SCII as an excuse for new hardware?

Dacian · 23-07-2010 09:07AM #1

Wondering is anyone upgrading their machine for Starcraft II.....or merely using SCII as an excuse for an upgrade.

Starcraft II Min/Rec Specs:
CPU- 2.6Ghz P4/Dual Core 2.4Ghz
CPU Speed- 2.6 Ghz
RAM- 2Gb/2Gb
Hard Drive- 12Gb/12Gb
Video card- 128Mb GeForce 6600/512Mb GeForce 8800

I am planning to buy a new laptop in a couple of months. Currently saving a bit. My current laptop should run SCII. I checked online and it shows 'fail' for SCII under graphics, but I was able to run DoWII which also shows 'fail'. Am a bit anxious but even to play single player for a few weeks until I upgrade will be survivable.

I was looking at the Alienware M11x (E916 in the airport) however it has an Intel Core i3 1.3Ghz,so on paper it can't run SCII. But the reviews states that it can run Crysis and Call of Duty on full graphics. Surely SCII would be less CPU intensive than those?

Scráib · 23-07-2010 10:20AM

The specs for SC2 don't seem to be that heavy, and I'm sure as with most games that you could change a few settings on the game and your machine that would make it run smoother.

I've a four year old Macbook Pro. Back in the day it was pretty powerful, these days it hits the minimum requirements for SC2 square on the head so I'm interested to see how well it will cope with this game. Well enough I'm hoping!

As for your question, I won't be upgrading. If I could add more RAM I would but apparently the max my machine could take is 2GB.

It should be a great game but a game isn't an excuse for me to buy a new machine, particularly when I'd be buying a mac which requires you to donate your limbs and take out a mortgage first.

Jonny7 · 23-07-2010 10:31AM

You dont need to upgrade if you are playing with the 8800GT

The game can run on super low specs.. and in fact when I was playing I preferred the lower setting after awhile because everything was so nice and clear

gearoidof · 23-07-2010 01:03PM

Dow2 is more graphics intensive than SC2.

Hijacking of thread, anyone seen the Razer SC2 gear?
http://www2.razerzone.com/sc2/index.php

notification lighting is pretty epic :P

Gummy Panda · 23-07-2010 01:12PM

gearoidof wrote: »

Dow2 is more graphics intensive than SC2.

Hijacking of thread, anyone seen the Razer SC2 gear?
http://www2.razerzone.com/sc2/index.php

notification lighting is pretty epic :P

Yep. I want to order them.

Amazon.co.uk haven't started stocking them yet and I don't know many reliable sites for ordering Razer gear from.

DirkVoodoo · 23-07-2010 01:13PM

Yeah it doesn't really tax the system. It's not as heavy as the likes of supreme commander which was a drain on both CPU and GFX with it's massive levels, dual monitor support and simulated hits.

Blizzard are smart, they are making a game that is visually quite beautiful and unique through art design rather than cutting edge technology. They want it played on as many PCs as possible rather than forcing people to choose between upgrading or not playing.

Jonny7 · 23-07-2010 03:38PM

Dacian wrote: »

Wondering is anyone upgrading their machine for Starcraft II.....or merely using SCII as an excuse for an upgrade.

Starcraft II Min/Rec Specs:
CPU- 2.6Ghz P4/Dual Core 2.4Ghz
CPU Speed- 2.6 Ghz
RAM- 2Gb/2Gb
Hard Drive- 12Gb/12Gb
Video card- 128Mb GeForce 6600/512Mb GeForce 8800

I am planning to buy a new laptop in a couple of months. Currently saving a bit. My current laptop should run SCII. I checked online and it shows 'fail' for SCII under graphics, but I was able to run DoWII which also shows 'fail'. Am a bit anxious but even to play single player for a few weeks until I upgrade will be survivable.

I was looking at the Alienware M11x (E916 in the airport) however it has an Intel Core i3 1.3Ghz,so on paper it can't run SCII. But the reviews states that it can run Crysis and Call of Duty on full graphics. Surely SCII would be less CPU intensive than those?

Oops didnt read your full post

Okay, any processor from the last 5 years plus a gaming graphics card and you will be fine as the game doesn't require huge settings.

There are a lot of lemons out there regarding the graphics cards, so just look up a review from a decent review site

There are now plenty of gaming laptops well able to play SC2.. of course a desktop is going to be better, but both should be fine

silvine · 24-07-2010 04:58PM

I've an iMac so upgrading is not really an option. It's only got a HD Radeon 2600 card which is just above minimum specs. Although it's is a Core 2 Duo and has 4GB RAM so I reckon I'll be okay.

B00MSTICK · 24-07-2010 08:45PM

Im playing the beta on my Vaio with a 1.8ghz C2D and an 8400m so I'm sure the majority of peoples machines won't need upgrading.

As others have said it doesn't seem to be a resource hog

Sephiroth_dude · 24-07-2010 11:24PM

B00MSTICK wrote: »

As others have said it doesn't seem to be a resource hog

Thank god for that.

Scráib · 25-07-2010 11:23AM

I really really hope my machine can handle this game. Someone on another forum pointed out that for whatever reason the mac specs are higher than the PC ones, and since my machine is an older mac laptop..

Yonks ago I played Baldur's gate on a the first iMac (The raw power of a 233Mhz processor, seems laughable now!) and it was slow, buggy and crashed every five minutes. I don't want a repeat performance, I really want to enjoy the game, not just play it.

koHd · 25-07-2010 12:19PM

Dell Vostro 1500 laptop with 8600m GT was well worth the €600 I paid 3 years ago. Plays everything I want it to.

Sure you can get them now second hand dirt cheap.

Handy for having in your bag for LANs. Ready at all times

gearoidof · 25-07-2010 12:44PM

SC2 works fine on my MBP 13", don't worry

RealistSpy · 26-07-2010 05:54PM

gearoidof wrote: »

Dow2 is more graphics intensive than SC2.

Hijacking of thread, anyone seen the Razer SC2 gear?
http://www2.razerzone.com/sc2/index.php

notification lighting is pretty epic :P

That is some expensive keyboard :O

RoyalMarine · 27-07-2010 01:18AM

jesus i want that keyboard!

Overheal · 27-07-2010 03:50PM

it really is light on resources and i\when all else fails you can opt to render the game in 2D.

SCII as an excuse for new hardware?

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