Hey, all, I want to run Starcaft II, but I don’t have nearly enough video card. I think it’s finally time for me to break down and get a new system, but I haven’t been keeping up with these things. So, I’ve got all the perifials ( keyboard, monitor), and a case that should be reusable, but I think I’ll need pretty much everything else. So,dopers, what’s my best bet these days for a mid range gaming rig? A she system? Parts? Do they still make those bare bones kits?
If you give us a budget, it will be easier to recommend parts. If you’re keeping your old monitor, telling us what it’s native resolution is, will also help determine the best video card for you.
www.tomshardware.com has recent buyer’s guides and build guides, along with DIY help.
Ditto at The Tech Report and Hardware Revolutions.
D’oh, I knew I was missing something!
My budget’s pretty limited, so it’s a “less is better” situation, I was hoping I could scrape by in the $3-500 range, but I realize that more may be more realistic. Anything more than $300 is going have to be put off for a month or two while I work some overtime. Anything more than about $800 is going to have to be put off for… longer.
Now that I’m thinking about it, I should probably share a little more of what I’m looking for. My immediate concern is Starcraft II, the other games I know I’m going to want to play in the near soonish are Civ V and Diablo III (Which, admittedly, might not come out for a few years, and will most likely not have much more stringent hardware requirements than Starcraft II), but it’d be nice if it could survive the next couple "latest and greatest: games on mid-to-low settings.
What kind of motherboard/ chip do you have. IF you have a lower end chip for the motherboard type then you might get good return on investment on a better chip. But if your chip is already near the higher end of the motherboard lifecycle, then that does make it a more expensive prospect.
Something else to consider. Do you think you can afford a better system a year or two down the road or will your finances likely still be about the same?
You might want to put in some overtime for a few months to build a system that is more future proof. A low end machine now that just barely makes the low end for games may be hopelessly behind in a very short time.
On the other hand, the games you want to play don’t require high end GPU’s, but a workhorse CPU is needed (specially for StarCraft II)
A system built around an AMD Athlon II dual core and an HD 5750 video card should just make a $500 system.
A core i5 might also fit the bill.
Hey guys! After taking your advice into account and seeing what was on sale over at New Egg… I’m typing this on my new rig!
I ended up with an AMD Athlon II 2.9 Quad Core, an Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X (they were together as a package), a PNY GT240, a new power supply and 2G RAM.
I plan on purchasing some more RAM when I hit the next convenient combination of sale and recent paycheck, but other than that, it cost me $380, which isn’t bad for a jump from a 1.7G processor (just 1.7… just the one core). Time for killin’ Zergs!
Good on you. It is great when there is something positive that comes out. And share your experiences with Civ 5.
Good show, old bean. 