Starcraft II beta - 1920x1080 video card suggestion needed

K

Koslov

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 31, 2003
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My friend is in the SCII Beta and he badly needs a new video card. He plays on a 24" @ 1920x1080. He's really low on cash...I wonder what would be the best bang for the buck option for him to play smoothly. Quick system specs: AMD X4 620, 4GB DDR2...
 
I'm thinking something like a 4850 should be smooth enough despite not being 60FPS. GTS 250 >= 5750 > 4850 in the SC2 benchmarks which is a tad odd since most other games their performance is usually quite a bit closer. Lack of AA in those benches might be what makes the 4850 look bad though. The 4850 is probably the most budget conscious choice though.

GPU Comparisons:
http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,4.html
http://diybbs.it168.com/thread-597419-1-1.html

CPU Scaling:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...CPU-benchmarks-x-Core-i5/i7-leading/Practice/

The game is much more dependent on CPU and the Athlon II's lack of cache hurts a bit. As you can see in those 2 reviews, i7 at 1920x1200 gets more frames than the Core2Quad at 1680x1050.
 
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25-30fps for an RTS is the same as having 60fps for an FPS, which mean 100% playable IMO so keep the in mind when purchasing a card for your friend, he does not need to spend much at all if it's only for SC2 :)
 
What PSU does your friend have? Not a good idea to get a new GPU if the PSU can't handle it.
 
You guys really think he is going to need a 5770 for that? I was hoping my 9800GTX+ would keep it going fine maxed at 1920x1200. After looking at the beta tests it seems he could go cheaper. Also (well hopefully anyway) performance should be improved in the final release, meaning it might be possible to slum even more.
 
MattyC said:
You guys really think he is going to need a 5770 for that? I was hoping my 9800GTX+ would keep it going fine maxed at 1920x1200. After looking at the beta tests it seems he could go cheaper. Also (well hopefully anyway) performance should be improved in the final release, meaning it might be possible to slum even more.
Click to expand...

why not a Geforce 250 then? pretty sure it's a rebadge 9800

I recommended the 5770 because SC2 will eventually have some sort of DX11 support.

edit: also want to mention that I do not believe the GPU graphs are indicative of real world performance. I believe the replay they used to benchmark doesn't strain the GPU much.
 
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Udgnim said:
why not a Geforce 250 then? pretty sure it's a rebadge 9800

I recommended the 5770 because SC2 will eventually have some sort of DX11 support.

edit: also want to mention that I do not believe the GPU graphs are indicative of real world performance. I believe the replay they used to benchmark doesn't strain the GPU much.
Click to expand...

What would make you think that?
 
Xzyrus said:
I'm thinking something like a 4850 should be smooth enough despite not being 60FPS. GTS 250 >= 5750 > 4850 in the SC2 benchmarks which is a tad odd since most other games their performance is usually quite a bit closer. Lack of AA in those benches might be what makes the 4850 look bad though. The 4850 is probably the most budget conscious choice though.

GPU Comparisons:
http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,4.html
http://diybbs.it168.com/thread-597419-1-1.html

CPU Scaling:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...CPU-benchmarks-x-Core-i5/i7-leading/Practice/

The game is much more dependent on CPU and the Athlon II's lack of cache hurts a bit. As you can see in those 2 reviews, i7 at 1920x1200 gets more frames than the Core2Quad at 1680x1050.
Click to expand...

Oh nice thanks. This is what I was searching for hehe
 
suck it up on the beta and wait for [H] to do a review?
 
I'm running SC2 playing against AI on my Phenom II x4 B50 (unlocked 550) at 3.6 on HD4200 integrated at 1280x800 on medium getting 18-22fps and it seems quite smooth. However at 1776x1000 its at 10-12fps and noticeably jumpy. That's my own perception of course which may be different from yours.

Whats weird is my LCD's native is 2048x1152 yet 1280x800 fills my screen but 1776x1000 does not although I have GPU scaling on. The 1280x800 has to be distorted since the ratio is different. I know playing it like this is bad since it looks horrible. I didn't mind RE5 or Prototype at 1280x720 (min details etc), but SC2 looks horrible like this. Still tempted to hold out since SC2 isn't officially released for another 3-5 months and I don't like buying cards when there's no competition.
 
Udgnim said:
why not a Geforce 250 then? pretty sure it's a rebadge 9800

I recommended the 5770 because SC2 will eventually have some sort of DX11 support.

edit: also want to mention that I do not believe the GPU graphs are indicative of real world performance. I believe the replay they used to benchmark doesn't strain the GPU much.
Click to expand...
TomGreen321 said:
What would make you think that?
Click to expand...
Udgnim said:
DLed beta client and ran replays to see performance
Click to expand...
I think Tom meant to ask what makes you think SC2 will support DX11? I haven't heard any news regarding that, nor do I think SC2 needs it. It might benefit a little from multithreaded rendering, but SC2's art assets are already finished and it would be a huge PITA to remake them for tessellation. I google'd the topic and found nothing more than fanboy speculatiuon. Have you any links?
 
Here's something I posted in another SC2 topic:
http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=21043889722&postId=212564832574&sid=3000#0

That pretty much dispels DX11. Of course it'll be compatible with DX11 cards since DX11 cards can still run previous DX versions, but they say there'll be no DX 11 specific features.

I'm kind of tempted to get an (ATI Reference - I think at least) 4850 for $70 CAD used but I'd prefer a GTS 250 since it offers flexibility (F@H, PhysX later down the road if I plan on upgrading), but I can't find any cheap 512mb GTS 250 locally. The GTS 250s 1GB are like 140 used which is a major rip off so I'm just waiting to see what happens with the new cards.

The 5750 512MB is what I want but only Powercolor seems to exist in North America. I like having DX11 since I don't mind sacrificing settings in games most of the time (except SC2 looks noticeably bad at low res) and the quietness/low heat/power, but there is a premium so if your friend is own a budget, the GTS 250 and 4850 make more sense.

I have a firm belief that the 5750 1GB is retarded, you might as well go to the 5770.
 
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