• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 20:45
CEST 02:45
KST 09:45
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Rough Waters10[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Siren's Call8[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End9Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 244
Community News
StarCraft open world shooter announced at BlizzCon48Weekly Cups (Aug 30-Sep 7): herO thrives amid growing schism10Official StarCraft website teases new content ahead of BlizzCon?158Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20)9Weekly Cups (August 24-30): Patches' balance mod takes over3
StarCraft 2
General
StarCraft open world shooter announced at BlizzCon Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners Weekly Cups (Aug 30-Sep 7): herO thrives amid growing schism SC4ALL: II Winner will earn a spot at HSC 30!
Tourneys
RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-22 KSL Week #92 IntoTheTV X SOOP SC2 League : Weekly & Monthly 2026 GSTL Announcement Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
Mutation # 542 The Ascended Mutation # 541 Binary Choice The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 540 Dodge This
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Official StarCraft website teases new content ahead of BlizzCon? Broodwar Prediction Market Practice Partners (Official) [D] Brainstorming a balance patch for Brood war
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro16 Group A [ASL22] Ro16 Group B Escore Tournament - Season 3 Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Replay Review Process - What do you do? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Game Theory for Starcraft
Other Games
General Games
EVE Corporation Diablo IV Nintendo Switch Thread [Maplestory Hardcore] Let's Play~!! General RTS Discussion Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread UK Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Trading/Investing Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The Creator Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Diablo Animated Series on Netflix Movie Discussion!
Sports
Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
Virtual Romance, Real-Life C…
TrAiDoS
Regacy Esports:Our Goa…
regacyesports
Dreaming of BW patches (mod…
c3rberUs
LOCKPICKING NOOB
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 9123 users

Get started with SC2 - how?

Blogs > RobJ
Post a Reply
RobJ
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Belgium38 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 13:06:53
April 22 2011 13:06 GMT
#1
Hi guys,
I've finnaly decided to start playing SC2, as I watched recently a lot of streams (DH,Copenhagen, Gagdet show) and I think I start to like the game more and more. Althought I had almost 0% RTS background.

But I've no clue how to start with it, i've not bought the game yet, but I already have a goal : Try to become the best in my country (Belgium) and Benelux (Belgium - Netherlands) if possible. Also the race Zerg looks really cool tbh.

I currently have a laptop with following specs :
Acer Aspire 7520g
3 GB DDR2
Amd Turion 64 X2 2.1ghz
Nvidia geforce 8600m GS

Is this good enough for SC2? (I've tried the game once and it ran smoothly I think on low settings), also got a seperate cooler for my laptop.

Do you really need an external keyboard? I'm quite used to this laptop and I don't think I have lots of space on my desk (or I have to sit on a very strange way).

And for last, what kind of tips do you guys can give to me? Any tournament websites ,... (I've also been thinking to go back to the gym)

Greets,
Rob

HI
DocNemesis
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
Philippines446 Posts
April 22 2011 13:21 GMT
#2
Hiya.

Regarding your specs, I must say they look damn good enough to run SC2, though just to make sure, you might check out System Requirements Lab.

Like you, I play SC2 on a laptop and imo they aren't ideal for hotkeys. Each button looks and feels the same when I am trying to punch a hotkey.

Zerg is from what I heard emphasizes more on the micromanagement. I never started out with Zerg because I wasn't that good with it, I was more of a Terran kinda guy anyway.

If you are starting out, what better way to help you out than Day 9 Dailies. He streams on a daily basis on Team Liquid via Justin tv or you can always search for him via his YT channel or his most recent videos through Blip. Look for Newbie Tuesdays!

If you want a piece of advice, don't waste 50 games on practice leagues. If you want practice, there is always custom games which are unranked.

Here to kick ass....with Violence. And I got a blog site: http://nemesistrestkon.wordpress.com
Saechiis
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Netherlands4989 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 13:27:31
April 22 2011 13:25 GMT
#3
I would make some more realistic goals lol, because you'll probably get disappointed hard in becoming Benelux's best player. Ret is Dutch and one of the best Zergs in the world, Grubby is also on his way to becoming a fantastic Protoss.

