Starcraft 2 on DELL Inspiron 530 *HELP*

Hello Fellas.

I need some peoples expertise on 2 situations that I currently have while gaming on Starcraft II.

Firstly let me list out what I can about my unit running this game...

it's a DELL Inspiron 530 (i know noob move... )
it's a:
core2duo (2.0ghz CPU)
2 GIG RAM (upgraded to 4 GIGs)
Windows Vista 32-bit
OEM Video card - Nvidia 8400GS
(UPGRADED THIS TO A ATi HD 5770 1GB) [which i love...!]

Ok, now to the issues at hand...
First issue that bothers me is when i ALT+TAB out from the game to windows and back. When I ALT+TAB back into starcraft, it takes an ENORMOUS time to load the game back up... I think even for a DELL unit, I should have more than enough RAM and VIDEO RAM to support it to load quickly... Does anyone else have this issue and have you found a cure for it? The currently resolution i am running for the game at the moment is 1920x1080 being ran into a Sony KDL40S4100. the game settings are on ULTRA and when I play a 3v3 co-op game it runs smooth as butter in the beginning but once there's lots of units on screen it gets choppy....

LOL i guess i put both questions into that one long *** paragraph. my bad. and i hope some smart peeps can help me with this situation.

I also look at the sticky in this thread about adding/configuring some lines to help with a lag situation but i guess i'd have to wait until i get home to try that.

Many thanks in advance!

-Richard

 

Reduce your graphics settings quite a bit.. probably to medium. If you really want to be able to Alt+tab easily, change the window setting to "FULL SCREEN WINDOWED" instead of just "FULL SCREEN".

That mode takes more computing power, but it will make Alt+tab'ing very quick.

 

Thanks for listing all kinds of useful information. Only question I have left is, is the PC hooked to your TV via VGA, composite, or HDMI?

I would recommend making sure your video drivers are up-to-date, and perhaps knocking the texture quality back from ultra to high and see if that improves your speeds in heavy battles (use ctrl+alt+f to display frame rates and get an idea of how much of a difference it makes).

As for your alt tabbing issues, I've got a buddy with a freakn' RAID array for loading SC2 and it still takes a bit of time to alt+tab. Its a new game, and even beasty machines are bound to take awhile when alt+tabbing (especially if your in a mission. Its not so bad if your in the menu's or between single player campaign missions). Hopefully the game will become more stable and better at things like this as it gets patched and time moves on.

No one remembers machines that crashed when alt tabbing in the original StarCraft 1.03? Or machines that suddenly stopped reading Diablo 2's DVD after the 1.04 patch? LOL It takes time to work the kinks out of such massive games.

If you are cloning the display between the laptop and the TV, i would simply set the TV as the primary monitor (which will shut off the laptop display) and try that.

 

lol where'd my 2nd post go? lol! oh well...

It's currently being connected via HDMI, since the GPU supports it, i was like awesome! lol

And when i first installed the ATi 5770 i updated the drivers via interwebs instead of from the cd that was given with the GPU. so I'm prettttty sure it's an up-to-date driver on the GPU.

I have never had the textures set to ultra and i actually left it as what the game thought would be the recomended settings. Basically everything was on Ultra except for textures...

i do remember the diablo error about the cd not reading. Yeah I believe all things take time to fix all the kinks and what not.

I just love playing it with the visuals all there! seeing my friend run it on lowest settings looks god awful and i didn't want to go towards that option...

I'm just hoping that there is patches and user accessible options to make the game run right. I believe my unit is decent enough (with the upgrades that i've already done) to play with Ultra settings except for textures...

 

Yeah, wish I had more idea's. My buddies beasty Quad Core machine with a 3 disc raid arrray has the same issue, so..... lol yeah.

 

WOW... i guess i should just work with it for the time being.

I will definitely try the ctrl+alt+f function to see what my framerate is... seriously love the super smooth movement at start of t he game up until there's like 50+ units on-screen. then i make one of these faces lol!!!!!

thanks a lot for the info/help Xev, i will be trying that one sticky you have about adding those variables into the file.

OH YEAH, forgot to mention just incase if anyone says it might be my PSU. I did upgrade that to a 500w PSU at time of GPU purchase lol.

 

Well, you should have plenty of power to keep that beast going. That is the biggest mistake people make when they upgrade to a graphics card that needs additional power.

 

lol yeah... my friend did that... running stock 250w PSU with a GPU that needs 450w = dead. lol!

