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Starcraft 2 CPU Guide

Forum Index > Tech Support
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a176
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada6688 Posts
September 16 2010 04:49 GMT
#1
There's alot of confusion surrounding Starcraft 2 and it's performance. I'm going to provide a short analysis of its performance so you can be better informed regarding your next purchase.

Preface:

Starcraft 2 is optimized for 2 CPU cores. Any more cores will not see a significant performance advantage.

However, many newer CPUs have built-in load balancing features which may enable the CPU to offload work onto other cores or threads, so you might gain a small boost with those CPUs.

Benchmarks:

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,766589/Starcraft-2-CPU-benchmarks-Intel-on-top-quads-without-performance-benefit/Practice/
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/08/18/how-many-cpu-cores-does-starcraft-2-use/2
http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,6.html
http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=958

To summarize the benchmarks, the faster your CPU operates as far as raw performance, the faster the game will go. As many reviewers term it, the game has a linear performance scale.

Intel CPUs:

Core 2 Duo/Core 2 Quad processors will still run the game fairly well, just as they run any other game and applications fairly well to this day. The reason being the majority have high clock speeds, in and around the 3ghz range. Earlier C2D/C2Q processors had speeds in the range of 2ghz and sometimes lower, and will not run the game as fast. If you have these processors, overclocking them to higher speeds will see a significant performance boost to match those of later era C2D/C2Q chips.

Intel Core i7 processors see significant benefits from architectural improvements. This is why a Core i3/i5 will run the game as fast, if not faster, than a higher speed Core 2 chip.

AMD CPUs:

AMD's Phenom II and Athlon II CPUs are very similar and run at similar GHZ speeds. There are differences in processor cache which benefits some applications, but not SC2. This is why the majority of AMD's chips run the game at around the same speed. Going back to SC2's linear scaling, the faster you run your AMD chip, the faster the game will go.

What should I Buy?

This is a question with no set answer. Strictly speaking, you can build an extremely cheap computer around a lowly AMD Athlon II processor and the game will run fairly well. But there are many other applications and games that you will probably be playing now and in the future that will benefit from faster GHZ speed and more cores.

For example, a lot of you are trying streaming such - this requires a very fast processor for high quality, and video encoding benefits immensely from multiple cores, thus a newer 6 core Phenom or 8-thread Core i7 will be the best choice. Of course, these are also very expensive CPUs.

On Video Cards

SC2, as it turns out, is fairly CPU bound. Meaning, less expensive video cards like a GTX 460 will run the game on Ultra at high FPS, reaching speeds within reach of much more expensive cards like the GTX 480 or Radeon 5870. But again, SC2 might not be the only game you're playing, so make sure to do research with your favorite games to find the best card for yourself. You can safely keep in mind that most modern video cards will run SC2 fairly fast.

Recommendation

As per building a new system, strictly speaking for SC2, I would start with a competent video card baseline, the GTX 460, and then build a system around that, adding in components as your budget allows. I am not saying to always opt for the GTX 460, as I mentioned above, make sure to do your research and find the best card for all your games, but the GTX 460's price gives it excellent bang-for-buck and should be considered the baseline for purchasing. If your budget simply cannot allow for that, the next best bang-for-buck would be the Radeon 5770.

As per CPU, if you don't plan on doing any kind of streaming or audio/video work, then a 2 core processor is more than enough. These include any AMDs with "X2", and Intel Core i3 & i5-5xx/6xx processors. Otherwise, AMD X4, X6, and Core i7 processors will help alot with your streaming.

Finally ...

As of this time of writing, AMD will be releasing new video cards in a couple of weeks. I have no idea as to their performance or pricing, but if you don't plan on purchasing right now, it would be better to hold off until these cards come out to have a broader range of options. There might even be price drops on currents cards, so look out for that.

Also, Intel will be releasing new CPUs come January, which are fairly fast ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/3871/the-sandy-bridge-preview-three-wins-in-a-row/11 ), and are rumored to be "price competitive" as well. Just another thing to think about.

