Few Techie Questions from Someone Without a Clue!

All my questions are GW2 related. If all goes well, it will be my game of choice for many, many years to come. I'm hoping to get an idea if I need to save up for better parts and have supplied my system info below along with a few questions.

I purchased a Dell through their dents and scratches site. In doing so, you save a bit of money but, unless you pay more to add stuff (obviously), it pretty much comes however it was originally ordered by the original purchaser. I could have added stuff but really I don't know what I'm doing. I know that I have 1 TB of disc space, 18 GB of RAM and will be able to add/improve parts if/when needed. My processor is Intel(R) Core(TM)i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz and my graphics card is a ATI Radeon HD 5670.

Can someone tell me if FPS means Frames Per Second and if so, what is considered a good FPS?

What is the difference between CPU vs GPU usage and how do I tell which my computer is using?

I really like my graphics set to high and haven't had any issues with how my computer runs GW2 but we haven't hit launch yet. So, if end up with problems graphically post launch, how can I affordably improve them?

Finally, I've read that a power source should be rated a certain number ... not sure what. What and Why is that and how do you improve it without purchasing another?

Thanks in advance!

Myk

p.s. I may have more questions in the future! :)

Question: Did you get in on yesterday's stress test and run the game on best quality? If not can you do it in today's stress test? This is pretty close to what it will be like for release graphics wise. Question: Do you know how much RAM your graphics card has? I know I'm doing okay with 1GB on mine. You might have more for the model of card you have, but I'm not that familiar with the Radeon. I tell my CPU usage through task manager. I have a program that came with my graphics card that tells me usage and temperature. Not sure what is in your setup nor know your graphics card well. I do know your setup is better than mine and my system runs the game just fine on best quality. Only bad thing with my older system is I think the processor is part of the issue of why it downloads slower because the speed for GW2 does incorporate the processing with how it applies the files in the delivery system to the client. Your power supply should have a wattage at least 200W over the minimum required for your card just so that there is a buffer. I know I bought my new graphics card and it claimed to work with the minimum of a 400W power supply, but it burned out the connection. I got a good power supply when it was on sale so now have 750W which is within the range of the power setup for a lot of newer systems I looked at. If you open the case and look at the power supply it should have a number with a W following it to tell you the size of your power supply. With the game I think FPS below 20 is where it definitely has issues in higher demand areas and situations. Per the beta yesterday, this info for the game is tucked away on the bottom right hand corner when you open the options window. With my system, standing still in PvE, Brisban Wildlands, I had around 52 and usually around 40ish when moving. If in a fight with a lot of dazzling stuff going off, it slipped into the 30's. This is far better than what I was getting in earlier beta's and stress tests. Think they had a lot of the graphics optimization done for BWE3. I can't tell you what your system will have, but if you can get in the beta from 4pm - 8pm pst today you should be able to check your FPS in the options window. Okay, this ends my extent of techno babble for you. I'm sure others may be able to expound further if they have a system closer to yours. I just know my system is actually less powerful than yours and I can run on best quality just fine.

Can someone tell me if FPS means Frames Per Second and if so, what is considered a good FPS? FPS is in fact frames per second. "The limit of human perception: There is no reason to show more frames per second than the viewer can perceive. The exact limit of human motion perception is still up for scientific debate, but it is generally agreed that there is an upper threshold after which people can’t appreciate the difference." (Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual) The general opinion is that 60+ FPS is good. Some people get 80 - 100+ depending on equipment. However, I have noticed that many MMORPG's require much less FPS than say many war games like Call of Duty in multi-player mode. Also remember: turning up the eye candy to maximum, enabling 8x Anti-Aliasing, 1600x1200 resolutions, and so on can have a HUGE impact on frames per second. Playing FEAR at 1024x768 with no AA will get you MUCH more FPS than playing FEAR at 1600x1200 with 8xAA for example. What is the difference between CPU vs GPU usage and how do I tell which my computer is using? CPU usage is how much of your Intel(R) Core(TM)i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz is being used. CPU: Central Processing Unit. GPU usage is how much of your ATI Radeon HD 5670 is being used. GPU: Graphics Processing Unit. Your computer is always using both - it just uses more or less depending on what you're doing on the machine at the time. If you're actually asking how you can see what the numbers look like or how much of each you are using at any given time, you can d-load and install a free simple GPU / CPU monitor to show what percentages of each are being used. There are other programs that will show more information. I forget which one i was using when i bench tested my machine after i built it but i can go look it up again ....It's been a while! rofl!! ...So, if end up with problems graphically post launch, how can I affordably improve them? Affordably???? IMO - You can't honestly. The best GFX Cards are really expensive. This is the reason I am still using two now low end G-Force cards in SLI mode. I'm also only using an overclocked Intel Quad Core Processor. Best advice I can give, is to call ATI if you have issues and ask if they have an upgrade program available. you may be able to get discounted prices that way. I LOVE EVGA's equipment so I'm partial to them but - they have an upgrade program and I saved more than a few hundred dollars upgrading my motherboard and GFX cards through their program. Refurb units are usually dependable too now-a-days and come with a return policy if you have problems shortly after you install the unit. Finally, I've read that a power source should be rated a certain number ... There's a lot to consider with power supplies. It's like one of the most important things in the box and almost everyone overlooks them when building a system LOL - sad....but none the less true. OK.....Without over complicating things - hahahaha - the newer power supplies are like "80 Plus Gold" rated. The new power supply standard is now "ATX12V Compliant". This is because as GPU's and CPU's became more and more modernized, more and more power and power rails were needed to run them. I don't know of any way to upgrade a PSU without replacing it. Here's a link to help you understand things better with PS units: http://compreviews.about.com/od/cases/bb/PSU.htm I really hope this helps a little. Feel free to ask away if you need something else. If I can help, of course I will. Slainte!