 

I don't think any GPU uses 450W by itself and that's including the GTX 480. By the way, assuming your build's not overloaded with stuff (hard drives, etc), a good quality 250W should be able to power at least an HD5750+dual-core CPU (or low power quad). I'd rather stick with a 250W SeaSonic than a 500W Allied Power.

 

The power needed also depends on the CPU wattage.

 

Man .... This is wher I start to Lose myself. Lol!

so I tried that variable edit and it seems to run better. still choppy when 50+ units on screen. but then again i can just be tricking my mind to thinking it's fine...

i hope this is just something that blizzard will have to fix and make work...

[dp][/dp]

 

StarCraft 1 ate machines alive too when it was new. P166's were the most common processors.. it wasn't until 333Mhz machines came around that you could finally have multiple Toss carriers on the screen at full speed. lol

 

lol! i remember those days........

then i started playing on a p2/p3 system and nevar had a problem lol!

 

well, just giving some updates on my situation. lol!!!

I had of course replaced the PSU when i originally went out and got a HD5770. But then i decided to just pull the trigger and up it to a HD5830 since it was only a 50-70 dollar difference. Well, firstly, the damn GPU was 11 friggin inches compared to the 8.25" 5770. I figured since i had already replaced the stock 300watt PSU to a 500watt PSU and after some google'ing and other searches. I notied a lot of PSU's are not what they say they are. This is totally new to me, and heck, why not share some knowledge with my new-found peeps. Don't always go by what the box of a PSU says. it is not always 500watts. So what got me to thinking this is that the GPU seemed to be struggling. Guess it wasn't getting enough power... lol FAIL on my behalf.

I think i am good for starcraft2 now.

also, appreciate all the help i've gotten from you guys!

EDIT:

i really hope that made sense... LMAO! It's early in the morning for me so i tend to be a little stupid. lulz!!!!!!

 

well, it still gets laggy/choppy when game has tons of units onscreen... so... i did a dxdiag and this is the following info i got from my pc, and im a noob when it comes to stuff like this... i want to know what CPUs i can upgrade to please.... hope someone can help me.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/10/2010, 23:21:33
Machine name: RICHARD-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.100608-0458)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 530
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4400 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 3326MB RAM
Page File: 915MB used, 5973MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x689E)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_689E&SUBSYS_30701682&REV_00
Display Memory: 2422 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1015 MB
Shared Memory: 1407 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 720 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: aticfx32.dll,aticfx32.dll,aticfx32.dll,atiumdag.dll,atidxx32.dll,atiumdva.cap
Driver Version: 8.17.0010.1036 (English)
DDI Version: 11
BGRA Supported: Yes
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 7/6/2010 18:54:08, 513024 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-2BDE-11CF-3E71-7A10BEC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x689E
SubSys ID: 0x30701682
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C
Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(S340,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(S342,UNKNOWN) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled

-------------------
DirectInput Devices
-------------------
Device Name: Mouse
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Device Name: Keyboard
Attached: 1
Controller ID: n/a
Vendor/Product ID: n/a
FF Driver: n/a

Poll w/ Interrupt: No

-----------
USB Devices
-----------
+ USB Root Hub
| Vendor/Product ID: 0x8086, 0x2935
| Matching Device ID: usb\root_hub
| Service: usbhub
| Driver: usbhub.sys, 4/10/2009 21:43:16, 196096 bytes
| Driver: usbd.sys, 1/18/2008 22:53:18, 5888 bytes
|
+-+ USB Human Interface Device
| | Vendor/Product ID: 0x04D9, 0x1135
| | Location: Port_#0002.Hub_#0006
| | Matching Device ID: generic_hid_device
| | Service: HidUsb
| | Driver: hidusb.sys, 4/10/2009 21:42:48, 12800 bytes
| | Driver: hidclass.sys, 4/10/2009 21:42:48, 39424 bytes
| | Driver: hidparse.sys, 1/18/2008 22:53:18, 25472 bytes
| |
| +-+ HID-compliant mouse
| | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x04D9, 0x1135
| | | Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_mouse
| | | Service: mouhid
| | | Driver: mouhid.sys, 1/18/2008 22:49:18, 15872 bytes
| | | Driver: mouclass.sys, 1/19/2008 00:41:54, 34360 bytes
| |
+-+ USB Human Interface Device
| | Vendor/Product ID: 0x413C, 0x2105
| | Location: Port_#0001.Hub_#0006
| | Matching Device ID: generic_hid_device
| | Service: HidUsb
| | Driver: hidusb.sys, 4/10/2009 21:42:48, 12800 bytes
| | Driver: hidclass.sys, 4/10/2009 21:42:48, 39424 bytes
| | Driver: hidparse.sys, 1/18/2008 22:53:18, 25472 bytes
| |
| +-+ HID Keyboard Device
| | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x413C, 0x2105
| | | Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_keyboard
| | | Service: kbdhid
| | | Driver: kbdhid.sys, 4/10/2009 21:38:40, 17408 bytes
| | | Driver: kbdclass.sys, 1/19/2008 00:41:54, 35384 bytes

