So I've been wanting a new computer to play Starcraft II on for a while, considering I've been playing on a Macbook since I started in beta. However, I know next to nothing about technology, but I tried to look up different parts using online guides. So far, this is the build that I found: Spoiler Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412 Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220435 Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333 CD/DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145257 Does anyone see anything wrong with the above build? My ultimate goal is to play SC2 on ultra settings if possible, which I'm assuming is possible with this build according to this. The total for this build (including shipping and tax) would be $916.27, obviously more costly than Joneagle's build, and that's not including a case or anything. Would it be worth spending the extra money on this build, or should I just go with Joneagle's? Also, is there anything else I need to buy that I'm missing here (other than the monitor and the case)? EDIT: Here is my new build, using the UD3 Motherboard that bsod suggested. Spoiler Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423 Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144462 Power Supply (I'm not actually sure if this is what I need or not): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182173 Video Card (got it from Joneagle's tutorial, I think it's compatible here) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134064 Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005146 Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 CD/DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 Case (not exactly sure what I should be looking for in a case, but this is what I found): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164144 Total: $1,131.15 Since the last one was a bit expensive for me, I decided to mess around with the old build and see what I get, it's basically the UD3 Mobo Build with a different Motherboard, Processor, and different RAM: Spoiler Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412 Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220435 CD/DVD Drive (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 Video Card (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134064 Monitor (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005146 Case (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164144 Hard Drive (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 Power Supply (same as the UD3 Mobo Build): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182173 Total: $935.34
If you want to use your computer for other things beside SC2 then this seems to be a reasonable choice. I don't know much about computers but for your HD it says it's for notebooks and mobile systems... is that something you specifically chose or did you miss that? Also, the case is quite important concerning airflow and such. Unless you want to immerse your system in a tank of oil, you should choose carefully. Appearance is also important I think. Other than this, you might consider buying a new set of keyboard and mouse if your current one is cordless and you intend to play on your new system hardcore.
UD3 Mobo's are very impressive, nice quality and ive used 100's of them without any issues! They have onboard USB 3 too. Only thing i would change on your build is this: Mobo?: The UD3R (slightly different board) uses triple channel memory instead of duel channel like the UD3, (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423&cm_re=ud3r-_-13-128-423-_-Product) more expensive i know, but this board also has 6G Sata 3 support, meaning when sata 3 hard drives become cheaper you will be able to upgrade to faster RPM hdd's. RAM: Go for 3x 2GB triple channel memory if using a 64bit OS or 3x 1GB is using 32bit OS... HDD: That drive is a 5400 RMP drive, id look for at least a 7200 RMP drive or ull experience slow read and write times.
Oh wow, didn't even notice that. Thanks for letting me know! I don't really plan on using it for anything else other than SC2, except for other games in the future. So I guess I should fix that. I probably will though because if I go with the UD3 Motherboard like bsod said I'll have to change a bunch of parts anyway. I'll look at cases too, but I already have a decent mouse that I bought for SC2 and I have my old keyboard I can use, both aren't wireless, so they'll do for now. I just don't know if the case I choose will be able to fit everything properly, is there something specific I should look for in cases? Okay, thank you very much! It's numbers like these that I need to know because I don't really know what I'm looking for. The only thing, is that with that harddrive I'd need an LGA 1366 processor, and I can only find a Six-Core processor that's $900. All of the cheaper processors are LGA 1156, and I'd rather not spend $900 for a processor. EDIT: Just found one and it's ~$280. I'll add the total when I figure out all of the parts and stuff. EDIT 2: Just put the UD3 Mobo build in the first post as well as a variation of the old one, could someone check them over to make sure there isn't anything horribly wrong with compatibility, please? I just don't know what to look for when it comes to cases, power supplies, and video cards. Also, would there be a major difference between the performance of the two different builds? Basically, is it worth it to spend the extra money on the more expensive one?
Ok.... CPU: Its been proven that games cannot utilise more than 3 cores of a CPU, therefore id go for a I5 6** CPU, its cheaper... thats 2 cores with 2 hyperthreads, so 4 cores with turboboost which basically overclocks the other cores when all 4 cores arnt being used... 6 series CPU's have a faster clock speed vs the 7series CPU's.. So cheaper CPU, equal / better performance for SC2. - Mobo: UD3R is an X58 chipset my bad, your P55 UD3 doesnt support triple channel memory i misread^ Good luck.
Your third variant looks nice - it's similar to what I have. You said you want to play future games as well, right? Then I would consider a better video card than the GTS. Lastly, I'm not near familiar enough with computer parts but I've never heard of Rosewill (your PSU). But note that a better(?) brand with lower wattage might be worth it (my 550W is enough for my build and yours approximates it).
Okay, I think I'll go with the third variant then since it's cheaper and has less problems, and there's more budget room to improve the graphics card. But Kuvasz, what are some well-known brand names for power supplies? I don't really know any. EDIT: Would this be a better video card? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130514 I don't really know what I should look for, so I just picked one that had higher gb than the last one, but also had a mail-in rebate and free shipping.
Corsair & Antec are the two of the most popular. Not considering the CPU swap? - Whats your max budget for a GFX card? ill have a butchers for you Either way, its a decent machine and will play any current game with good details and res, easily for the next year too... If your wanting a machine for the future might be work looking into a solid state hard drive? although they dont directly improve gaming in any way except load times, they make a machine feel so much faster, ie with read and write times, loading programs etc... only down side is small capacity and high cost...