» Edited on: 2012-08-10 05:07:49

Wow! You think something isn't that complicated but it really is! You both are great for explaining all this to me and I appreciate the time it took. As I mentioned, my computer has been running GW2 fine so far and I've had no issues other than server side during the last two stress tests when I got disconnected constantly - which was happening to just about everyone from what I've read. Again, from what I've read (maybe I should stop reading) people talk alot about the GPU, CPU, power sources and FPS and ahhhh!!!! all sorts of other stuff I'm sure I don't understand... and all seem to be doing nothing but complain that this or that is wrong. So, all that complaining made me wonder if I bought a computer that was sub-par for GW2. I suppose I should just go with the fact that I don't have any issues to speak of - at least not yet. I'll check my FPS tonite and I'm trying to figure out how to see how much RAM my graphics card has as well as checking the wattage of the power supply. Thanks so much to both of you for your very detailed replies. They were both helpful and gave me some things to think about :)

Note that movies are 24 fps. AC power is on a 60 Hz, and there's 60 Hz refresh on most monitors, which you generally can't see with your central field of view. So understand that a lot of the push for super high fps is cuz it's fun to play with hardware, not that it actually looks better. Your system is super. The graphics card is the weaker link, but it's in no way a weak link. I'd say just get ready to have fun, unless you have money you really want to spend (let's face it, buying toys is fun), or want to play more graphically-challenging games than GW2 and other MMOs.

Thanks, Mulch, that put things into perspective. I am able to play pretty well. I put graphics on high last night and even with all the lag - it was horrible for me - I was able to play and enjoy the game. I did check my FPS and was getting 25 FPS on high settings with it shooting up to 50 on balanced settings. However, I am going to stop reading those posts that are cranking me up into thinking I'm doomed to blow up my computer, lol. Since my current plan is to play GW2 forever (hehe) and I don't have money to toss away on a graphics card just to "compete with the Jone's" I'll enjoy GW2 and stop worrying!! Thanks to each of you, I have definitely come away from this with a bit more knowledge about computers than I had before! Myk

So what we learned about FPS in grad school (Graphics Specialist program) is that the human eye processes images at approximately 28 +/- 4 "FPS". Its in quotes because the eye doesn't actually process every rod or cone every pass. The composition of images is done using carry over. Which means your eye doesn't actually clear the frame buffer so to speak. Instead it accumulates values. If you move your eyes quickly you may notice a blur effect. Same deal. Because of this processing rate, anything around or about 30 FPS on a machine provides nominal visual quality. That why 30 is the acceptable minimum. Now signal processing theory tells us that the most reliable sampling rate is double that of the signal frequency. Since the eyes sample at approximately 30 fps, the transmission rate of 15 FPS or higher will result in an approximately smooth (non-jittery) visual appearance. In practice you need about 20 FPS to not really be bothered by the jitter. So with this info, why the stress for 60 FPS or higher in FPS games.. love those two acronyms. First person shooters rely on pixel specific accuracy. While the brain doesn't process any faster than 30 FPS, the data set you process is lagged by approximately 1 frame. Because it takes 33ms to generate a 30 FPS frame, and then your eye must capture the data and process it (another 1-30 ms depending on confluence of sample rates). So you can have up to 60 ms of lag between the data validity and visual processing of that data. The shorter time between frames, the less machine induced lag you'll have. So 60 FPS on the machine gives a 16ms basis, 120 FPS gives an 8ms basis, 240 FPS gives 4ms basis. At the 120 - 240 FPS point you're communications lag overtakes frame generation lag. Once that happens farther FPS gets you nothing because you're just producing the same frame twice or more in a row. Now here's the academic disclaimer. Humans are not all created equal. The fastest human reaction time to visual stimuli has been clocked around 10ms. (as of the study we read in 2006) This is not to computer generated stimuli, but rather physical motion. So there's no good way of telling if that aligned with just the right moment when the eye was processing, or if that person's eye processed at 100+ "FPS". But it's just a data point to remember. Why study this? Because people get headaches when they work and play on computers. And the primary cause of this was refresh rates on monitors. The harder the brain has to work to compose a scene the more the headache the person gets. Now LCDs have greatly overtaken CRTs and their always on pixels have mostly eliminated the need for the brain's carry over compensation with computer screens. In essence the brain is no longer blending blank and color every other frame. Anyway, i'm rambling at this point :).