What's your SCII rig?

Tenger

Just wondering what everyone else plays SCII on?

I am looking to upgrade my laptop and am choosing based on the graphics card.

Tenger

For info my current laptop is a 3 year old Toshiba Equium L40-17M:
Dual core Pentium 1.8Ghz, 2 GB RAM, with an onboard graphics card (Intel GMA X3100)that only gives me all settings on Low.

I'm not a big gamer but want to able to play SCII at proper settings, and be ready for any increase in specs for the next 2 releases. (Also Shogun 2 once they sort out the bugs) So aiming for a 512MB-1 GB disrete graphics card. Also has to be a laptop for portability,I only get to play when away with work.
As an aside is 512MB graphics enough? Spotted a Toshiba A660 (i3 2.53Ghz, 4GB) with dedicated 512MB card for E780.
I travel to the US quite often so have the option of purchasing over there handy enough.

Anyone use a Mac for SCII? Am in a mind to switch to the dark side (for editing photos)

IRL_Sinister

I'm in the same boat of you, but fortunately I'm moving to Canada so will be able to get it for cheaper.

I was looking at quite a few you can get a decent 4GB RAM, i5/7 processors and 1GB graphics cards for <900$ (CAD) where I'm going but I also saw a good few on irish-based sites for around the same price (between 800-1,000€). I can't remember the names but hop on IRC and ask. Funky linked me a really good one for laptops.

Of course, there's always custompc.ie but I'd say jump on IRC and ask there because when I was in need of help I got some great websites (and I'm totally computer-ignorant in terms of hardware and gaming) which I'm using to help me now!

Khazidhea

I'm playing on ASUS G1s, old gaming laptop.

Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 3 GB Ram, GeForce 8600M GT. Ah, used to be top gaming computer, but now =\

I am playing on low graphic settings in windowed mode with browser\irc\some other **** on the background. Very very rarely in late game XvZ when there is a lot of creep\zerglings\broodlings I might lag a bit. Other than that pretty smooth.

I wanna get ASUS G73 SW now

RoyalMarine

laptop's will never be as good as a desktop for gaming

my previous laptop ran sc2 perfectly however.

dell xps m1710
core 2 duo @ 2.8ghz
gtx 7950 (dual card)
8gb ddr2 ram
standard 5400rpm hdd

however, i now play on my desktop
core i5 750 @ 3.2ghz
hd 5770
8gb ddr3 ram
2 x 60gb SSD in raid

VikingErik

I've a 2 month old MSI GX660
i5 2.67MHz
4GB RAM
HD5879 card (1024mb)

I'll probably upgrade as soon as warranty is up since there is a "void warranty" sticker preventing me from opening up my laptop and upgrading it straight away. It has space for a 2nd HDD and up to 12GB RAM.

It's running really smoothly at the moment (but with Win7 who knows how long that will last). Cost me around €1000

IRL_Sinister

I know this is Canadian but it gives you a good idea of what you can expect to get for the price (I believe this is really good value for what you get)

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=59630&vpn=N73SV-A1&manufacture=Others

Jonny7

Those with laptops.. the memory doesn't really matter, its not a gauge of how fast the graphics card is at all actually.

For instance you can have a 512mb graphics card that is much faster than a 2 gig graphics card.. its the graphics "processor" thats most important

Use this website to get comparisons etc
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-555M.41933.0.html

IRL_Sinister

That notebookcheck website is brilliant

Columc

Intel i7-930 3.2Ghz
8Gb RAM - DDR3 1600
2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 - 1024MB
Asus P6X58D-E motherboard

rig cost me just under 1000 euro, got it last year. So far I haven't found a game that I cant run on extreme settings which the machine struggles on.

deconduo

If you're interested in a desktop, pop over to us in B+U:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=842

I have a:
Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.8GHz
4GB RAM
HD 6870

You could build something similar for under €500 (excluding windows) and it will take pretty much anything you throw at it.

