BlizzCon 2009 Announced

Yeah, all Blizzard betas have been cracked in the past so I doubt this'll be any different.

 

I hope this means that i have a better chance of getting the beta even though i live in canada
and if i can figure out how to torrent stuff

 

All you need to downlaod torrents, is a program like BitTorrrent, Utorrent, Azureus (now called Vuze), type in what you want to look for and download away. Highly illegal unless you already own the program, but hey as I always say, it's not illegal unless you get caught.

 

This time i'll actually check my email when they send out beta invites...will never forgive myself when i didn't notice i had a beta invite for WoW The Burning Crusade until it was 3 months too late =O

 

Most times things are illegal even if you own the program especially since when you torrent you aren't just downloading; you're uploading. But, really, I doubt downloading the beta will be illegal

 

August you say?

...

I'm off break then.

And it's around my birthday.

Do I want a computer for my birthday, or see if I can't go to BlizzCon?

Sweet bajeezus.

 

i'd get a new comp to play SCII when it comes out unless you already have one

 

I can't afford a new computer, and my parents don't have the money for a new one either.

 

Oh dear....This August....Need to get a new computer fast D:

 

Wow ... So many people with old, old, old computers. If your computer can't run StarCraft 2 then you've been in need of an upgrade for many years considering the game runs fine on old hardware already.

 

I've got a laptop made in late 2006/early 2007.

Only upgrade I've done is increase RAM from 1GB to 2GB.

 

Old hardware is old hardware regardless of it's manufacturing or purchase date unless you got ripped off or made a bad purchase and bought bad components.

Plus, there's been a recent "revolution", I guess you could say, in laptop gaming so there have been some leaps and bounds since then in gaming laptop efficiency.

 

I don't think there is a need to worry if your computer can run a SC2, it most likely will if it was bought in the last...hmmm...5 years I'd say. It probably won't run SC2 at full graphics but it will still run it. If you feel the need to buy a new computer I'd recommend just buying the parts and building it yourself, it can be a lot cheaper. For instance, I once priced out the best computer on the market, or so claims Alienware, you can buy it form them last I checked for like $7500, or you could buy the parts and build it yourself for $5500.

 

Alienware isn't a good example. They're insanely overpriced. For the most part, you are completely correct which is why I usually build computers myself. However, companies such as iBUYPOWER and CyberPC actually give you computers cheaper than you could put together yourself if you start from absolute scratch. That's why I'm going to buy a computer from them and then replace the parts here and there from that computer insteading of doing that now.

 

Yeah I haven't dabbled in the world of computer parts in awhile but I should, heck I'm still using a 20 gig hard drive with 256 megs of ddr ram, so I have to start buying some upgrades if i hope to run SC2 with decent graphics.

 

i dont care too much about having to play with low graphics settings, I just want to be able to play it with others on the forum, watching as my foes tremble under my queen's mighty tread >: D

 

Since I melted one of the cores in my desktop(brilliant I know) this is a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. Someone already did it, to a degree. But once we get a little more info, or once I can see some more video/screenshots I will make a <$500 SC2 PC thread. I'll start getting info together for laptop, shuttle and desktop components. It is a little early to be making that speculation, but I would say we are closing in on what is going to be (with regards to PC performance) a final build on the practical level. I'll keep it updated as we get new info. So if someone has input on that send me a PM with your favorite mobo, CPU etc and I'll check it out. I would like to provide 3 ranges of builds to run at ideal, moderate and minimal settings. Minimal being lowest graphical settings but running without any slowdown.
At any rate, please PM me with any feedback on that, I'll try to get that thread up over the weekend. And we can make changes tentatively as new info becomes available.

Oh and on Ibuypower, I've heard some pretty horrible things about them. Lots of instances of shipping a PC that's DOA and the components aren't what they were supposed to be. I lack personal experience with the company, however I wanted to get that out there so you guys can look into before you buy from them.

 

iBUYPOWER is one of the highest rated merchants in a few PC magazines so I'm not to worried about that. The best companies can sound like con artists if you look in the wrong areas for that information. I would be much more worried about Alienware / Dell than iBUYPOWER because at my school we have Dell computers and they get BSOD every 30 minutes even though it's not being use. Also, my mother has a Dell ... and it's awful.

And, before I send you some of my recommendations, I must ask you: Is StarCraft 2 going to be the main game that you play? As in, pretty much the only game? I ask because that'll make a big difference in CPU choice and graphics card software support necessity.

 

@Tychus: I play all sorts of stuff here and there. I am not in need of a machine personally though, a lot of people have just been expressing the concern for their system being able to play SC2. So i was going to put together a handful of builds at a few different price ranges to help people make an easy decision on what to get without spending too much. But there is quite a lot to look at in the way of mobos and CPUs so if you have any affordable preferences I'd like to hear about it so i can include it in my guide.

and yeah, you are right about the PC companies looking like con artists. The people with bad experiences are typically the only ones who go online and *****, so with most things you see more negative reviews than good ones. Just have heard some nasty things so I thought I would mention it.

 

If I got a comp for SC2, it would be the only game I played on it. I would want max graphics settings though, if I could do it under $500. I would probably also use it for Rhino3D since I'm an industrial designer, and that could justify it to my wife possibly...

Then again, I could get a tricked out iMac and run SC2 and Rhino on that as well...