Build to max Starcraft 2 settings

[parks71]

Thanks again for the help! Great work. About 100 units max. I could always upgrade cooling later when I need to OC it or just OC it lightly until I get cooling?

Is there a big difference in Motherboards? Is that case big enough for the gaming card?

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Thanks again for the help! Great work. About 100 units max. I could always upgrade cooling later when I need to OC it or just OC it lightly until I get cooling?

Is there a big difference in Motherboards? Is that case big enough for the gaming card?

Stock cooling is enough for a 3.8Ghz overclock pretty easily, and potentially even 4Ghz. Above and beyond is definitely third party territory.

The motherboard differences? Aside from the SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 on the Asus motherboard, and the Asus 3 year parts and labor vs Biostar's 3 year parts, 2 year labor warranty, I don't think there's too much else.

The case will easily house the 5850.

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Also, because Starcraft 2 is an RTS and you are commanding lots of troops, you may want to consider an i7 - 920 + 5770 combo, and if you find you need more graphics power later, add on a second 5770.
RTS games are harder on the processor generally, than on the graphics card. (Not true for all, but most.)
Or you could go with the i7 - 860 that aliasaid suggested, and get a crossfire/sli ready motherboard and purchase a single 5770 now, and get a second one later if you find that you need it.

I'm not sure which would perform better for an RTS game like SC 2 between the i7 860 or the i7 920, but I do know that for a multi-GPU setup you'd be better off with the 920. (Marginal differences though.)

 

[parks71]

I think I want to keep that video card because I could see myself going to a 24 inch monitor one day since they are so cheap.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

I think I want to keep that video card because I could see myself going to a 24 inch monitor one day since they are so cheap.

Alright, then the 5850 will tie you over for a 24" 1920x1200 monitor, no biggie.


Here's an AMD build suggestion. Only $995 after the promo code for free shipping with the Rosewill Blackbone. (EMCYPYN48)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
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Also, this build includes $70 worth of rebates.

 

[parks71]

Thanks Shiro, if this was your system, which would u go with? If I had to spend 1200 to get exactly what I want, so be it.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

I'm a price/performance/upgradability man.
If it was my decision...
I'd get this build.
Newegg.com - Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers - LCD Monitors
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
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Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Total Price: $1236.76 After Shipping and After Rosewill Blackbone promo code

And I'd wait for the Phenom II X6 to release, (Six core CPU from AMD due to release this year) and I'd probably buy one of those.
And in the future I'd leave myself open to the option of crossfiring two 5850's.


(That's right lol, I included a 24" monitor in the build. )

 

[parks71]

What intel cpu would that AMD compare to?



Also, on the Motheboard you recommended for the intel I found this con several times.

Cons: Be aware that if you run the SATA 6GB/s or USB 3.0 that your PCI-E Bandwidth is cut in half.

So I get SATA but I lose speed for my video card?

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

What intel cpu would that AMD compare to?



Also, on the Motheboard you recommended for the intel I found this con several times.

Cons: Be aware that if you run the SATA 6GB/s or USB 3.0 that your PCI-E Bandwidth is cut in half.

So I get SATA but I lose speed for my video card?

There really isn't a CPU from Intel to compare the Phenom II X3 720 too, as Intel doesn't sell tri-core CPUs.
The Phenom II X3 720 has the potential to unlock to a quad core. (Not 100% though, it's luck of the draw.)
In which case it would compare in gaming to the i5 - 750 or i7 - 920, but only when overclocked/unlocked.
For the most part, it's a stepping stone to the Phenom II X6 releasing later this year.
In gaming, you shouldn't notice a difference between the Phenom II X3 720 and Intel's current offerings, but in other applications and in CPU intensive RTS games there may be a noticeable difference, but I can almost guarantee it'll handle SC 2 better than your current rig by magnitudes, probably maxing it until scenes with several hundred troops being commanded at once. Then it might be a little bogged? But if you can manage to unlock it, or overclock it sufficiently, you won't notice a problem.

Mind you, I don't know for sure as SC 2 is still in beta?
The Phenom II X3 720 could potentially max it 24/7 for all I really know.
I actually suspect that it can, because the listed specs for the beta mention a 2Ghz Pentium 4? LoL
Laughable.
Overall, I think the Phenom II X3 720 would probably compare to a low-mid Core 2 Quad.
But when unlocked and overclocked, it would compare to an i5 - 750 or i7 - 920 in gaming performance, and a higher end Core 2 Quad in applications and rendering.

AMD Phenom II 720 and 810 AM3 Review Page 8 - Testing: Far Cry 2 - Overclockers Club

Here's some gaming benchmarks to give you a perspective.



techPowerUp :: AMD Radeon HD 5870 PCI-Express Scaling Review :: Page 25 / 26

x16 vs x8
There isn't much of a difference tbqh
That's with a 5870, needless to say the difference with a 5850 would be almost non existent.

But I suppose that con is something to look for.
But it's not if you use SATA, it's if you use SATA 6Gb/s.
(No HDD's that I know of at this moment currently use SATA 6Gb/s, it's a future proofing step, really.)
All HDD's currently available use SATA 3Gb/s.
And there aren't many devices which currently use USB 3.0 either.

 

[Muffin Man]

another option,
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Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R585D5-1GD-B Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

totals $1,031 + shipping.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

another option,
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-R585D5-1GD-B Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

totals $1,031 + shipping.

Woah!
I just noticed that cooler comes with a pre-applied thermal pad.

What sort of third party CPU Cooler does that?

Edit: Lol sorry, I haven't seen that before. Not on third party coolers anyway.