If anyone has further suggestions or comments, or something I missed, please speak up! It will benefit all of us.
starleague forever
Caphe
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Vietnam10817 Posts
September 16 2010 04:58 GMT
#2
Nice write up, but there is already a PC buil resource thread!
Anyway, you may want to mention that a 2 core/3 core Athlon II or Phenom II has a chance to unlock its remained cores to become a quad-core CPU. Thats basically a free $50 or $100 right there.
Terran
tofucake
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Hyrule19031 Posts
September 16 2010 10:01 GMT
#3
Maybe free....but cores are disabled for a number of reasons, including physical defects. People shouldn't buy expecting "free" cores.
Liquipediaasante sana squash banana
Garnet
Profile Blog Joined February 2006
Vietnam9016 Posts
September 16 2010 10:32 GMT
#4
What's the cheapest motherboard for E6500 + GT 240? my foxconn g31mx is kinda old and I want to replace it with a p43 or smt.
tofucake
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Hyrule19031 Posts
September 16 2010 11:21 GMT
#5
Based on Newegg.com, the cheapest is a piece of crap, but is $34.
The highest rated is pretty cheap at $52, and is a P41
Liquipediaasante sana squash banana
Caphe
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Vietnam10817 Posts
September 16 2010 11:28 GMT
#6
On September 16 2010 19:01 tofucake wrote:
Maybe free....but cores are disabled for a number of reasons, including physical defects. People shouldn't buy expecting "free" cores.

Yep, its not guaranteed that the core will unlock but for people that build new PC just for PC, they dont need more than a 2 core. So why dont buy a AMD 2 cores than see if you can unlock it(very easy, since most mobo now support nearly automatic unlock out of the box). If extra cores unlock you win!, if they dont, you dont lose anything
Terran
mav451
Profile Joined May 2010
United States1596 Posts
September 16 2010 16:38 GMT
#7
I'm pretty lukewarm on the Clarkdales. That's really my only comment, especially with the i5-6xx series. The lowest 6xx Clarkdale is $179, while the true Nehalems's are only $15 more at $194. $15 more for quad-core (vs. dual-core with HT) - it's my opinion of highway robbery.

*I imagine Intel is well aware of this and they probably make most of their money for the i5-6xx sales.
To add insult to injury there's actually a i5-680 at $309. That's why IMO, either you recommend the cheap $115 i3's or you move up to the $194 i5 750.
With no power comes no responsibility?
Black Gun
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Germany4482 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-09-16 19:47:29
September 16 2010 19:43 GMT
#8
what do u think, will a laptop i7 (1.6ghz base speed per core, 4 cores, 8 threads, 1/1/6/9 turbo mode multiplicators) be the bottleneck for sc2? if on 2 cores, it runs at 2.4ghz per core, if on 4 cores, they run at 1.73ghz each....

and will it be enough for simultaneously streaming besides playing 1v1 sc2?
"What am I supposed to do against this?" - "Lose!" :-]
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
September 16 2010 20:04 GMT
#9
On September 17 2010 04:43 Black Gun wrote:
what do u think, will a laptop i7 (1.6ghz base speed per core, 4 cores, 8 threads, 1/1/6/9 turbo mode multiplicators) be the bottleneck for sc2? if on 2 cores, it runs at 2.4ghz per core, if on 4 cores, they run at 1.73ghz each....

and will it be enough for simultaneously streaming besides playing 1v1 sc2?


I assume you're talking about the Core i7 720qm. It won't be a bottleneck in your laptop. I'd worry more about your graphics card...
Black Gun
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Germany4482 Posts
September 16 2010 22:45 GMT
#10
On September 17 2010 05:04 skyR wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 17 2010 04:43 Black Gun wrote:
what do u think, will a laptop i7 (1.6ghz base speed per core, 4 cores, 8 threads, 1/1/6/9 turbo mode multiplicators) be the bottleneck for sc2? if on 2 cores, it runs at 2.4ghz per core, if on 4 cores, they run at 1.73ghz each....

and will it be enough for simultaneously streaming besides playing 1v1 sc2?


I assume you're talking about the Core i7 720qm. It won't be a bottleneck in your laptop. I'd worry more about your graphics card...

radeon mobility 5870 1gb ddr5 ram. should be enough
"What am I supposed to do against this?" - "Lose!" :-]
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