Oh I completely didn't understand that bit about the CPU until know, I thought it was just about the UD3 Mobo build, but now I probably will that I got that cleared up in my head. My max budget for a GFX card would probably be $200 at most. I'd like to stay around $150 if possible. And is a solid state hard drive a specific type of hard drive? Or just a better one? I suppose if it would improve load times and all of that I'd go for it. Depends on the pricing as well... How's this power supply? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
As far as power supplies go, after choosing a wattage, weight is the thing to look at. In theory, the heavier the transformer core, the better it carries the magnetic field. This contributes to better transformer efficiency, voltage stability and overall longevity.
That PSU is perfect mate.. You would get away with a 500-550W PSU to be honest, but 650 if you can afford it makes room for future upgrades. Yeh the CPU saga, the 6** series CPU's are 1156 so would fit your UD3 board choice, and as explained the 750 is 4 physical CPU cores, like Quad core, whereas the 6 series are dual core, but have hyperthread technology which act as 4 cores, but not as powerful 2 physical cores & 2 hyperthread cores, however for SC2 and gaming nothing more than 3 cores are utilised, making dual core with hyperthreading a sweet spot for price/performance at the mo - not forgetting over the 2 cores you will get a better clock speed (then theres turbo boost which will dynamically over clock a core if only 1 or 2 cores are being used..) GFX: Worth checking:Best GFX for August Performance Review on CPU's and GFX - Good read... Honourable mention, the GTX450 is coming out soon, probs retial around $200... Solid State Hdd: SSD's explained SSD vs HDD
I would get an SSD, but it looks like it's going to be too expensive for me at the moment. I should be able to upgrade to one later on though, when I want to, correct? It definitely seems like it would be worth it but I can't afford to get too expensive here. Also, that article you showed me said that in their tests the Quad-Core performed SC2 the best, and Triple-Core was second, along with Dual-Core at third. How is the Dual-Core better?
I said dual core was a 'sweet spot' for price/performance the quad core CPU's are much more expensive vs the dual core with little performance increase really, yet huge price difference.. Dual core with hyperthreading is like have 4 logical CPU cores, in task manager it will show 4 cores for example.. If you have a program that will use 4 cores, it will spread the work load out over 4 different cores, although not as powerful as physical quad core CPU's, as for gaming and general applications (Most applications dont utilize 4 cores... again more reason to go for dual core with hyperthread) they perform as well as, and on many occasions better than quad core CPU's when its a dual core situation because of the faster clock speeds they offer, and of course turbo boost.. (Turbo boost is like when a application only uses 2 cores for example, cores 3&4 will dynamically 'turn off' and help overclock cores 1&2 to achieve faster processing speeds) Quad core CPU's are good for applications that can utilize all 4 physical cores, like CAD design software, or rendering which requires alot of CPU number crunching.. Yeh you can add an SSD in the future without any issues
Okay so I guess the CPU is my last thing to look for. Would this be a good CPU to get (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220)?
Yeh thats a decent CPU mate. But... My personal recommendation would be this: Core i5-655K Because: This has an unlocked multiplier, meaning that once your system is built, there is room to overclock it.. Traditionally you cant overclock standrad intel CPU's, only the extreme series, so this is a CPU which is aimed at mid range systems, with an overclocking ability - I have tested one recently and achieved 4.2-4.4Ghz clock speed (using a X58-UD7 mobo) however, the UD3 should be ok with your P55 chipset - worth reading into if your genuinely interested.... (Bare in mind you only get the CPU no cooling fan ^ but your buying a seperate fan if i remember. If this is kinda out of your range or all abit to complicated, the i5 650 is a nice bet, comes with a standard heatsink cooler too.
For goodness' sake, don't recommend Clarkdale, at least not at that budget. The Core i5-750/760 Lynnfields are much better options not only for StarCraft but for general use, too. Also, the Turbo Boost feature you're lauding is fairly negligible on Clarkdale. In dual-core mode, it can only go up by 133MHz which is pretty insignificant. Lynnfields, however, can increase frequency by up to 533MHz when only two cores are active. Another advantage of Lynnfield is lower memory latency and more cache (8MB vs 4MB). The only time I'd recommend Clarkdale over Lynnfield is if the money saved from buying a lower-end CPU (e.g. Core i3-530/540, $115) will be used to purchase a better GPU. http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/page13.html Core i5-750 (2.66GHz) 29 min/40 avg Core i3-540 (3.06GHz) 23 min/34 avg Core i5-750 (3.70GHz) 43 min/56 avg Core i3-540 (3.70GHz) 32 min/44 avg The X58-UD7 is an LGA-1366 motherboard so I don't even know how you were able to install a Core i5-655K on there. Okay, some of the hardware choices were making me cringe so played around Newegg and came up with the following tweaks: Motherboard + CPU: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz combo deal: $319.99 (additional $14 off with coupon: MBTEN92) RAM: Corsair 2x2GB DDR3 1333, $89.99 -1.5V compared to the Patriot's 1.65V GPU: EVGA GTX 460 768MB, $179.99 -pretty significant upgrade over the GTS 250; should be able to handle SC2 even with AA enabled HDD: Western Digital 1TB WD1002FAEX, $89.99 ODD: Asus DVD+/-R, $19.99 Case: Antec Three Hundred, $59.95 -nice and sturdy with decent airflow Power Supply: Corsair 550VX, $59.99 -despite the lower wattage, I'd rather trust this than the Rosewill Monitor: LG W2040T-PN Glossy Black 20", $129.99 TOTAL: $935.88
