Time to upgrade! 7272010

[HarUOne]

Thanks a lot StarCraft 2. I wasn't planning on upgrading for a while but you forced my hands.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! So far this is what I have in my cart. Also, I am not looking to overclock at all. All I want to be able to do with this new rig is run StarCraft 2 on ULTRA settings without any significant hiccups in FPS.

I'd also like to limit the cost to under 500 if possible. I have keyboard/speaker/monitor/hdd/dvd drive/etc so those I don't need to worry about as much. I'd just like a good computer that's able to run StarCraft 2 in max settings without FPS drops.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: It'll either be this week or in September (Going on vacation)

BUDGET RANGE: $400-500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming is most important. Least would probably be well... anything else.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, Maybe Graphics Card.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD CPU, AMD Mobo with USB 3.0 (of course optional), DDR3.

OVERCLOCKING: No.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Just looking to allow SC2 to run on ultra without it going below 30 FPS!


I've picked out some parts already that I might purchase. Please provide suggestions/opinions on them.

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition ...95W Triple-Core Processor HDZ720WFK3DGI - OEM

ASUS M4A87TD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131651R

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145251

OCZ 600W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

I feel like my current graphics card might just do it. I posted in another category on Tomshardware about my CPU bottlenecking and such but I really am not sure what's going on with my computer.

My graphics card is this:

Would that graphics card be alright? Or would it significantly bottleneck the CPU I have in my cart?

Also, am I missing anything? Do CPU Heat sinks and fans come with the CPU? Or do I have to purchase my own? I have a ATX case in mind so that's covered.

I would appreciate any sort of suggestions/recommendations. Thank you!

 

[Juanchioo]

get a 550w corsar psu, i think its a better buy, i think ur gpu its ok and no.. it dont will to bottleneck.

 

[batuchka]

If u thinking CF get the Asrock 870 which is about the only 870 that is 8/8 CFable Every other 870 is either 16/4 or just one slot It was sold out for a few days but thankfully has restocked hehe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&Tpk=Asrock%20870

 

[fharper]

Based on those preferences you could go with this.

CPU/PSU: Phenom II X4 945 and OCZ ModXStream 600W

Mobo/Ram: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 and G.Skill DDR3 1333

Comes out to ~$335 after shipping so leaves you some money for a graphics card if you don't think your current one will be enough.

 

[HarUOne]

Oh wow. Thanks a lot for the suggestions fharper, batuchka, and Juanchioo.

I think I'll go with that Phenom II X4 945/OCZ 600W combo.

And I don't think I'll be doing CF since I generally do not play PC games. I would just like to run SC2.

Just wondering, is the Gigabyte mobo and G skill RAM better than the Corsair and Asus mobo I listed above? I do see that it is cheaper so it makes me wonder if they're not as good or not.

Also, if I went with the setup fharper suggested, I'd be able to play on at least medium-high mode right? My GFX card is the ATI Radeon HD 4850 btw.

Do I need to buy any other parts? Like coolers/heatsinks? Or does the setup come with everything I require? (Minus of course HDD/DVD drive/etc)

Thanks guys!

 

[batuchka]

Having seen the SC2 (non beta) GPU benchmarks, @ just 1280 x 1024 your HD 4850 is fine and since u stated no OC DDR3 1333 value RAM is good to go as well

 

[HarUOne]

Best answer selected by HarUOne.