Overkill Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I'm currently running an imac with Processor - 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Memory - 12GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256MB Software - OS X 10.9.1 Late 2009 Currently i experience much more Lag/Spikes after I upgraded my imac From OS X Mountain Lion to OS X Maverick. Any Tips on how to minimise these lag spikes that occur in game. or is it time to get a new computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaldi Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Ditch apple and get a proper computer. EterNity, Skydie, Adamantium and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skydie Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Make (or get someone to make) you a new PC. The 2010/2011 GPUs are pretty cheap now and can run SC2 on ultimate, i3s are affordable and ram and hdd space is too. Go buy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted December 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I'm currently forced to run on low :(, but I don't think I can get a new one now. Might get one this coming year, all depends on my dad. And do you know any good brands for gaming laptops? Not too pricey though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantypoo Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 Doesnt Maverick do some behind the scenes optimizing that is actually the exact opposite of what you'd want on a gaming rig? I'm not a Apple expert, thankfully, but I'd Google turning off all those optimizations and see if that helps you any. You're running a brand new OS on 4 year old hardware, that usually doesnt work out well as the needs of the OS outweigh the power of the hardware even before you throw a game into the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxHaven Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I'm currently forced to run on low :(, but I don't think I can get a new one now. Might get one this coming year, all depends on my dad. And do you know any good brands for gaming laptops? Not too pricey though If gaming is what you want a new system for, do not buy a laptop. Laptops are much more expensive than their desktop counterparts, and have no benefits apart from mobility. As Skydive said, look into building your own rig I have personally built 5 (work experience), and it is so bloody easy to do. The components are so much cheaper to buy separately and if you are stuck there are a LOT of help online in the forms of tech forums and direct customer service from product companies. Even over clocking is easy to do but I don't recommend if you are new. Apple gear aare made so designers have a much easier time expression g their creativity in say Logic Pro or Photo shop. It is not geared toward gaming. Tldr Windows Build your own Desktop not laptop unless mobility is issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancientmagicks Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 If you can't build your own. Ibuypower has rigs under a grand that will get you what you need for sc2. Just from what you speced on your current rig, 12gb of ram is over kill, your system is prob only utilizing 4gb. Windows is the way to go for gaming. I'd recommend building your own rig rather than buying a full system. You get a certain sense on satisfaction building your own sexy gaming beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted December 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 But I'm only 15 and have no idea on how to build my own. Will reducing the ram help? Because I use to play on medium graphics but when I upgraded to 12gb of ram I can only play low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancientmagicks Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 The ram is just being wasted shouldn't really be doing anything adverse to the system unless it's drawing more power than before the upgrade. As for being fifteen, that's about when I started building my first pc. Plenty of good dyi videos on YouTube. Upping your graphics card is your best bet if you can't flat out get everything at once. Just make sure your power supply can handle it. 800-1100 watts should be enough for most gaming set ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxHaven Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 But I'm only 15 and have no idea on how to build my own. Will reducing the ram help? Because I use to play on medium graphics but when I upgraded to 12gb of ram I can only play low. Me2 I was 15 when I first built mine although my dad's buddy who owns his own computer company came to help me with the water cooling installation and just general advice. Reducing ram won't have much effect and as said improving your gpu and checking for optimization of OS on an old system is your best bet NmExCrUiSeRz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantypoo Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Just a really quick Google search shows all kinds of people complaining about Mavericks (which is supposed to use RAM "better" than ever) causing lots of RAM related issues and slowness. Downgrade your OS, if you can. I didnt look deeply into it but I would think based off what I've read that there isnt as of yet a "fix" for the RAM issue. Apple isnt even acknowledging its causing a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted December 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) I think I might as well look into building my own, just hope its not too complicated :/ The upgrade for maverick was free, so my dad had me install it, to downgrade it would mean to but the previous version from the store and reinstall it :( Edited December 27, 2013 by Overkill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EterNity Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 It is easy. http://www.logicalincrements.