

Does anyone know a solution? I'd rather not buy a whole second PC just for GW2. (I don't otherwise play much.)

[godofcows.2451]

I haven't read anything about external gpu adapters in a long time but the last time I did, some models were either taking advantage of pc express card ports (the things on the side) or the pcie made for the wireless card on laptops (which you may or may not have access to depending on laptop model. some laptops do allow easy access to this. like, a small cover with 2 screws.). If you go with the latter, ofc you won't be able to use the wifi chip so you'll probably have to go with other means to get your network. Mind you, i haven't tried any of these so i cannot guarantee anything. Imo, if you really want to via this route, pick one which uses a port which has the biggest bandwidth, and of course you have access to.

 

And some models were already crazy expensive back then. If you're going to spend alot of money on the adapter, you might as well buy a 2nd rig.

[kharmin.7683]

GW2 is CPU intensive, not GPU.

[mickey.2816]

> @"Taylan.2187" said:

> I have a pretty neat laptop provided by my workplace, which I can use privately too and therefore use as my primary PC. The CPU is an Intel i7 3740QM and I've got 24 GB of RAM. Only problem is the GPU, which is an Nvidia Quadro K3000M and can't even run the game with 1080p@60fps in the lowest settings. (Lowest except for native sampling instead of subsample.) I've been playing at 30 FPS all this time.

>

> Recently I bought myself a 28" 4K monitor. (For when I work from home, primarily.) When I change the settings to subsample I can still play at 30 FPS (and it looks similar to how 1080p looks at native sampling), but when I've already got such a big fat monitor with "retina" sharp graphics I thought I'd like to enjoy the game with better graphics also.

>

> I'm no expert on hardware but looked around a bit and can't find a good solution. "Pre-packaged" external GPUs apparently use Thunderbolt 3, an interface my laptop doesn't have, and it's being said that adapters can't help with that. Apparently you can somehow use the M.2 slot of your laptop to connect a GPU (and I think I have a spare M.2 slot), but that means opening the casing of the laptop and messing with obscure M.2 to PCIe adapters.

>

> Does anyone know a solution? I'd rather not buy a whole second PC just for GW2. (I don't otherwise play much.)

 

It is really tough situation you got! First, a 4k monitor requires powerful graphic card to support resolution. Second, a laptop with decent GPU is very expensive (much much more than a PC version while having lower performance because of heat throttle). Third, you can use eGPU but it requires external power unit and a special adapter. As you have noticed, there are three interfaces: thunderbolt, M.2 slot, and mini PCI slot. The performance on M2 suffers a bit, but at least it is cheaper than buying a new PC.

I suggest you take on the egpu route as it is the least expensive investment to upgrade your rig. However, do make intensive research: which adapter slot to buy, which GPU is supported, and whether the external power unit can supply enough Wattage. Beside, you can buy the power unit and GPU, then keep them for future PC assemble in case you want a full-out system. The only non-recoverable cost is the eGPU adapter itself.

[Taylan.2187]

To be clear, there's no possibility other than Thunderbolt to connect an eGPU without having the casing of the laptop open while using it, right? The M.2 to PCIe adapters like "Beast" require me to keep the laptop's casing open (or create the necessary holes myself)? I don't want to go that far to be honest...

 

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> GW2 is CPU intensive, not GPU.

 

It might not be nearly as GPU-intensive as some other games, and it might be more CPU-intensive than it is GPU-intensive, but it's still somewhat GPU-intensive. It's not Minecraft after all. :-) The Win10 process monitor shows the GPU at 70-80% at very low settings when I'm idling in the game, and it quickly hits 90-100% when I attempt to turn the graphics up. Laptop GPUs are just terrible.

[TheQuickFox.3826]

Not much you can do to fix this. You have a professional mid-range to high-end GPU but it is quite old, from 2012. You will probably find that most older area's in the game run at good performance (central Tyria) but that the performance drops significantly with a lot of action and in any of the newer areas.

 

These GPUs can be upgraded but this is a task for highly skilled technicians only, as it requires you to get 100% compatible MXM cards, which need to be BIOS compatible with your notebook, withing the power requirements of your notebook and have the same layout for the cooler to work. Most of these upgrade projects fail due to various compatibility problems.

 

Generally it is cheaper and much safer to buy a secondhand gaming/workstation notebook with a more powerful GPU.