----------------
Gameport Devices
----------------

------------
PS/2 Devices
------------
+ Terminal Server Keyboard Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_kbd
| Upper Filters: kbdclass
| Service: TermDD
| Driver: i8042prt.sys, 1/18/2008 22:49:20, 54784 bytes
| Driver: kbdclass.sys, 1/19/2008 00:41:54, 35384 bytes
|
+ Terminal Server Mouse Driver
| Matching Device ID: root\rdp_mou
| Upper Filters: mouclass
| Service: TermDD
| Driver: termdd.sys, 4/10/2009 23:32:52, 53224 bytes
| Driver: sermouse.sys, 1/18/2008 22:49:18, 19968 bytes
| Driver: mouclass.sys, 1/19/2008 00:41:54, 34360 bytes

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
Drive: C:
Free Space: 238.7 GB
Total Space: 294.9 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: SAMSUNG HD321KJ ATA Device

Drive: D:
Free Space: 5.8 GB
Total Space: 10.2 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: SAMSUNG HD321KJ ATA Device

Drive: E:
Model: HL-DT-ST CDRW/DVD GCCH10N ATA Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.00.6002.18005 (English), 4/10/2009 21:39:17, 67072 bytes

Drive: F:
Model: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H73N ATA Device
Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.00.6002.18005 (English), 4/10/2009 21:39:17, 67072 bytes

--------------
System Devices
--------------
Name: Intel(R) G33/G31/P35 Express Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 29C1
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_29C1&SUBSYS_020D1028&REV_02\3&2411E6FE&0&08
Driver: C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\pci.sys, 6.00.6002.18005 (English), 4/10/2009 23:32:55, 149480 bytes

Name: Intel(R) G33/G31/P35 Express Chipset Processor to I/O Controller - 29C0
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_29C0&SUBSYS_020D1028&REV_02\3&2411E6FE&0&00
Driver: n/a

Name: High Definition Audio Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_293E&SUBSYS_020D1028&REV_02\3&2411E6FE&0&D8
Driver: C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\hdaudbus.sys, 6.00.6002.18005 (English), 4/10/2009 21:42:42, 561152 bytes

sorry for the long *** friggin list.

Hope this helps someone into recognizing/finding what CPU i can install into this bish!!! thanks in advance.

 

Hard to say, since there is no info about the mainboard type and manufacturer... I guess it's a socket 775 board. You can get any Core2Duo or Core2Quad CPU for that. The new Core i5 or Corei7 CPUs are not compatible though.

 

Yeah I was trying to look for mobo information but couldn't find where it was...

But do you think it's ok to go quad core?

edit:

well, looks like i found what my MOBO model number is.... it's the 0ry007 mobo, im sure of it cause when i ran the DXDIAG i saw somewhere, that model #. So i guess i can upgrade to core2duo CPUs but no quad core CPUs...

Guess i'll get an E8500? or would an E8400 be better?

 

Try running the Intel Driver Update Utility to update some of your chipset drivers, stuff looks like its a bit old. I can't find any real information on your audio card, seems the generic driver is installed. After some digging, it seems that this card is a Realtek card. You can get the lasted drivers from their website.

Not sure if driver updates will help smooth things out, although I do know that Realtek audio cards generally seem to run better with their own drivers. I'd try updating all that stuff and giving it a shot.

 

AWESOME info guys...

I'm going to run a CPUZ when i get home to detail out more information to better help me. lol!

As for the drivers... yes i need to update drivers. it's amazing how much of a noob move i did. after reading all these threads here in the sc2f.com forums that say to update drivers... lol

 

Quad isn't very helpful for SC2. A higher clocked dual-core such as the Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz or E8500 3.16GHz would serve your purposes better. The chipset should support either processor. Yours is reporting either G33, G31 or P35 all of which are compatible with 45nm processors. Just not sure if the BIOS does so you're going to have to research that part.