Welcome to SC2 though, start reading the Strategy section and Liquipedia: (http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Main_Page) for matchup and build information. Just pick the race you like most, practice a solid build for each matchup and start laddering, exploring and adapting

Zerg is not a micro race btw, it's almost pure responsive macro.
I think esports is pretty nice.
Schwopzi
Profile Joined August 2010
Netherlands954 Posts
April 22 2011 13:26 GMT
#4
Your laptop should be sufficient to run it on low settings, especially with extra cooling.
External keyboard is kinda dependant on how hard you spam I guess, a cheap logitech keyboard is easily replaced whereas your laptop keyboard is a different story.
Teamliquid has links to most tournaments, seeing as you've seen a few of them allready you should have a idea of the different races. From there I'd say play 15-20ish games with the different races to get a feel for the basics & what race you prefer, and then it's all up to you (play for laughs, play to get better etc.). There is a really good guide in the strat section on how to improve at starcraft 2.
Only the dead have seen the end of war
Xiberia
Profile Joined September 2007
Sweden634 Posts
April 22 2011 13:31 GMT
#5
I don't have much experience with laptop hardware but i'd guess your computer will run SC2. You will however likely run into issues in big engagments in longer games with that weak of a CPU. Having a separate keyboard is a big edge if you're ever gonna play in LAN tournaments. They generally let you use your own keyboard and mouse when you play but with a laptop keyboard that's probably not going to be possible which might have an impact on your performance. And as for newbie advice.. just don't take losses too hard. You will likely lose a lot in the beginning no matter what you do. Losing is really the best way to learn how to play this game if you take advantage of it. Look at your losses and ask yourself what went wrong and improve on it. If you can't figure out what went wrong, go back and look at the replay or get a buddy (especially if he's better than you) to do it with you.

Good luck!
RobJ
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Belgium38 Posts
April 22 2011 13:33 GMT
#6
On April 22 2011 22:25 Saechiis wrote:
I would make some more realistic goals lol, because you'll probably get disappointed hard in becoming Benelux's best player. Ret is Dutch and one of the best Zergs in the world, Grubby is also on his way to becoming a fantastic Protoss.

Welcome to SC2 though, start reading the Strategy section and Liquipedia: (http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Main_Page) for matchup and build information. Just pick the race you like most, practice a solid build for each matchup and start laddering, exploring and adapting

Zerg is not a micro race btw, it's almost pure responsive macro.

Belgian best player is also cool
HI
DocNemesis
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
Philippines446 Posts
April 22 2011 16:59 GMT
#7
On April 22 2011 22:25 Saechiis wrote:
I would make some more realistic goals lol, because you'll probably get disappointed hard in becoming Benelux's best player. Ret is Dutch and one of the best Zergs in the world, Grubby is also on his way to becoming a fantastic Protoss.

Welcome to SC2 though, start reading the Strategy section and Liquipedia: (http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Main_Page) for matchup and build information. Just pick the race you like most, practice a solid build for each matchup and start laddering, exploring and adapting

Zerg is not a micro race btw, it's almost pure responsive macro.


Oh yeah, I was gonna say macro. I keep confusing between the two. I think it's the Protoss that are more micro oriented.
Here to kick ass....with Violence. And I got a blog site: http://nemesistrestkon.wordpress.com
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
20:30
Masters Cup #151
davetesta32
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Tasteless 455
NeuroSwarm 148
ViBE120
StarCraft: Brood War
Artosis 549
NaDa 65
Dota 2
monkeys_forever422
canceldota112
League of Legends
Doublelift6409
JimRising 555
Counter-Strike
fl0m4434
Coldzera 1425
minikerr46
Super Smash Bros
C9.Mang0417
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu461
Other Games
summit1g10777
B2W.Neo1243
RotterdaM316
XaKoH 194
Sick116
Trikslyr51
Organizations
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm1510
StarCraft 2
StarCraft840
StarCraft: Brood War
Afreeca ASL 673
Other Games
BasetradeTV191
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 118
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Azhi_Dahaki16
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota22042
Other Games
• imaqtpie777
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
9h 16m
WardiTV Invitational
10h 16m
ByuN vs Percival
Cure vs Classic
Shopify Rebellion Sundays
14h 16m
Spirit vs Mixu
Clem vs TBD
RSL Revival
15h 16m
Serral vs Rogue
BlizzCon
17h 46m
IdrA vs MC
Replay Cast
23h 16m
Afreeca Starleague
1d 9h
Light vs JyJ
Soulkey vs hero
WardiTV Weekly
1d 10h
Monday Night Weeklies
1d 15h
Afreeca Starleague
2 days
Snow vs Shinee
Shine vs EffOrt
[ Show More ]
GSL
2 days
PiGosaur Cup
2 days
The PondCast
3 days
Kung Fu Cup
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
KCM Race Survival
4 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
GSL
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Acropolis #5 - TRS
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
RSL Revival: Season 6
Calamity Invitational
FISSURE Playground #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026

Upcoming

Acropolis #5 - GSA
Acropolis #5 - GSB
Acropolis #5 - GSC
SC4ALL II: Brood War
HSC XXX
Stellar Fest 2: Lunar Cup
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
PGL Major Singapore 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 6
BLAST Rivals Fall 2026
IEM Beijing 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
1win Private Club #2
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.