[Hot Boy.7138]

> @"kharmin.7683" said:

> GW2 is CPU intensive, not GPU.

 

people say this, but fact is pretty much any cpu above an i5 2500 is good enough for Gw2. Now that's a 7- 8 year old processor. Upgrading to a newer, more recent processor isn't going to give you more FPS than upgrading from 8 year old video card to a more recent video card. I'm running a gtx 1050, 2gb version, and i'm playing on high settings at about 20 fps to 60fps. I get around 30 to 34 fps in the grove with character limit set to lowest and i get about 60 steady fps in pvp. I play 1080p. If i were to upgrade to lets say a gtx 1080, i'd say a huge increase in performance at high/ultra settings at the same resolution.

 

OP, get yourself a better gpu. I'd say go for a gtx 1060 if you play on playing 1080p resolution. and you can get something a little better if you wanna play in 4k one day. i think your processor is fine and you can ignore people regurgitating wrong information about gw2 not being gpu intensive. Getting a better gpu would be the best upgrade you can make for yourself right now. I don't play on a laptop so idk how difficult it is to upgrade a gpu in one, but i think that will be more than enough for you to get some good fps at high settings.

[XenoSpyro.1780]

You really don't need that much power for the game to run. I've previously ran on an 850m and 465. You have to check in the NV control panel if the game is even using the right graphic processor. In-game, disable Shadows, Reflections, use the lowest model count, and turn on the Limit effects tick.

 

> @"Hot Boy.7138" said:

> people say this, but fact is pretty much any cpu above an i5 2500 is good enough for Gw2

10000 Volatile magic says this game can run on a Core2 or i3.

 

[sorudo.9054]

lowering your resolution helps tons, before i had my 1080 i had a 770 and believe me, lowering the res increases the FPS by half after every lowering.

[JackassTheX.6351]

> @"Hot Boy.7138" said:

> > @"kharmin.7683" said:

> > GW2 is CPU intensive, not GPU.

>

> people say this, but fact is pretty much any cpu above an i5 2500 is good enough for Gw2.

 

Resolution and in-game situation is a big "depends" here.

 

I've been watching my FPS on and off for a while after I bought my new PC (8700k, GTX 1080 Ti, 16GB RAM) and I found that usually during open-world roaming it sits betwen 60-120FPS, depending on map and how much action there is. During busy metas like Palawadan and GH, I get around 30FPS. That's on 1440p with everything maxed out except the character model settings (lowest limit, low quality).

 

I spoke with a guy that had the same processor and RAM quantity (8700k, 16GB), yet he ran a GTX 1060. He was playing the game at 4k with the same settings and we both got 30FPS avg. in the same GH event (he said he usually hits 60 max during open world). So he was using a much higher resolution and a video card that is much cheaper and less powerful than mine, and we had the same framerate* during busy moments - so yeah, I'd say GW2 is very much CPU intensive, at least in high player count situations, which makes sense because the game has the CPU do a LOT of calculations before rendering them.

 

I'm not saying you need a crazy powerful PC (GW2 isn't the reason I bought such a rig, it's a game from 2012, that would be nuts), I just wanted to share my experience in how the game scales with powerful processors vs. GPUs. If I were you, I'd get an i5 + 1060 combo like Hot Boy said and call it a day.

 

*I believed him, anyway, didn't seem like he was bragging or anything, we were discussing specs and framerates like normal people, he didn't whisp me with "omg pleb I play @4k with 1060 nub" or anything like that

 

 

[Taylan.2187]

Today I discovered that my laptop has an ExpressCard/54 slot after all. ^^ Feel a bit stupid, but it's kinda hidden, on an inwards slope of the laptop's casing, and below some USB ports, where I didn't expect to be any additional ports.

 

Apparently ExpressCard/54 has less bandwidth than Thunderbolt 3, but it seems to be my only option. Now I have to decide on a GPU...

 

I think I'll see that I get a second-hand 1060 for cheap... It's OK if I don't run the game at max settings. I hope it'll at least give me a relatively consistent 60fps at decent graphics settings.

[ArmoredVehicle.2849]

@"Taylan.2187" Your CPU is decent enough to play the game, it's a mobile CPU so don't expect a constant 60 FPS, not even mid range desktop can do that in this game. A GTX 1060 is a bit too much for this game, a 1050Ti is a bit cheaper and satisfies the game well enough and should be easier on your wallet.

