(Don't) Meet the StarCraft II System Requirements (UPDATE)

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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(Don't) Meet the StarCraft II System Requirements (UPDATE)



Want to play StarCraft II [http://www.amazon.com/Starcraft-II-Wings-Liberty-Pc/dp/B000ZKA0J6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278964580&sr=1-1]? Better make sure your gaming computer is up to snuff, since Blizzard has released the hardware requirements for the SC2 Beta. (Update: No, they haven't.)

Like seismic pressure that may-or-may-not indicate a volcanic eruption, the evidence keeps mounting that we may be seeing the incredibly long-awaited StarCraft II beta test sooner rather than later. First, there was the clip of the developers celebrating the beta [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97777-Blizzard-Devs-Celebrate-StarCraft-II-Beta], and now? We have the hardware requirements.

IncGamers [http://starcraft.incgamers.com/blog/comments/starcraft-ii-system-requirements-revealed/] has the requirements - though I've been so far unable to find the official Blizzard post where these come from. If anyone finds the source, a heads-up would be great (otherwise, take these as "probably true, but not confirmed.") Anyway, here they are:

[blockquote]The minimum system requirements for the StarCraft II Beta are as follows:

Minimum Requirements:
Operating System
-Windows XP / XP64 (Service Pack 3)
-Windows Vista / Vista64 (service Pack 1)
-Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor
-Intel Pentium IV 1.3GHz
-AMD XP 1500+
Memory
-(Windows XP) 512mb
-(Windows Vista) 1024mb
-(Windows 7) 1024mb
Graphics
-3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM
such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or better
Hard Drive
-15Gb (of free space) -
DirectX
-DirectX9.0c


Recommended Requirements:
Processor
-Intel Pentium D
-AMD 64 X2
Memory
-(Windows XP) 1024mb
-(Windows Vista) 2048mb
-(Windows 7) 2048mb
Graphics
-3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM
such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better

In addition to the above hardware requirements, you must have:
-a valid e-mail address and internet connection (for registration)
-an active Broadband Internet connection (for Battle.net play)

The final requirements for StarCraft II have not yet been determined; due to ongoing development the minimum requirements listed above are subject to change at any time.[/blockquote]

Though it says they may not be the final requirements for SC2 when it releases, it's a good bet that Blizzard will end up with something similar (at the very least) for the real deal. As with all Blizzard games, the requirements seem pretty goddamn reasonable, so older machines will be able to run it (just not in its fullest glory).

At last report, there will be no beta client for the Mac - but the actual release of StarCraft II will contain both PC and Mac versions of the game on a single disc, like very other Blizzard game since Warcraft III.

This could be Blizzard ramping up for the true home stretch at last, or it could be a false alarm like so many others. Let's keep our fingers crossed, folks.

Update: Sadly, this goes under the "false alarm" for now - Blizzard let Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5459769/your-starcraft-ii-beta-system-requirements-are-here-[update-+-no-theyre-not]] know that these specs were not the real deal, and that they appeared on the company's support site mistakenly.

Sadmaking.

(Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2010/01/29/spec-requirements-revealed-for-starcraft-ii/])

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Swaki

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Apr 15, 2009
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i guess this means we can soon (like in a year or so) actually put it on out machines, wohoo!
 

syndicated44

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Apr 25, 2009
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Dumb question is there even a release date for the game yet? Last time I looked it was like quarter 2 2010.

Then again last time I looked was almost a year ago. Not exactly excited for Starcraft 2 but then again I am not exactly writing it off either. I guess time will tell.
 

Curtmiester

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Jan 13, 2009
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Furburt said:
32mb of VRAM? WHAT?!

That's impossible, games haven't been able to function on that little since 2004!
It seems like some one finally likes us! Finally!
OT: This is awesome. I was totally worried I would have to delete some games for this one, just to make room.
 

Artinam

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Jan 5, 2008
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This can't be serious... I could basicly run that on my previous pc.. If so Blizzard just scored quite a few points for me, keeping the game for everyone today and many years ago.
 

Deofuta

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Nov 10, 2009
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OH MY GOD YES IT'S COMING!!!!!!

Now to go change my pants XD

I really Hope i get invited :(

Quick btw John, since you belong to a reputable gaming magazine, do you have any extra leverage getting into the Beta? Just curious, I'd like to see a hands on article about it!
 

MurderousToaster

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Eukaryote said:
oliveira8 said:
Hardware settings from over 5 years ago. Awesome. ^^
I still know a guy with a 7800GTX in his case...
I still know a guy with a 6150 in his case.

It's a sad fact that it's me. Fortunately it's not in my gaming PC.

Also, WHAT? Starcraft II looks sexy, how can it run on these sorts of rig? Are Blizzard making it really, really accessible or just making Macs able to run it?
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Deofuta said:
OH MY GOD YES IT'S COMING!!!!!!

Now to go change my pants XD

I really Hope i get invited :(

Quick btw John, since you belong to a reputable gaming magazine, do you have any extra leverage getting into the Beta? Just curious, I'd like to see a hands on article about it!
PRETTY sure we're on the list ;) And don't worry, there will be hands-on once we can.

Furburt said:
Curtmiester said:
Furburt said:
32mb of VRAM? WHAT?!

That's impossible, games haven't been able to function on that little since 2004!
It seems like some one finally likes us! Finally!
Or the graphics will look terrible!

YAAAY!
SC2 looks gorgeous on a machine that can run it at full - just sayin'.

But if you've ever seen WoW played with everything dialed down, you know how dramatic the difference can be. I wouldn't be surprised if it actually ended up as scalable as it looks.
 

Vigilantis

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Jan 14, 2010
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Well snap, I thought I'd have to be getting myself a new computer for it. Then again, I wonder how good the game looks running on its low/medium settings.
 

Summerstorm

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Sep 19, 2008
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Njech, i lost interest for that game when they announced that they want to sell it to me three times. I mean, really? Splitting a RTS per campaigns is only excusable, when i can get them all on the same day in a package for 35 Euroes (Which is called a complete game).

Na, i am waiting for the new Supreme Commander or something.
 

Izerous

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Dec 15, 2008
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You have to give them credit for their PC optimizations on this one. Those are surprisingly low reqs