SC2 Build Ideas Please

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dragonrage

dragonrage

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
36
0
10,530
Ive had a previous build that was only able to handle medium to high setting on Sc2, I would like specs and builds that is solely directed to a SC2 desktop. Not crossfired, No SSD, and perferably low HDD, Would like 1 graphic card used and budget of about $1000, Including build, OS, Monitor, Keyboard, and mouse. Open to all your opinions, I am currenlty using a alienware M11x . Im just more of a desktop person. Nothing unessasary that is outside of what I am concerned about, as long as it plays Sc2 on ultra very smooth than I would be satisfied, as well as a Intel CPU. I greatly appreciate getting advice from yall, Ive built 2 computers however still feel extremely new in this topic. Great hobby, but even better if the build does what I aim towards. Thank you in advance.
 
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Deemo13

Deemo13

Splendid
Jul 18, 2011
8,087
0
31,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.00 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($205.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $830.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-20 15:32 EDT-0400)

I left $150ish for a monitor, since I'm not really good with picking monitors.
 
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dragonrage

dragonrage

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
36
0
10,530


Wow I like this build. Im just curious what would be different from i7 and the 3000 series. Also would that psu supply be good enough to handle this system.? I only say this because I had a crossfire xfx 6850 with a 900w psu . Keep in mind im still new to all this computer hardware. Would like to be 100 percent certain on this system before investing it
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,024
213
46,040
you're problem is 2 fold. SC2 is a horribly optimized game with a lot of gamestopping issues. i can put together a build that SHOULD hit 60fps easily. however, as anyone who's played it can attest, any update or expansion pack could make that build completely worthless as it's a bit on the buggy side (hell there are people out there with Titans who can't play this game on ultra, meanwhile their neighbor with a 7850 can do it easily... not sure what combo of hardware is needed to navigate the minefield that is that game).

here is a solid shot for you though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:DT01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech Call of Duty: MW3 Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($38.00 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65 Wired Laser Mouse ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1009.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-20 16:26 EDT-0400)

built it with overclocking in mind, as that game certainly benefits from an overclocked cpu. hope this was what you were looking for.
 
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Kamen_BG

Kamen_BG

Distinguished
Jul 12, 2011
1,578
1
20,160
This would be what you're looking for, if SC2 ran well on AMD cards.
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_760_DirectCU_Mini/images/sc2_1920_1080.gif
http://gamegpu.ru/images/stories/Test_GPU/strategy/StarCraft%20II%20Heart%20of%20the%20Swarm/test/sc2%201920.png

Like most Blizzard games, it heavily favors Nvidia graphics cards.

If The PC's main purpose is StarCraft 2, then I suggest you go with a GTX 660 Ti or a GTX 760 instead.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,024
213
46,040


yeah... i know. The problem is this isn't set in stone. and changes from release to release. if you doubt it look at the nvidia forums. some versions and expansions in that game break nvidia cards worse then amd cards. I wasn't kidding when i pointed out that there are people with titans who at times couldn't get better then 15fps on that game while their friends with hd7850 were playing ultra at 60fps. it's a crapshoot.

in general the game works better on nvidia cards. but the fact of the matter is it's a messly bad coded game, which in theory you should be able to max on ultra with a hd 7850/650ti BOOST, and at times you can. bad drivers from AMD handicapped their cards on it for a time then expansions handicapped nvidia cards for a time... then nvidia driver issues handicapped thier cards... and so on and so forth. he SHOULD be fine with a hd 7950... it's far more gpu then he needs to max out SC2... but then he should manage that with a gpu half it's price too.
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,024
213
46,040


it's an old chart made back in the early days of the GCN architecture, when the radeon cards were really hampered by poor drivers. the most gpu you need to play on ultra at 60fps should be a gpu in the rough performance range of a 7850 or 650ti BOOST

its the cpu that really sets the fps in that game. that said none of that matters from version to version... as it is a truly buggy game.
 
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