- Joined
- Sep 26, 2009
- Messages
- 9,507
Edit: Ironically, I have decided to scrap the whole project for a 1080p MSI GE60 from GenTechPC.com, customized with a last-gen CPU (no real loss but an $80 gain), mSATA 60GB SSD for $99, $25 640GB HDD for data, and they will put it together for me and install the OS for a grand total of $1070 (plus tax or w/e). I checked the performance on the CPU and the GPU; the CPU, being a natural 4 core with 8 threads, will surely perform better than the i3 which has half of the L3 cache (turbo up to 3.1GHz + that cache will probably out-perform any desktop i3), and the 650M is the latest-gen GPU so it will get royal treatment with drivers, plus it can run SC2 at 30-40FPS on full ultra 1080p or 60+ with a setting or two put on high. Plus with all those pixels condensed into a 15" screen anti-aliasing will be less important.
I will be building a computer to play StarCraft II @ Ultra(Maxed) settings with 1920x1080 resolution on a 21.5" LED monitor. I am prioritizing:
- Capability - Can it always average 60FPS (the refresh rate of my monitor) during the game? I will be turning on adaptive vSync for image consistency.
- Budget - I don't want to spend more than $700 for all the components (ssd, cpu, mobo, ram, gpu, psu, case).
- Energy Consumption - This is a cost factor as well. I prefer AMD even though they are not as good in StarCraft II because AMD uses less energy. Though the 600 series from nVidia might be just what I'm looking for if the "650" can handle the performance.
- Style - I want the case to look nice and I am willing to spend a bit more to ensure it. Currently the BitFenix Prodigy is the coolest looking.
- No CF/SLI - I don't want a second GPU. If I want to upgrade I will sell the GPU.
I currently have a netbook with an Intel Atom N450 with 2GB 667MHz RAM. So this new build will obviously be an awesome upgrade.
Best advice I can use: what is your gaming settings/graphics card? The graphics card is the area I am really undecided on. I have speculated a 6850, 6870, 7750, 7770, 7850, 460, 550, 560... I only want the minimum for the job. The 7770 is a great price/performance/energy usage combo but, again, StarCraft II favors nVidia. I would really like to use the 550 Ti but I think it will suffer a bit with the 1080p resolution I am aiming for so I might have to wait for a 650 Ti or a 660.
When I will buy: next year at the latest. Though if I find myself with extra money I am willing to spend it right away because I really want this machine and I want it to last a fair amount of time (4-5 years minimum).
Also, I update my signature regularly to reflect what I feel is the current best option. If you want to know what I'm speculating, my signature contains the latest.
I will be building a computer to play StarCraft II @ Ultra(Maxed) settings with 1920x1080 resolution on a 21.5" LED monitor. I am prioritizing:
- Capability - Can it always average 60FPS (the refresh rate of my monitor) during the game? I will be turning on adaptive vSync for image consistency.
- Budget - I don't want to spend more than $700 for all the components (ssd, cpu, mobo, ram, gpu, psu, case).
- Energy Consumption - This is a cost factor as well. I prefer AMD even though they are not as good in StarCraft II because AMD uses less energy. Though the 600 series from nVidia might be just what I'm looking for if the "650" can handle the performance.
- Style - I want the case to look nice and I am willing to spend a bit more to ensure it. Currently the BitFenix Prodigy is the coolest looking.
- No CF/SLI - I don't want a second GPU. If I want to upgrade I will sell the GPU.
I currently have a netbook with an Intel Atom N450 with 2GB 667MHz RAM. So this new build will obviously be an awesome upgrade.
Best advice I can use: what is your gaming settings/graphics card? The graphics card is the area I am really undecided on. I have speculated a 6850, 6870, 7750, 7770, 7850, 460, 550, 560... I only want the minimum for the job. The 7770 is a great price/performance/energy usage combo but, again, StarCraft II favors nVidia. I would really like to use the 550 Ti but I think it will suffer a bit with the 1080p resolution I am aiming for so I might have to wait for a 650 Ti or a 660.
When I will buy: next year at the latest. Though if I find myself with extra money I am willing to spend it right away because I really want this machine and I want it to last a fair amount of time (4-5 years minimum).
Also, I update my signature regularly to reflect what I feel is the current best option. If you want to know what I'm speculating, my signature contains the latest.
I am thinking of building a computer.
I will wait for Intel Ivy Bridge because of the lower power consumption and the USB 3.0 support.
In fact, I plan to build it one year from now.
But what I am trying to do is test the water to see where technology is today.
Currently I see myself with:
Quad Core or Dual-Core i7.
AMD 6850.
Motherboard with SATA 3.0 to support a 500MB/s SSD.
USB 3.0 support and/or FireWire 800 support (they run at almost the same speed).
You guys know an affordable computer with similar spec? I am a bit nervous about building it from scratch COMPLETELY.
I will wait for Intel Ivy Bridge because of the lower power consumption and the USB 3.0 support.
In fact, I plan to build it one year from now.
But what I am trying to do is test the water to see where technology is today.
Currently I see myself with:
Quad Core or Dual-Core i7.
AMD 6850.
Motherboard with SATA 3.0 to support a 500MB/s SSD.
USB 3.0 support and/or FireWire 800 support (they run at almost the same speed).
You guys know an affordable computer with similar spec? I am a bit nervous about building it from scratch COMPLETELY.
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