 

At the end keep in mind that this game is CPU intensive, so any performance drop doesn't automatically put the GPU at fault.

[Taylan.2187]

Thanks for the responses. I now got a second-hand GTX 770 from a friend for 50 Euro, which I'll test with the ExpressCard eGPU adapter I've bought for another 30 Euro.

 

Now just waiting for shipment of a "6 pin male to 6 pin male + 8 pin male" power cable (3 Euro) which apparently I need to connect the "extra power output" pins of the eGPU adapter to the "extra power input" pins of the graphic's card because PCI-E 16x doesn't offer enough wattage:

https://www.banggood.com/de/6-PIN-Graphics-Card-Cable-for-EXP-GDC-Beast-Laptop-External-Independent-Video-Card-Dock-p-1032795.html

 

Also bought a cheap 450 Watt PSU for 17 Euro, which I may or may not need in the end because the eGPU adapter can be powered just as well with a 12V AC/DC adapter of which I already had one lying around.

 

Together with the PSU I'm at 100 Euro, which is definitely a lot cheaper than if I had bought a small gaming PC. Here's to hoping it works out. Will post an update if I don't forget. ^^

[kharmin.7683]

> @"ArmoredVehicle.2849" said:

> At the end keep in mind that this game is CPU intensive...

 

Gee, now where have I heard this before? :)

[godofcows.2451]

> @"Taylan.2187" said:

> Thanks for the responses. I now got a second-hand GTX 770 from a friend for 50 Euro, which I'll test with the ExpressCard eGPU adapter I've bought for another 30 Euro.

>

> Now just waiting for shipment of a "6 pin male to 6 pin male + 8 pin male" power cable (3 Euro) which apparently I need to connect the "extra power output" pins of the eGPU adapter to the "extra power input" pins of the graphic's card because PCI-E 16x doesn't offer enough wattage:

> https://www.banggood.com/de/6-PIN-Graphics-Card-Cable-for-EXP-GDC-Beast-Laptop-External-Independent-Video-Card-Dock-p-1032795.html

>

> Also bought a cheap 450 Watt PSU for 17 Euro, which I may or may not need in the end because the eGPU adapter can be powered just as well with a 12V AC/DC adapter of which I already had one lying around.

>

> Together with the PSU I'm at 100 Euro, which is definitely a lot cheaper than if I had bought a small gaming PC. Here's to hoping it works out. Will post an update if I don't forget. ^^

 

Looks like i was a late. you already have a video card for it. Hopefully it's good.

I would not advise you to get a high end video card for this in the future even if the model of your adapter supports it. There is a reason why this kind of tech never really got off to market domination levels since it's inception in china a decade ago and until now. The tech relies on a in-between port to transfer data from your card which was made for high speed high bandwidth ports to your computer. And these ports are usually slower. I am not familiar with m.2, but everything else is considerably slower. So even if you have something high end, all of the data just won't fit and will probably create a bottleneck in which i have no idea how the adapter's system will take care of or adjust to. It's just not possible and have been the issue since back then and until now, although we do have faster ports right now. So imo, the trick is just finding that sweet spot between card models and whatever the port you're using can take. The better the port, the more options you've got that wouldn't be a waste of extra money.

 

Also try and see if you can reach the wifi card port in your computer. that shoud be faster than your pc express slot. Maybe even usb 3 if your model supports it.

 

I'm pretty sure you've probably come across this forum already but in case not, and you have a bit more in depth questions, these guys might have the better experience in the tech since they dabble on more DIYs on it.

https://egpu.io/forums/diy-discussions/

[TinkTinkPOOF.9201]

There is no solution without a Thunderbolt connection, nothing exists with the bandwidth and latency to support a eGPU other than Thunderbolt right now.

 

People are correct that GW2 is not GPU intensive, HOWEVER, you do still NEED a GPU. The GPU in your laptop is NOT a gaming GPU, it is a pro GPU, meaning it's main reason for existing is crunching numbers for business and scientific programs, however their gaming ability is a fraction of their desktop brothers. If you laptop had a 1050Ti or the like, it would do much better, right now the GPU is the bottle neck, moving to a 1050Ti or better and the CPU will end up being the bottleneck in most GW2 situations. a 1050Ti would be about 320% faster than the K3000M in your laptop.