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Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop
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TOPIC: Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop

Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1265

So I very foolishly pre-ordered StarCraft 2 and now I am getting a little nervous. I'm not sure if my computer will run it at all. Does anyone have any opinions on this.

Mac Requirements
Mac Minimum System Requirements:

Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.2 or newer
Intel® Processor
NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon® X1600 or better
12 GB available HD space
2 GB Ram
DVD-ROM drive
Broadband Internet connection
1024X720 minimum display resolution
Mac Recommended Specifications:

Intel® Core 2 Duo processor
4 GB system RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon® HD 4670 or better


Ok I have

Macbook
Os X 10.6.4
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz
4 GB System Ram
Intel GMA X3100



I know the big sigh comes out at my graphics card. Honestly I meet all the requirements easily on this thing except for the graphics card. I hate the idea that I would lag someone out online or would not be able to enjoy the game properly.

Re: Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1270

I don't see it being exceptionally bad on your machine. The X3100 is a far cry better than the old G41/G45 Intel integrated graphics used in older Macs/PCs. You should be OK, though you may not have access to all of the video options, as some are invariably not supported for Intel graphics.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1273

Personally I've had lots of problems trying to run games with an X3100. At very low settings I can get some things running at playable speeds but with an ugly appearance and occasional slow-down and/or crashing - Portal would be a good example, or even Torchlight sometimes.

That said mine does surprise me sometimes. I've got RTS games like C&C Generals and AOE3 running perfectly. Check over the specs of those and see what you think.

Re: Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1275

Squishy Tia wrote:
I don't see it being exceptionally bad on your machine. The X3100 is a far cry better than the old G41/G45 Intel integrated graphics used in older Macs/PCs. You should be OK, though you may not have access to all of the video options, as some are invariably not supported for Intel graphics.


First off I do agree that the GMA X3100 isn't a bad card, but apparently it doesn't kick it for SC2. Read below.

I have the same exact machine specs except I have a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, and I was also in the SC2 beta since mid March. When the Mac beta came out I was eager to try it. I did, and I was disappointed to learn that even with everything on low it ran UNPLAYABLY. I went on the Battle.net Forums to see if the X3100 is supported, and the developers said it is NOT because its chipset is too slow. You would need at least an early model 2008 MacBook (the early unibodies) or anything from there on up that started to have the nVidia 9400m integrated video cards/boards. I doubt this'll change when retail hits the shelves in the next few days..

And second off, with that said, SC2 has a similar engine to WC3 (and WoW to some extent), which both run great on the X3100 on medium to high settings... and I do realize that WC3 is an older title, but it also uses the up-down point of view like SC2 does, including using the scroll-wheel on a mouse to zoom in or out on units and terrain on the map. I don't know nor understand what's changed in SC2's graphics subsystem to make it require more graphics horsepower.... It'd be interested to find out.
Last Edit: 13 years, 8 months ago by ShiggitySays.

Re: Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1276


ShiggitySays wrote:
I have the same exact machine specs except I have a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, and I was also in the SC2 beta since mid March. When the Mac beta came out I was eager to try it. I did, and I was disappointed to learn that even with everything on low it ran UNPLAYABLY. I went on the Battle.net Forums to see if the X3100 is supported, and the developers said it is NOT because its chipset is too slow. You would need at least an early model 2008 MacBook (the early unibodies) or anything from there on up that started to have the nVidia 9400m integrated video cards/boards. I doubt this'll change when retail hits the shelves in the next few days..

And second off, with that said, SC2 has a similar engine to WC3 (and WoW to some extent), which both run great on the X3100 on medium to high settings... and I do realize that WC3 is an older title, but it also uses the up-down point of view like SC2 does, including using the scroll-wheel on a mouse to zoom in or out on units and terrain on the map. I don't know nor understand what's changed in SC2's graphics subsystem to make it require more graphics horsepower.... It'd be interested to find out.


I was also in the beta, I mostly played via Bootcamp because the Mac version is simply slower. This is mostly due to Apple not updating their OpenGL drivers to be up to date or optimized. X3100 will be too slow to run SC2. I started out with my old MBP ('07 C2D w/ ATI x1600) and it ran under Bootcamp on lowest setting at ~20fps. In OS X is was basically unplayable and too slow. So yeah you'll need an updated machine to really get anything out of it.

As for SC2 vs WoW, etc, SC2 is a huge resource hog compared to those other games. The thing about SC2 is it's not just about the graphics card it's also about the CPU. It is a highly demanding CPU game. Graphics wise, it kills WoW, WoW really isn't demanding graphically at all and never has been. The issue with WoW and fps is when you get into cities with tons of other toons. Then the framerate drops. Similarly, in SC2 you're fighting battles with upwards of 50+ units at a time. There's a ton of processing and rendering power that has to go into all of that even on low settings. Even on my shiny new pimped out MBP that I just got last week, I can only get 65fps in medium under Bootcamp (and 40 fps in OS X). It's simply a more demanding game.
Last Edit: 13 years, 8 months ago by vitaflo.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1278

Wow, that really blows. For the Beta my computer actually ran it pretty decently but when it went offline and came back and told me my graphics card wasn't supported I thought I was doomed. I guess I was right On this one. Now I just have to wonder whether or not I should move my preorder.

I hate the fact that Apple/Intel is so lax when supporting this card. I remember when they were starting to talk about Snow Leopard and Open CL and the X3100 wasn't even supported. Around that time it wasn't even that old. I'm really disappointed by them right now.

