Kalos’ Chronicles >> Hardware Recommendations >> (Page 1) | (Page 2)

Hardware Purchase Guide continued

Externals and peripherals

If you already have a computer hanging around, chances are these will be all you will need, the peripherals and external hardware such as the monitor and the mouse do not need replacing and can simply be reused. However, if replacements are necessary, I’ve put together a list of external peripherals here:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP3
  
  
• LIAN Aluminium ATX Tower Case
  
  
• Acer Black 19” Widescreen LCD Monitor
  
  
• Logitech X-240 2.1 Black Speaker System
  
  
• Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
  
  
• Logitech MX518 USB+PS/2, Wired Optical Mouse

While these fall more within the realm of personal preference than system requirements and base components, they are options for additional refinements that may prove beneficial in such a gaming machine. Deviation on this part is highly acceptable and even to be encouraged, it won’t compromise the basic build’s compatibility. The full range of extras come to $505.94, so if someone was to buy every component listed so far they would have to pay in the area of $1075.00. Not too shabby for a brand new fairly high specced PC.

Why Windows XP?

As the question “Why XP?” inevitable will be asked, the answer is that I chose XP because it was cheaper and I couldn’t see any reason to go for the more expensive Vista option. It is your choice of course, the link is just there for convenience, but I don’t have any solid reasons for going with Vista specifically for StarCraft II; as discussed in our previous article Shaders and DirectX 10 the DX10 mode will be an additional feature (if there at all), far from necessary or core to the game. There is no real reason to go for Vista before the bugs are clearing up and the negatives compared with XP shrinks. And not to be mean to those Linux guys; you can obviously use your own flavour of OS than the one I’ve recommended. It is essentially whatever you have on hand that you’re comfortable with, though I would strongly recommend not using 90s versions of Windows for obvious reasons of the game simply not working with them.

Final words

To those who are disappointed that this article isn’t an exciting revelation or heavy evaluative piece: I am sorry; this isn’t the kind of article I prefer to write either. Technical findings from BlizzCon were limited at best. BlizzCon brought some exciting news, of course, regarding the trilogy system for the Single Player game of StarCraft 2, but not quite what you write technical articles though… Never mind, there will always be some hidden discovery waiting to be found around the corner. I’m not sure what the next Kalos Chronicle will be on, but I’ll keep hoping for an opportunity to write and an issue of importance to cover.

All of the articles I have wrote can be seen through the Kalos’ Chronicles article page. I recommend reading the following:

• Starcraft II, Shaders and DirectX 10
• StarCraft 2 Graphics Requirements Confirmed
• One, Two, Four: StarCraft II and Multicore
• Wreaking Havok with StarCraft II
• StarCraft 2 System Requirements

Until next time, whenever that may be.

[Editor’s note:] If you like Kalos and his random ramblings (as well as a moderate tech knowledge), make sure to check back with StarCraftWire.net for future updates. When the beta arrives, we’ll get a much more detailed analysis of the game, and its true recommended hardware, besides the official ones.

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