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginosaji Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I think I might as well look into building my own, just hope its not too complicated :/ The upgrade for maverick was free, so my dad had me install it, to downgrade it would mean to but the previous version from the store and reinstall it :( Building your own is easy... I did it and I'm nearly entirely computer illiterate. Just do a bunch of research before hand to ensure compatibility of your hardware. Installation is pretty easy, there are plenty of good guides, especially video guides online to help. If you're set on a laptop I would suggest MSI. I had one a few years ago and my brother has one currently, they're some of the best you can get for your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pchacker Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 It is easy. http://www.logicalincrements.com/ lol, I like the "destitute" pc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancientmagicks Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I look at building computers as just really expensive and fun legos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANARCHY Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I'm currently running an imac with Processor - 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Memory - 12GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256MB Software - OS X 10.9.1 Late 2009 as most have said mac is a bad gaming platform, its sluggish because it uses up alot of your computers resources and thus less is left for the actual things you want to do 12gb of ram is enough to do just about anything and will not be hindering your performance your graphics card is fine & its not normally an issue with most games unless they require really high intense graphics, i have a radeon 4650 which is made in 2008 and its the lowest model in the 4xxx range and i get 0 lag the core problem i see is your cpu, core 2 duo came out in 2006 and they are still packed in expensive laptops and pc's that are sold today because people don't know any better they still buy them seeing as you have one of these ill teach you a little about cpu's; ghz = speed or performance and basically determines how well your application or game will run your ghz is spread across applications so lets say mac OS takes up 50% then starcraft only has the other 50% to use cores = each core represents another processor, your cpu above has 2 cores so its essentially 2x3.06ghz BUT you cant use 25% from 1 core and 100% from another core for 1 application (unless the application is multi-thread and most are not, including starcraft) your cpu will automatically spread the load across your cores to make each core run at its lowest if possible i.e. core 1 at 20% and core 2 at 20% instead of 40% on 1 core now this is where it gets tricky; if your OS is using 50% of core 1 and you have internet taking 40% of core 2 and music player taking 20% of core 2 that leaves starcraft with only 50% which of core 1 which is only 1.5ghz and thats why you experience lag (you want around 3ghz in total free for starcraft) these days you can get up to 8 cores at 5ghz quite easily in a desktop model i have an AMD 6 core at 4ghz which runs anything lag free and cost me $200 when it was released brand new about 3 years ago if you go for a laptop you will only get up to 6 cores although 4 is generally enough, intel will still cost you alot & you generally dont find AMD in laptops so basically if you get the same kind of stuff you have above but a better cpu it should run fine i would recommend about 4 cores at 3.5ghz, also make sure you are running a 64bit OS not 32bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EterNity Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I look at building computers as just really expensive and fun legos. They are only expensive if you buy them at large "retail" store like Best Buy or any other local retail store really. The reason pre-assembled computer are cheap are because they cut corners on stuffs they ain't listed up fronts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted December 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Thanks guys for all the feedback, i'll look into more of how to build for starters then maybe gathering the courage to ask my dad for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxHaven Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Get me a plane ticket to the US and I'll build it for ya PS I need a return ticket not a one-way Also from the UK not domestic flight NmExCrUiSeRz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grantypoo Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Get me a plane ticket to the US and I'll build it for ya PS I need a return ticket not a one-way Also from the UK not domestic flight ROFL, I was 15 once. If I'm remembering right, it would go over much better to ask your dad for help buying/building a new PC as compared to asking him to buy a ticket for a strange man from Europe to come visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted December 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Get me a plane ticket to the US and I'll build it for ya PS I need a return ticket not a one-way Also from the UK not domestic flight Lol tax, and by the way I'm not from the US :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxHaven Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Lol tax, and by the way I'm not from the US :P Lol tax, and by the way I'm not from the US :P Ooh fancy I love travelling just get me to your country!! :) NmExCrUiSeRz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solrflare Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Do not buy from Ibuypower. Please christ. First off, what is your budget? You can make a decent gaming computer (if you're shooting only to play Starcraft 2) for ~$500. I'd get it up to $800, though, so you can have it last a while. Best CPU for gaming nowadays is the i5-series. Most people will drop ~$230 on an i5-4670K, which is unlocked, so you can overclock it. This'll give you good performance for another 2 or so years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overkill Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2wA3k I think those are the parts I'm gonna use to build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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