Thanks for all the input you guys. If anyone else has anything to say about this I would appreciate it.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1279

Drake5016 wrote:
Wow, that really blows. For the Beta my computer actually ran it pretty decently but when it went offline and came back and told me my graphics card wasn't supported I thought I was doomed. I guess I was right On this one. Now I just have to wonder whether or not I should move my preorder.

I hate the fact that Apple/Intel is so lax when supporting this card. I remember when they were starting to talk about Snow Leopard and Open CL and the X3100 wasn't even supported. Around that time it wasn't even that old. I'm really disappointed by them right now.

Thanks for all the input you guys. If anyone else has anything to say about this I would appreciate it.


To be fair, it's GMA, that's integrated graphics, meaning that's not even a real graphics card. You really can't expect much out of any integrated graphics chip. But if you played beta and it ran ok, then perhaps it will on release too even if it's not supported. My guess though is that you will be at a severe disadvantage when fights get big because your fps will drop like a rock. I'm guessing that's why they cut it out of their supported hardware list. Even my pimped out brand new MBP gets down to 30fps in big fights on medium (does 65 at start of games).

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1280

I was a beta tester with the same graphics card and processor setup only I have a Core2Duo. The game WILL run nicely on LOW settings. It recommended me medium settings and it ran alright but once some action started, it began to stutter. So your computer is fine for the game, just don't expect it to look top notch.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1281

Does this game run in a window, or am I forced to use full screen?

It may sound stupid, but I would only play in a window during downtime. I am constantly needing to flip back and forth. (I actually played the original again in an emulator just so I could have it in a window)

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1282

menace690 wrote:
Does this game run in a window, or am I forced to use full screen?

It may sound stupid, but I would only play in a window during downtime. I am constantly needing to flip back and forth. (I actually played the original again in an emulator just so I could have it in a window)


You can do either, but given you move the screen around by hitting the edges of the screen, expect not to be able to scroll up (OS X menubar drops down).

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1283

Just noticed that you are running a integrated GMA card. The game WILL NOT run on your machine. I am running a 8600GT, which allows the game to be played. I repeat, the game will NOT run on your machine.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1284

vitaflo wrote:
menace690 wrote:
Does this game run in a window, or am I forced to use full screen?

It may sound stupid, but I would only play in a window during downtime. I am constantly needing to flip back and forth. (I actually played the original again in an emulator just so I could have it in a window)


You can do either, but given you move the screen around by hitting the edges of the screen, expect not to be able to scroll up (OS X menubar drops down).


SC2 doesn't have a "maximized windowed" mode like WoW does?

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1285

Squishy Tia wrote:
vitaflo wrote:
menace690 wrote:
Does this game run in a window, or am I forced to use full screen?

It may sound stupid, but I would only play in a window during downtime. I am constantly needing to flip back and forth. (I actually played the original again in an emulator just so I could have it in a window)


You can do either, but given you move the screen around by hitting the edges of the screen, expect not to be able to scroll up (OS X menubar drops down).


SC2 doesn't have a "maximized windowed" mode like WoW does?


Yes, that's what I mean. To move the screen up you usually move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen. In a maximized window, the OS X menu bar will drop down if you hit the top of the screen (it thinks you want it to pop down). This interferes with the game scrolling. To add insult to injury, many of the game functions are on the top of the screen (like Surrender). They are basically inaccessible as well because of this. They can be accessed with F-keys though (but of course OS X overwrites their use since they're used for things like screen brightness and sound).

Fullscreen is basically the only real way to play SC2. That said, Cmd-M gets you out of fullscreen mode quickly if I remember correctly.
Last Edit: 13 years, 8 months ago by vitaflo.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1286

I don't know about any of the other stuff, but you can turn off the mapping of function keys to volume/brightness/whatever adjustment. If you have a keyboard with an "fn" key, you can still access those functions when they're turned off by holding the "fn" key and pressing the relevant function key.

I imagine you can also do things about the pop down menu bar, too.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1288

So, basically, it's just like WC3 with the small window?
Another question: Does it have the same intensity graphics-wise as WC3? Mine runs it very easily, so that would be a plus for me.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1289

They can be accessed with F-keys though (but of course OS X overwrites their use since they're used for things like screen brightness and sound).


You can change those settings to other key combos with the Keyboard/Mouse prefpane. That'll solve that issue right there. The menubar on maximized windowed mode does suck though.

Overall, with the cost of SC2 (especially considering it's a three piece meal and not cheap for each piece), graphics aside, I'm not all that impressed with what I've seen. Lack of LAN mode with duplicate key checking kind of blows. SC/BW was a total blast for me because I had LAN parties with family members at the house. Can't do that anymore with SC2.

SC2 looks great, but there seems to be a large gap between SC2 playability and WoW/WC3 playability in terms of hardware needed. I suppose that's the price of gaming evolution.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1291

I got the game and my DVD drive broke, which I thought I would have fixed by now. I'll let you know if I can run it when I get it fixed.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1292

Thanks for everyones replies. Good news, my comp runs it. While its not pretty it is playable and enjoyable


^_______^

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1293

jack59splat59 wrote:
I got the game and my DVD drive broke, which I thought I would have fixed by now. I'll let you know if I can run it when I get it fixed.

you can download the full client from blizzard, no need for a dvd. just log into your battle.net account, you should have the download option somewhere in there.
also no need to keep the disc in the drive for playing.

as for scrolling the battlefield: i never use the screenborders, you can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Re:Running StarCraft 2 on my laptop 13 years, 8 months ago #1299

Mungo wrote:

as for scrolling the battlefield: i never use the screenborders, you can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard.


The only issue with this is it severely limits your play. Moving your fingers between arrow keys and hotkeys is way too slow.

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