The PC Builder's Guide

[Aquanaut]

or same build but with the cheaper motherboard
Gigabyte 890GPA UD3H ~135$
review
http://guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-8...-890gx-review/

Do you think AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition be compatible ? At this price, it's a good deal to me.

Thanks in advance.

[KorsaiiR]

well for obvious performance increase it is necessary

Well yes, ofc.
However, I'm actually not a heavy gamer.
I'm looking for SC2, which doesn't require too much, definately not a 6core.
No, I'm not going to play Crysis either? =)

So essentially, I don't think I need that great of a processor for SC2.
Unless I'm totally wrong, then please correct me.

[KorsaiiR]

Okay, I REALLY need your guys' help on this one... my computer pretty much cannot run SCII. It's making me SO mad. I don't have a lot of money, but I was looking into upgrading some things, just so I can run it (it doesn't even have to be pretty, just RUN THE DAMN GAME.).

Currently, it's a laptop, Dell Inspiron 1420
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo CPU T7100 @1.80 Ghz
Graphics Card Model: Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Graphics Card Driver: IGDUMD32.DLL
2 gigs of ram, plenty of room on hard drive

I don't know what to do, I lag out of EVERY GAME, even when the server and my connection are fine...

What can I upgrade cheaply to make the game playable!??! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

Here's the problem, Chameleon.
It's a LAPTOP.
I don't know about you, but I don't think it's possible to swap parts from a laptop. The space inside is sooo confined that you'll need an expert.

As for your specs, funny enough, it's similar to the laptop I'm currently using.
I'm @ Core2D 1.83Ghz, 3GB, Crap integrated GPU.

I don't think you're GB is the problem., but I would say that 2 is minimum.
However, 1.8Ghz definately doesn't work.
If you google: "starcraft 2 specs', you'll get all the specifications that you need.
According to that site, you need 2.6 Pentium4 or better.
As for your GPU, I believe that it's integrated, which simply means that it sucks. Which leads you to the greatest problem, that you're video card is too weak to play SC2, Again, refer to the specs posted.

Bottom Line
It's not possible to upgrade your laptop. If you wish to play SC2, you're going to need to buy/build another CPU, preferably a desktop so you can upgrade in the future. - (That's what I'm doing)

And just for the heck of it, SC2 Specs here:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/artic...rticleId=26242

Have a good day.

[mikill]

Korsair is correct. It is not possible to upgrade it, and even if it was possible it wouldn't be worth it. I will tell you with Dell, it not what they tell you that you should be worried about, it is what they do not. Example: You could have the best looking Mustang, but the engine could be a four-cylinder 3.6 litre engine. The same idea goes for computers you could have the fastest processor on the market, but if your motherboard is crap you will not get full performance. Get me?

[Chameleon]

Bums... oh well... thanks for the help.

The GOOD news is, my friend is giving me a bunch of crap and helping me to build a desktop, as per your suggestions! Again, my budget is limited, but I do have some good parts already, but what I need is the processor and a video card/ etc.

On a college-kid budget... what do you recommend?

[imdrunkontea]

Okay, I REALLY need your guys' help on this one... my computer pretty much cannot run SCII. It's making me SO mad. I don't have a lot of money, but I was looking into upgrading some things, just so I can run it (it doesn't even have to be pretty, just RUN THE DAMN GAME.).

Currently, it's a laptop, Dell Inspiron 1420
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo CPU T7100 @1.80 Ghz
Graphics Card Model: Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Graphics Card Driver: IGDUMD32.DLL
2 gigs of ram, plenty of room on hard drive

I don't know what to do, I lag out of EVERY GAME, even when the server and my connection are fine...

What can I upgrade cheaply to make the game playable!??! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

There's not much you can do to a laptop to make it a better game machine, unfortunately. All you can really do is upgrade the HD and the ram, but it won't really make a difference with your setup because your laptop lacks a dedicated gpu.

If all you want is a playable sc2 (that is, low graphics and everything) you could probably build a desktop pc for $300-$400 that will run the game on medium settings.

edit: sorry for some reason I didn't see the posts above me. if it helps at all, I took advice from this thread and bought the parts for a ~$800 desktop (refer to post #9 by Xyvik) and assembling it was pretty straightforward.

[spychi]

Do you think AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition be compatible ? At this price, it's a good deal to me.

Thanks in advance.

yes it is and it will set you with the 6core CPU's
@Korsair
6core will bring you better perfmormance than with the 4core CPU's from AMD
and you are set with it for the next years

[imdrunkontea]

random question: I just built a new computer, and I'm wondering if it would be OK to hook the new pc, my old laptop, and the external monitor to the same power strip. my new pc has a 600 W power supply, if that's any indicator.

[spychi]

random question: I just built a new computer, and I'm wondering if it would be OK to hook the new pc, my old laptop, and the external monitor to the same power strip. my new pc has a 600 W power supply, if that's any indicator.

not via PSU directly, but via USB

[imdrunkontea]

not via PSU directly, but via USB

er, I meant, if I had a power strip connected to a wall outlet, would it be ok to plug both my desktop and laptop into it at the same time? like, would it draw too much power or anything like that?

sorry for the noob question, but I had a surge protector fry out on me recently so I'm nervous about this kind of stuff.