Starcraft 2

[Brunodog]

Hello,

I only play RTS and Strategy games on my computers but I'm not sure if I can run Starcraft 2 -- Please help.

My Desktop is a Dell Core 2 Duo 3 GB Ram and an XFX 8600 GT Extreme Zalhman Edition with 256mb DDR3. I have a Samsung Monitor with 1920x1200 Native Resolution

My Laptop is an ACER Core 2 Duo with 4 GB DDR3 and the Graphics Card is a Nvidia 130m 1GB DDR3 the screen is 1366x766 or close to that I think

Are graphics cards always way worse than desktop graphics cards?

Thanks again!!

 

[Brunodog]

FYI I have Windows 7 Pro 64 on my desktop and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 on my laptop

 

[Timop]

Actually the laptop should perform better.

The GT130 is based on the same chip as the 8600GT and clocked @ 600/1400, which higher than a stock 8600GT (but lower than the Extreme as its factory OCed), combined with the fact it has more RAM and a much lower resolution, SC2 should play pretty smooth on the laptop on medium.

 

[Brunodog]

One more thing . . . My desktop has a 350w power supply so if i upgrade the card what is a good choice? I don't have anyting else in it just 1 internal hard drive and a dvd burner. I went to some site that analyzed my power and it said im only using like 200watt -- could i buy a card that said it needed 400w and be safe without causing problems? My desktop is pretty sterile and only has Windows 7 Pro 64 and Office 2010 installed. I would be buying a new card strictly to play starcraft 2.

 

[Timop]

Which model is your Dell?
If it is one of the better 350Ws you should be able to run a HD5770 fine.

 

[Brunodog]

Actually the laptop should perform better.

The GT130 is based on the same chip as the 8600GT and clocked @ 600/1400, which higher than a stock 8600GT (but lower than the Extreme as its factory OCed), combined with the fact it has more RAM and a much lower resolution, SC2 should play pretty smooth on the laptop on medium.

Thanks Timop, I appreciate the help, could you tell me about the follow up post I had regarding a possible Desktop Graphics Card upgrade? I would rather play games on the desktop but I'm glad to know the laptop could handle it.

 

[Brunodog]

Which model is your Dell?
If it is one of the better 350Ws you should be able to run a HD5770 fine.

Vostro 200 i think.

All I have in it is besides the motherboard and cpu is a 250gb hd and the XFX 8600GT XXX Extreme Edition that I ordered from Newegg a couple of years ago to play company of heroes. It runs that game great.

Since I have so many open bays I was wondering if it would be safe to put a card in that required more power than i have?

I looked up the 5770 on newegg and it says 450w -- would that be pushing it? I could upgrade the power supply but I hate to do too much just to play starcraft 2. . .

 

[Timop]

Vostro 200 i think.

All I have in it is besides the motherboard and cpu is a 250gb hd and the XFX 8600GT XXX Extreme Edition that I ordered from Newegg a couple of years ago to play company of heroes. It runs that game great.

Since I have so many open bays I was wondering if it would be safe to put a card in that required more power than i have?

No, unfortunately hard-drives have little to do with the power usage, and when you overload a PSU, beside it simply shutting off, it might take out other parts as well.

Your PSU isnt THAT bad however, it has 300W on the 12v rail, so a HD5770/HD5750 would work just fine, manufactueres tend to over rate the power requirements for your safety and low-quality PSUs.

But if you can, open the case and check the sticker on the side of the PSU for amps on the 12V rail (it should be 12A for 12v1, and 18V for 12v2), Dell may used a different power supply for your specific model.

But if you want to upgrade your PSU, its pretty simple, your case should take all ATX PSUs.

 

[Brunodog]

I will check when I get home in a couple of hours, thanks for your help.

 

[Brunodog]

I took off the case and got some bad news. It is only a 300w power supply. I took some pictures of what it said on the side but im not sure it could handle a 5770 as there are not even 4 pin connections to convert to 6 pin. It has some free sata cables but thats it. If you think it still might handle it I have pictures I took.
It is a dell Vostro 200 mini tower with a Core 2 Duo 4500 2.2ghz, 3gb ram, XFX Nvidia 8600gt xxx edition (with the zahlman cooling fan)
On the side it says:
Model NO. PS 5301-08 D ROHS DC Output 300W
Input: 100-127V /9A 50-60HZ
Output: +5V then some symbols /22A Max +12V some symbols then /18
Combined Power On: +5V and + 3.3V rails not exceed 160w max
continuious DC output shall not exceed 250w at 50c, 270w @ 40c, and 300w @ 25c

Maybe I should just play starcraft on my laptop since you said it should run it fine and actually better than my desktop. I would just rather play it on a 24 inch 1920x1200 screen.

Here is a link to my laptop. Could you look it over and make sure it should run it before i shell out 60 bucks for the game?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115592

I would buy another desktop but I'm a poor student and can't afford to upgrade an entire system.

 

[Timop]

get a GT 240 DDR5 card or ATI 5670,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127466&cm_re=GT_240-_-14-127-466-_-Product

both will run on your PSU and give you 30+ FPS at high settings 1920x1200 resolution. it will be a better experience then on your laptop.

http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page8.html

Actually no, [strike]barely[/strike] maybe on low, remember they're testing on a i7-920 @ 3.7Ghz.
Look at how poorly the Q6600 did, which is still faster than his CPU.
http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html

 

[Brunodog]

So you are saying forget upgrading my graphics card and play it on the laptop?

 

[Timop]

So you are saying forget upgrading my graphics card and play it on the laptop?

Upgrading the GPU definitely will help, but youl will be limited by the CPU.

Try playing on the PC and see if you're alright with it, low doesn't mean bad, crysis still looks gorgeous on the lowest setting possible,

 

[Brunodog]

Best answer selected by Brunodog.

 

[Timop]

still a better experience then on the laptop and it won't need to be on low settings. SC2 scales very well at each setting and those CPU tests where done at ultra settings. plus he can always drop the resolution down to 1680x1050 and play at medium. RTS games (frankly all games) are better with a larger monitor and a standard size keyboard.

see the IT special settings
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/home/what_kind_machine_will_run_starcraft_ii_we_find_out

the 8600GT isn't a bad card though, and should get him playable frames on low. Pouring $70 in a machine that doesn't really have room for upgrades isn't worth it IMO.

 

[Brunodog]

is the desktop 256mb 8600 gt better or worse than a laptop 1gb 130m? It just seems that the physical size of desktop cards versus laptop cards would make them a lot better. I wouldnt expect an 8600m to not be as good as an 8600 desktop. I get very confused with all the badges and nubers that nvidia and ati put out

 

[Timop]

is the desktop 256mb 8600 gt better or worse than a laptop 1gb 130m? I get very confused with all the badges and nubers that nvidia and ati put out

The GT130M and the 9500GT is the same GPU, the G96, which in turn is a die-shrunk 8600GT. So basically, they are the same card. The only reason your 8600GT perform better is because it is clocked @650Mhz.

Actually, you can plug your keyboard/mouse and into the laptop and connect your monitor via HDMI. The extra Vram should outweigh the benefits if a slightly faster clock speed @1900*1200.

 

[Brunodog]

As a follow up the game will run on my desktop's 8600gt but I have to keep it at a low resolution. It will run at playable levels as long as the horizontal lines are kept in the 700 range. My laptop runs the game at 1366x766 on medium settings.