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As of yet, I have not bought my copy of Starcraft 2 even though I preordered my copy. I haven't really had enough money to buy my copy yet. However, since I'm in no real rush to buy my own copy, I'm thinking of upgrading my computer before I go buy Starcraft 2. I have participated in the beta with a new computer that I bought since I used an old computer for ten years. Unfortunately, I was able to play the beta only on low settings. After observing a lot of streamers who play the game at Medium settings or higher, I really can't understand how people prefer to play the game at Low settings. The game is much more aesthetically pleasing and it seems like it's much easier to notice things during the game while you play at these settings.
These are my computer specs. As I'm not really computer savvy, I'll keep it very simple.
Processor: Intel Core i3 530 / 2.93 GHz
RAM: 6 GB RAM
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
Graphics Card: Intel
Harddrive: 1 TB
GPU: Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
Wattage: 300 Watts
So as you can see, my computer is pretty good with the exception of the wattage and my GPU. I'd really want to play Starcraft 2 at Medium settings or higher so I have to upgrade my GPU. Therefore, my question is, at a budget of $100 and less, what graphics card can I upgrade to that will be able to run the game at Medium settings or higher, (preferably High if possible) using a 300 watt PSU? I am not really computer savvy so I'd really like to shy away from upgrading my PSU. (Upgrading your GPU is easy, you just stick it into the slot!)
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What slots does your computer's motherboard have? If there's no PCI-E slot you'll probably have to get a PCI card (which may not improve performance much).
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Available Expansion Slots Available: 1 - PCI-E x16, 1 - PCI-E x4, 2 - PCI-E x1
This is what I got.
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I'm going to assume that since your PSU is 300W it won't have any additional PCI-E power connectors.
You could get a 9800GT/GTS 250 (9800GTX)/Radeon 5670 at that price point... cards which would run SC2 on Medium just fine. They don't require PCI-E power connectors.
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Hmm, can you explain what you mean by additional PCI-E power connectors?
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I don't think you can use any of the cards being sold right now unless you are willing to buy both a better card AND a new PSU. 300 Watts is really low to be running that processor, RAM, and new graphics card.
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"Graphics Card: Intel" ?? What is that suppose to mean. For gaming the processor doesn't really help play on higher setting but the I5s and I7s are alot better then the I3s.
On August 06 2010 11:14 Loser777 wrote:
I'm going to assume that since your PSU is 300W it won't have any additional PCI-E power connectors.
You could get a 9800GT/GTS 250 (9800GTX)/Radeon 5670 at that price point... cards which would run SC2 on Medium just fine. They don't require PCI-E power connectors.
Go for the Nvdia for sures as they are partners with Blizzard
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On August 06 2010 11:20 sLiniss wrote:
I don't think you can use any of the cards being sold right now unless you are willing to buy both a better card AND a new PSU. 300 Watts is really low to be running that processor, RAM, and new graphics card.
It doesn't have to be a really recent card that I have to use, just any card that can allow me to run the game at Medium or higher settings at 300 Watts, unless there really isn't, which would make me very sad  .
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On August 06 2010 11:21 NuKedUFirst wrote:"Graphics Card: Intel" ?? What is that suppose to mean. For gaming the processor doesn't really help play on higher setting but the I5s and I7s are alot better then the I3s. Show nested quote +On August 06 2010 11:14 Loser777 wrote:
I'm going to assume that since your PSU is 300W it won't have any additional PCI-E power connectors.
You could get a 9800GT/GTS 250 (9800GTX)/Radeon 5670 at that price point... cards which would run SC2 on Medium just fine. They don't require PCI-E power connectors. Go for the Nvdia for sures as they are partners with Blizzard
And same for ATi.
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Oh yeah, I forgot to ask this question. Around what FPS is Starcraft 2 playable? Playable as in without any lag, without any stutters, and can handle big army fights. 40+ FPS playable?
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On August 06 2010 11:31 Prozen wrote:
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask this question. Around what FPS is Starcraft 2 playable? Playable as in without any lag, without any stutters, and can handle big army fights. 40+ FPS playable?
40 FPS is definitely playable. The card also runs at ~70 fps on low, and there is only a very very slight difference in noticeable performance.
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I'll definitely look into the Radeon HD 4550 then. Are there any other graphic cards that I consider?
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more than 512 VRAM for a cheap card is usually just paying for useless baggage. It might help if you want to run on really high resolutions, but as far as i know that means you will want a more expensive card anyway.
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i am sure you could get a lot more value if you buy a pre-owned graphics card like a radeon 4850 or geforce 9800 GT. These cards would run starcraft pretty smooth on your computer.
there's really not much you can do with 100 bucks when it comes to starcraft 2.
also this is an obvious example why you shouldn't purchase a brand name computer, like dell or hp... a computer with a dual core athlon, 2 gb ram and a radeon 5770 gets 10 times the peformance you get for the same money you paid for that i3 processor
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Why would you pay $100 for a pre-owned version of either of those cards when they're only $100 new?
In any event, you're almost certainly going to need to upgrade from your 300 watt PSU to something around 450.
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300 watts is pretty low, you might want to look for cards that gather power from the motherboard directly ("energy efficient"). For example, the 9800GT EE (discontinued or s/t but its pretty good)
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On August 06 2010 22:21 synapse wrote:300 watts is pretty low, you might want to look for cards that gather power from the motherboard directly ("energy efficient"). For example, the 9800GT EE (discontinued or s/t but its pretty good)
Are there any particular "Energy efficient" models that you would point out that would apply in my situation?
Also, in the case where I have to upgrade my PSU, how would I upgrade my PSU? I have no idea how to.
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A GT 240 is around $90 on newegg. It's the best card I could find that seems usable for the 300w on your psu and assuming that your psu doesn't have a 6pin connector for gpus. The minimum requirements are a 300w psu with +12 volt current rating of 18 amps, which you're going to have to check on the side of your psu for that information. I'd also check the dimensions of the card (listed on newegg) to see if it can fit in your case.
This is the one in particular I was looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130533&cm_re=gt_240_evga-_-14-130-533-_-Product
The other GT 240s look like they require 450w minimum, but from the customer reviews for this one, looks like someone was running it on a 250w psu.
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3813 Posts
On August 07 2010 00:19 Prozen wrote:Show nested quote +On August 06 2010 22:21 synapse wrote:300 watts is pretty low, you might want to look for cards that gather power from the motherboard directly ("energy efficient"). For example, the 9800GT EE (discontinued or s/t but its pretty good) Are there any particular "Energy efficient" models that you would point out that would apply in my situation? Also, in the case where I have to upgrade my PSU, how would I upgrade my PSU? I have no idea how to.
Turn off/unplug computer, ground yourself to prevent static shock, unplug all the things the PSU is connected to and remove it, put in your new PSU and plug it into everything that needs to be plugged in. If you think you'll have trouble with it just take some time to memorize what needs to be powered so you know exactly what to look for when putting in the new one.
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Just about everything in your PC can only be plugged in to one type of plug. The only exception tends to be the motherboards secondary power connection, which looks the same as another connection. Generally if you mix them up the PC wont boot till you swap them around.
As for 6/8 pin GPU connectors, you can buy one that'll convert the standard 4 pin molex to whichever you need.
The only "hard" things about putting together a PSU is remembering everything that needs to be plugged in (mobo takes one large plug and one small, each drive takes a connection, and fans might need to be plugged in -- many case fans just plug into mobo and wont need to be changed) and then secondly cable management; you need to secure cables so they aren't loose and are out of the way of fans.
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EPT