BopNiblets

Core 2 Duo E6850
4GB DDR3
GTX 460
128GB SSD drive

Runs really well mostly on Ultra settings.

nesf

Tenger wrote: »

Anyone use a Mac for SCII? Am in a mind to switch to the dark side (for editing photos)

I played on a 2010 iMac i7 and had no problems whatsoever. Never tried it on my Macbook though.

Tenger

Jonny7 wrote: »

Those with laptops.. the memory doesn't really matter, its not a gauge of how fast the graphics card is at all actually.

For instance you can have a 512mb graphics card that is much faster than a 2 gig graphics card.. its the graphics "processor" thats most important

Great link there. I was looking for a laptop with a discrete graphics card but the link lets me expand my search to some integrated cards. Still want to have 512mb as a minimum though.

Do you think it is necessary to look at 1GB cards when planning for the next 2-3 years of games (SCII expansions and Diablo III)


Was looking at the MacBook option but think the cost jump if just not worth it over a windows laptop when all I want is SCII and photos.

IRL_Sinister

Tenger wrote: »

Great link there. I was looking for a laptop with a discrete graphics card but the link lets me expand my search to some integrated cards. Still want to have 512mb as a minimum though.

Do you think it is necessary to look at 1GB cards when planning for the next 2-3 years of games (SCII expansions and Diablo III)


Was looking at the MacBook option but think the cost jump if just not worth it over a windows laptop when all I want is SCII and photos.

Yes, I'd strongly suggest it. Not for performance but just for enjoyment purposes. D3 looks amazing so I'd say it would be worth dishing out a few more € in preparation for it.

nesf

Tenger wrote: »

Was looking at the MacBook option but think the cost jump if just not worth it over a windows laptop when all I want is SCII and photos.

I think the cost difference is serious if you're not set on having a Mac, though personally I must say I much prefer OSX over Windows for general day to day use. The best chip available on a Macbook right now is a 6750M 1GB which is a good card, so you're not screwing yourself going for the better 15" model of the Macbook Pro.

Definitely not cheap though, though I subscribe to the camp that cheap laptops are false economies.

cherryghost

My current PC rig is:

i7 860 @4ghz
8GB RAM
3.3TB HD
GTX 570
Win 7 Ultimate

Soon to be laptop:
i5 480 @ 2.66ghz
4GB RAM
500GB HD
AMD 5650
Win 7 Premium

Annnnd when its dead at work I play on:
Pentium D 2.8ghz
2GB RAM
160GB HD
9600 GT
XP Pro

IRL_Sinister

Check out this interview:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=203344&currentpage=11

(Video 2)

Here's the laptop in question:

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=58137&vpn=9S7-16F121-494&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar

IdrA does his gaming and streaming through that laptop.

IRL_Sinister

I've decided to finally settle on a 15-inch laptop that will provide awesome performance.

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=60928&vpn=G53SW-A1&manufacture=ASUS

magicianz

Sony VAIO laptop, bout 6 years old by now :P

Windows XP Professional
Intel(R) CPU T2500 @ 2.00GHz
2Gb of ram
Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family - 128 Mb video :P

Yeah so everything is run at minimum settings, micro is hard, but its a step up frommy last desktop xD

nesf

IRL_Sinister wrote: »

I've decided to finally settle on a 15-inch laptop that will provide awesome performance.

http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=60928&vpn=G53SW-A1&manufacture=ASUS

Separate keyboard and mouse or just separate mouse? Or, *shudder* trackpad?

brimur69

SLI laptop ftw

http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk/g970x_overview.html

IRL_Sinister

nesf wrote: »

Separate keyboard and mouse or just separate mouse? Or, *shudder* trackpad?

I brought my mouse and keyboard with me

nesf

IRL_Sinister wrote: »

I brought my mouse and keyboard with me

What do you use out of interest?

IRL_Sinister

Logitech K300 (keyboard)

Razer Mamba (mouse)

I'm going to replace the keyboard with either a Blackwidow (which I can't get hold of in Canada atm) or a Logitech G15 or something along those lines. The shops here are awesome for that stuff so will be doing a bit more research on the subject