The PC Builder's Guide

[Xyvik]

http://www.legionhardware.com/articl...ormance,8.html

I just found this awesome set of tests. You should definitely add this into the OP

yeah it's mentioned in several places, but their tests and numbers do not wholly match my own in several instances, therefore I cannot recommend it as anything more than a guideline, except for their recommendation of the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, which is a beautiful card for the price.

[Hammy]

Ah alright. Sorry got lazy and didn't read through the thread. Don't want to get depressed about how much my own computer sucks

Actually the most relevant point to me is that, unlike most FPS games, SC2 performance revolves around CPU quality a lot. I think that's something that should be pointed out to anyone who intends on purchasing a new computer mostly for SC2.

[Xyvik]

Ah alright. Sorry got lazy and didn't read through the thread. Don't want to get depressed about how much my own computer sucks

Actually the most relevant point to me is that, unlike most FPS games, SC2 performance revolves around CPU quality a lot. I think that's something that should be pointed out to anyone who intends on purchasing a new computer mostly for SC2.

Aye, most RTS games are CPU intensive because of all the units, but only a few of the actual graphics settings are reflected on the CPU.

Also, for some reason the i7s and SC2 don't get along, so if you're getting a killer CPU I'd recommend either an i5 or (my preference) a Phenom II X4 965. Win7 64 bit so you can have more than 4 gigs of RAM always helps, and a 5770 or higher will play this game like a dream.

[spychi]

the i7 isssue is not that bad, from my experience if it wasn't for the 5870 vapor-x I have, it would be a huge issue, the GPU gives a great kick of performance

[EvilGenius]

Can anyone recommend a laptop that would run sc2? (It's REALLY for school, but...)

1. I'd like it to be thin, and light - smaller the better

2. Graphics settings don't matter - I just want a decent framerate.

3. I'd like to stay under $600

[Xyvik]

If this is too large or too heavy, let me know, but I've used one of these in the past and it was pretty dang good for the price. The mobility Radeon 4000 series actually handles stuff pretty good. I haven't had a chance to play SC2 with one, though, so I can't guarantee what it's performance will be, I'm afraid.

HP Laptop

[EvilGenius]

I was thinking more in the 11-13" range. I was actually pretty impressed by the HP Mini 311 running the game (after overclocking the atom to 2.0ghz)

The only drawback on that notebook for me is the glossy finish (i can't stand fingerprints)

This had me thinking more towards the Lenovo x100e - but that notebook seems to have heat issues (the bottom of the notebook gets up to 61* C) which would seem to be BAD for the GPU in the long-run. (maybe i'm wrong?)

A 12-13" notebook would be great too - I just can't seem to find that many without Intel video.

[Xyvik]

I was thinking more in the 11-13" range. I was actually pretty impressed by the HP Mini 311 running the game (after overclocking the atom to 2.0ghz)

The only drawback on that notebook for me is the glossy finish (i can't stand fingerprints)

This had me thinking more towards the Lenovo x100e - but that notebook seems to have heat issues (the bottom of the notebook gets up to 61* C) which would seem to be BAD for the GPU in the long-run. (maybe i'm wrong?)

A 12-13" notebook would be great too - I just can't seem to find that many without Intel video.

Okay, gotcha. Well, the Atom is positively terrible when it comes to...well, just about anything really (lol). And finding non-Intel video for a decent price is pretty hard in the notebook/netbook places. I'll keep looking for you, but at the moment I haven't seen any deals that jump out at me.

And yes, hot components = bad. They wear out faster and don't perform up to their specs when they overheat.

[EvilGenius]

Yeah, i think i might just wait a month or two - Ion 2 starts shipping in june (dual core atom + geforce 310)

Hopefully that'll be a big enough performance boost to run on low-med. settings...

[Hammy]

Yeah, i think i might just wait a month or two - Ion 2 starts shipping in june (dual core atom + geforce 310)

Hopefully that'll be a big enough performance boost to run on low-med. settings...

I've acquired a lenovo U330 second hand recently. Cost me almost nothing since a friend had no use for it and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

It's about $600 retail, and runs the game just fine unless you want ultra. Haven't done many tests since I prefer the low settings anyways, but I've got most settings to low, except terrain at medium and effects at high, and I play in windowed mode while streaming TV on my dual screen most of the time. With this set up I get 50FPS on SC2. Without windowed mode I can push up everything to medium/high and keep a stable 20FPS iirc. Just to say it seems to be able to handle SC2 while allowing you to multitask. A great fit imo. And with the swappable GPUs I'm liking it a lot for school since you can save up lots of battery time (though with it' core2duo you'll be using more energy than an atom obviously, but they really aren't comparable at all... atoms are so slow...).
Feel free to ask away if you've got any other questions.