Benchmark Results: StarCraft 2
We developed a second StarCraft 2 benchmark after receiving a lot of feedback about the brutally demanding nature of our original test. While our original benchmark remains a good measure of how StarCraft 2 performs under the most stressful scenarios, this second version might result in a more realistic expectation of typical performance. We will add the caveat that there are some very stressful StarCraft 2 maps out there that will take the game beyond this scenario. A slightly passing grade here means that the game plays reasonably well in most matches, but may lag when there are gratuitous numbers of units.
We have to use low graphics settings for this game, as medium settings bring both platforms to a crawl. Fortunately, the graphics are attractive at low settings and this doesn’t have a major impact on the user experience.
For a real-time strategy game, the E-350's results are certainly acceptable. It’s encouraging that performance doesn’t change all that much between resolutions. This indicates that CPU performance, rather than graphics, is the limiting factor.
As for the Atom D525/Ion 2 combo, something clearly isn't working properly. There appears to be a driver glitch, as the game sometimes flashes geometry in and out of the player’s view. Hopefully, Nvidia can address this issue and bump up performance.
Verdict:
StarCraft 2 is playable on the E-350 at low settings, but not on the D525/Ion 2.
