Upgrading Graphics for Starcraft II

[nothingasis]

So been looking at some cheap low-profile graphics card for Starcraft II specifically so nothing fancy... the only thing is that I'm running a small form factor system with low-profile brackets. Only thing I'm asking for is can't deal with rebates and at most $70

Been looking at the sapphire 4650 and seems like that's my best choice for what I've read from it... can't find any benchmarks on it though at least for starcraft ii
Customer Reviews Of SAPPHIRE 100253HDMI Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Low Profile Ready Video Card

thanks in advance!

 

[Hefemeister]

SCII is not that demanding. A 4650 should handle it just fine. They will not let me test with any of my older cards.

for a bit more a 5570 would be nice assuming you have at least a 400watt psu.

 

[Druid]

For the same price as a 5570 on newegg, you could get:

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR VN9603TD52-BS20R GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

clearly a superior solution: ATI Radeon HD 5570 Review and Benchmarks: Reasonable Gaming, DX11 Performance For $80? - Radeon 5570 - Gizmodo

 

[95BlackGA]

IF you can up your budget $10 more, you can get a 9800GT, which is what I highly suggest. If not, a 9600 would be fine.

 

[Druid]

IF you can up your budget $10 more, you can get a 9800GT, which is what I highly suggest. If not, a 9600 would be fine.

Those $80 ones I'm seeing on the egg only have a 128 bit memory interface instead of the 256 bit most 9800 gt's have. My advice is to give in to the rebates. This card falls in his budget if he does:

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N987-TR GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[95BlackGA]

Those $80 ones I'm seeing on the egg only have a 128 bit memory interface instead of the 256 bit most 9800 gt's have. My advice is to give in to the rebates. This card falls in his budget if he does:

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N987-TR GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Nevermind. I didn't see that he was running SFF. Low profile FTL.

Something like this would be a nice addition.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187060&cm_re=9600GT-_-14-187-060-_-Product

 

[InsaneJester17]

I'm playing SC2 with my 4650. I'm able to set most things to High settings and it runs very well. I tried Ultra but it was choppy. But I don't know how the rest of your system compares to mine (specs below).

Edit: After looking at your link, I see you're looking at a 512mb version. My 4650 is a 1gb version. Maybe spend a bit more and get THIS one? Or look at other cards. Not sure how big of a difference the memory size would make.

 

[95BlackGA]

I'm playing SC2 with my 4650. I'm able to set most things to High settings and it runs very well. I tried Ultra but it was choppy. But I don't know how the rest of your system compares to mine (specs below).

Edit: After looking at your link, I see you're looking at a 512mb version. My 4650 is a 1gb version. Maybe spend a bit more and get THIS one? Or look at other cards. Not sure how big of a difference the memory size would make.

A 9600GT is significantly faster than a 4650.

 

[InsaneJester17]

A 9600GT is significantly faster than a 4650.

Just giving options. If money is a concern or if they plan to do a full upgrade of system later than cheaper is better.