I posted this in a computer tutorial but doesn't seem to be looked at often? Here's my questions: ok so I want to build a computer for sc2 as well haha because my laptop CAN run it on the lowest settings...but who wants that? Anyways I had a few questions which i did read this thread but either missed the answers or they werent in here. So the i5 750 is pretty much the best processor for the price? Is 4gb ddr3 memory sufficient for awhile or is 6gb recommended? For the graphics card how good is the gts 250 1gb 256 bit card? Is it better to go with say the gtx 460 but with 512 mb instead or 1gb and lower bits? little confused and that part. I just want the best video card for the price and looking for around 130-200$ .. Also what about a sound card do you guys just use the one on the motherboard?
I think the best bet, is the 460, it is more than sufficient and anything lower you will not be getting the best bang for your buck. I upgraded to the EVGA GTX 460 768mb superclocked, and it is more than enough. I would have preferred the 1gb but it was out of stock at the time. the 460 comes in many editions but only 1gb or 768mb versions, there are superclocked versions, and higher clocked ones, 2 year warranty and 10 year warranties. As long as you get the460 you should be good, I would recommend going with evga or the msi cyclone as those are 2 of the best ones for this series. The msi one is extremely overclockable and has an excellent cooler, but you may not want to bother with oc it and it is a bit more then the evga version which is already sufficient for sc2/ I am playing on maxxed out settings, Ultra 1920x1080 on a 23" lcd monitor and for about $200 this is in your range and you will definitely be purely satisfied. For the 4gb ram, I think it is sufficient as I load usually at about the same times as other players and I am only on a core2duo which i am not sure how much it effects load times. Mutli tasking from sc2 to windows takes anywhere from 2 sec-8sec, not significantly bad as my old system was 2gb ram and it took 30 sec. So while you could get 6, 4gb should be fine for your budget. maybe get 2 sticks of 2gb, so you have 2 slots on yur mobo available for another 2gb in the future. Take a look at this review - Hardware Canucks Gpu Performance comparison - SC2 - essentially its saying the 460 is the best card all around for sc2.
For SC2, I'd say definitely go with the GTX 460 (1GB is better but even the 768MB model would suffice). And yes, value for money while maintaining high performance in SC2, the i5-750/760 is the best choice. There appear to be some definite gains with the i7-920/930 in some scenarios due to better memory performance. Alas, the whole platform is also more expensive overall. 4GB is enough. Lynnfield can only do dual-channel anyway. Currently, only Bloomfield/Gulftown can run in triple channel.
