• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Upgrade PC to run Starcraft 2 on ultra

What resolution will he be playing at? What CPU does he have, and how much RAM?

A 6950 2GB should handle things on the video card side at 1080p, and possibly a 6870 at 720p, assuming everything else is up to scratch. I'm not aware of any nVidia cards with blower fans (though I'd be happy to be shown otherwise), and from the looks of that case, I wouldn't want a high end GPU dumping it's heat in there.

He shouldn't need that large a PSU for either of those - a solid 500W unit would be plenty. For that matter, 450W is probably enough. I'll leave particular recommendation on that to someone who knows better than I, though.
 
Does he want to do it the cheap way or the expensive way? If he has never upgraded his rig, then he's still running integrated graphics. The cheap way is to buy the best graphics card he can get which does not require any additional power plug to run. That way he does not have to upgrade the power supply, yet will still enjoy a very significant upgrade in gaming performance.

For an easy upgrade, the Radeon 6670 might be a decent choice. This review shows reasonable performance in Starcraft II under "Ultra" settings at full 1080p resolution. This card can be used in that system without a PSU upgrade, and will cost between $50-100.

The expensive way may include a CPU upgrade as well as PSU and graphics card. That is because CPU performance does play a role in Starcraft II performance. See this article. The older and lower end CPUs held back performance of even a high end graphics card.
 
I spoke to him and he is playing on his tv which is using 1268x720, he only wants to play starcraft 2 on ultra and has $700 to spend on new computer if he has to. Should he just upgrade his current or build a whole new gaming rig?
 
If he's willing to spend, get a new, reliable psu.
CM isn't a great brand for power supplies.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 is nice and cheap

With that, a good combo would be a quad core and a 6770.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102940 it's only marginally more expensive than a 6670 but much faster, probably better built and comes with a free game.

For CPUs,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103885
or http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Black-Socket/dp/B0056D5AMY
Note the 960T can be unlocked to six core (no guarantee) if he flashes his BIOS with one that allows unlocking.

http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thre...etail-ROM-for-OEM-ASUS-Essentio-CM1630?page=3 people unlocked that motherboard but fried their onboard ethernet with the modded BIOS because the OEM mobo uses a different chip. Worth looking into, especially if he has an unlockable CPU already.

I don't recommend a 6950 since he wouldn't need its performance for anything. And when he decides to do something much more power hungry that a Phenom II + 6770 can't run in a couple of years, he should get a new PC then, when $225 (cost for 6950) will buy something much better.
 
theattrox said:
I spoke to him and he is playing on his tv which is using 1268x720
Click to expand...

Is he currently using the integrated graphics to play Starcraft II? If so and his TV is only 720p, then just do the "easy upgrade" I mentioned, and call it a day.
 
theattrox said:
I spoke to him and he is playing on his tv which is using 1268x720, he only wants to play starcraft 2 on ultra and has $700 to spend on new computer if he has to. Should he just upgrade his current or build a whole new gaming rig?
Click to expand...

The CPU specs on that PC are a little vague, but assuming that it has a decent clock speed Athlon II, he should only need a modest GPU like a 6770 to play at 720P. The 300W PSU could theoretically be enough to power a 6770 if it was good quality, can you crack open the case and post the number of amps available on each rail?

$700 would buy him a whole new SC2-capable rig if he wanted, but it's not necessary.
 
If he can spend $700 he should probably build a new pc from scratch. That thing has onboard video, a 300 w power supply, etc etc. I wouldn't bother putting money into it myself.

Reuse the dvd drive and hard drive, possibly the ram, and build a new pc that will be roughly 3000x faster for <$700.

If he wants to be cheap then get a videocard and hope the power supply can handle it, and if it can't then get a power supply. Honestly I wouldn't bother though. I had a compaq once, many years ago, and I will tell you right now that no amount of polishing can make a turd into something its not. Those cheap premade pc's cut corners you never knew existed and never run well. The motherboard is almost certainly proprietary and slower than anything you could buy yourself in a store or online. You may have to cut holes in the metal case to upgrade the power supply since they don't expect anyone to ever do that. You've been warned.

I HATE COMPAQ PRESARIO
 
Last edited:
$700 is a lot to spend on a machine that only needs to play SC2 on 720p. Given those details, I'm betting a <$250 upgrade of PSU, 4gb ram if it doesn't have that, Phenom II x4 (assuming the included CPU is a dual core) + 6770 would last him at least 2 years. The motherboard in hat PC isn't bad at all either if you check the reviews.

It's much more cost effective as he'll have a PC that's plenty fast for what he wants to do and he'll be able to get something much better with the saved money in a couple of years. The most cost effective would be just getting a GPU with no PSU or CPU upgrade. But I wouldn't recommend it as a dual core without HT these days are starting to feel slow with many programs running and a PSU upgrade buys peace of mind for very little, not to mention it'll save on electric bill and can be used for future builds.

Edit:
http://slickdeals.net/f/3940070-Sap...phics-Card-100328L-73-AR-AC-Shipped-Superbiiz
This is cheaper than newegg, which is out of stock, but without the free game.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top