Starcraft RPG

How well will the ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512mb) be able to run Starcraft 2?

I'm looking at buying the 27" Quad Core iMac desktop computer for several reasons, but I also really want the computer to be able to run Starcraft 2. Does anyone know if this card will be good enough to run the game with good graphics settings?

Public Comments

1. The minimum system requirements for the Starcraft II Beta are as follows: PC Minimum Requirements: • Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7 • 2.2 Ghz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor • 1 GB system RAM/1.5 GB for Vista and Windows 7 • 128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card • 1024x768 minimum display resolution • 4 GB free hard space (Beta) • Broadband connection So to put that into perspective, your Radeon HD4850 has four times the Memory required, and being several generations above the 9800, you should be golden. However, note that in the Minimum requirements, it has no mention of Mac OS. I can't promise you that it will run in a Mac OS.
2. Yep, you're fine! Starcraft 2 is being developed with entry-level graphics cards in mind, like the GeForce GT220 and Radeon 4650. So with a Radeon 4850 you're well beyond that level. http://www.techspot.com/review/240-ati-radeon-hd-5670/page4.html There's no advantage to 1gb cards over 512mb at the Radeon 4850/GTS 250 tier. Only gaming at resolutions above 1900x1200 does the additional memory begin to make a difference. Even then, the performance gains are small. Look at results for the Radeon 4870 in that most demanding of games, Crysis. Just a 1-2 fps difference on average: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd4870-1024_14.html#sect0 Starcraft 2 is being developed for both Windows & Mac. http://us.starcraft2.com/faq.xml One caveat... the 27" iMac is listed as having a resolution of 2560x1440. Yikes- there's big dropoff in performance when going that high. In Call of Duty 4, frame rates for the Radeon 4850 drop from 64fps at 1900x1200 to 42fps at 2560x1600. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-12.html Anyway, RTS games like Starcraft 2 should be fine.