Curious, if I could update ONE thing on this computer to run ESO smoothly (your speculation of course), what would it be?

Processor: i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz

RAM: 8.00 GB

System: 64-bit windows 7

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 530

That processor sounds like more than enough, and the RAM is likely overkill... I would assume the graphics card is the weakest link here. While playing games like ME3 and SWTOR, my connection and it's smoothness is pretty good. the only thing is frame-rate is usually 25-35, which looks alright, but 40 is what I would consider 'smooth'.

If I could only upgrade ONE thing here, which would get me the biggest upgrade on FPS and smoothness of gameplay? I can play lots of games on High but Framerate drops to 25-35.

I would upgrade the Graphics card. ATI 7970 Sapphire do a good one at a nice price. The Nvidia cards are now on the 650 I believe so your one whole series of a card down.

I am running a AMD phenom black edition cpu on a msi mobo the cpu is about 5 to 6 years old yet I can play Skyrim with loads of mods and full settings and still get a healthy 60fps. ME3 and SWTOR doesn't even make my pc grunt.

I suggest you get something like the GTX660ti. It's reasonable priced, doesn't draw too much power etc. And it's according to benchmarks about 10 times faster than the GT530.

It'd cost about $300.

That is because your video card is infinitely more important than your CPU, and your CPU isn't that good. No offense, but intel is just kind atm.

The Graphics card you recommended is off as well. If, and this is an IF, you wanted the absolutely best card on the market then you should buy the Radeon 7970 Ghz Edition, which is a good deal better than a regular 7970.
Even if you were to overclock the Ghz edition is made with superior components.

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@OP
You have a good processor.

However, we need to know 2 things.
#1 What is your budget? A decent video card for gaming is going to cost around $200.
#2 What is your Power Supply rated at wattage wise? Its probably about 500, but its generally best to make absolute sure.

So, definitely go the route of upping the graphics card huh?
For some reason I feel really comfortable with Nvidia but I will try and look around as unbiased as I can.

As I said, ME3 and SWTOR run without much issue, but I can't expect much higher than 35fps... If going up to something like the Nvidia 650 would get ESO to 60fps normal, and even 30fps in big PvP battles, I could easily live with that...

• Mfr Part Number: GV-N650OC-2GI
  
• Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650
  
• Core Clock: 1110 MHz
  
• Video Memory: 2GB GDDR5
  
• Memory Clock: 6008 MHz
  
• Memory Interface: 128-bit
  
• Bus: PCI-Express 3.0 x16
  
• CUDA Cores: 384
  
• RAMDAC: 400 MHz
  
• Max. Resolution: 2560 x 1600
  
• Connectors: VGA, 2x DVI-D, HDMI
  
• Thermal: Fansink
  
• Dimensions: 13.0 x 9.3 x 2.3 inch
  
• This Video http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=GA-650OC2G&c=fr&pid=bf5271d92731821abb123f4ed3f14a57b653bfa9ecf9b670ed141c268d9f7cf3&gclid=COmvuOGzqbYCFW3ZQgodXVsAuA# Supports:
  
  • HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection

^^^
Just copy-pasted info about the (what i assume) later series of my card... other than the 'X' at the end... I guess?

Is that powerful enough you would say, for your speculation on ESO to play on high with 60fps (I'd likely set it to medium in Cyrodil regardless) ? It's only 100 something dollars so I imagine not... Is 2GB GDDR5 weak video memory?

Also: I am sure I was told my computer could have graphics cards replaced/upgraded... Is it a difficult process, or would you reccomend me seeking help?
My hobbies are weightlifting, MMA, Gaming. I was a C student and never took a computer class. So... we're talking novice skill here.
And yes, I've tried googling. It looks like they are trying to defuse bombs.

Sincerely, someone that knows their way around a game, but as far as they are concerned PCs are magic-boxes.

Glad I have a good processor.
1) 200 would be great, especially since I don't tend to play games like Crysis... but tbh, I will likely use my PFD (As an Alaskan I get 800-1200 dollars for living here.)... PS4 is prolly gonna be 600 dollars so I am prepared for that (some games are just better played on console... Im a couch co-op kinda guy) so i am looking at about 200 dollars left from PFD and I can probably do 100 from my own pocket.
If it can play Skyrim on Ultra at 60fps, I imagine it'll more than do for my gaming needs (most notably ESO)... I imagine a 2013 card at around 200 would do that right? After 300 I would just start to blush.
2) Where in Oblivion do I find my power supply in wattage?

EDIT: I just looked up the 'Radeon 7970 Ghz Edition' from a suggestion from one of the above posters and nearly choked when I saw the $429 dollar price-tag for a card... Guess we found my breaking point...

I will likely go with 200 dollar range if it can run Skyrim ultra 60 fps, and likely run ESO 60fps PvE, 40fps PvP... However, If the 300 dollar version is absurdly stronger, I may consider the 300 dollar card simply so I don't have to get a new card in 2 or so years.

I bought this Asus desktop in the fall of 2011... I tend to find gaming PCs (to stay totally relevant) need to be about 2 years competent. but what do I know /shrug

SO... my answer to #1 would have to be: 200 if it can last me for the foreseeable future (as I said, 60fps skyrim Ultra... 60fps ESO PvE, 40fps PvP) AND isn't absurdly weaker than other models...
300 if I would actually see a lot more value for it. If the 300 is going to get me stuff like double the fps, as well as stay relevant for an extra year or two, I would go with that.

The only way I know of to figure out your power supply wattage is to take the side off your computer and look at your power supply itself.

The power supply distributes power to all the components of the computer.
There is a black power cable plugged from the wall socket into the power supply, this should make it easy to identify. It also looks like a cube.

After you figure out how to take the side off your case, you will need to figure this out later to install a video card anyways, then you should identify the power supply. Once you found it then you should try to find a sticker or some kind of writing on it, and that should tell you how many watts the power supply is rated for.

It's a desktop tower from Asus, specifically held up to be a 'gaming computer'... would your hunch be that the power-supply would be sufficient for the kind of cards we are talking about? (quality 200-300 dollar range graphics cards)

Yah the 7970 Ghz edition is the top of the line out there, well that is reasonable anyways (not $1000+).



For Nvidia, anything below 660 isn't a true gaming card.
For Radeon, anything below a 7850 isnt a true gaming card.
*Minimum 500 Watt power supply

Radeon 7850 ~ $180

Nvidia 660 ~ $210

Radeon 7870 ~ $235

Radeon 7950 with boost ~ $300 (Don't buy the one without boost)

Nvidia 660 ti ~ $300

AMD also comes with coupon,
Free Bioshock & Tomb raider game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer. OR Free Crysis 3 & Bioshock game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer
If you don't like these games, then you could probably sell the coupon on Ebay for at least $50.


Some games like Battlefield 3 favor nvidia. Other games favor Radeon. I can't predict which ESO will perform better with, but skyrim is usually neck and neck.
Brand names aren't particularly important imo. Its best to read reviews, and see what people are saying.

Personally, my recommendation would be for AMD cards. If you planned on purchasing both of those games, then you save $120. If not, then you can sell the coupon for like $60, thus drastically lowering the cost of the cards.
The additional memory on the video card is nice, but likely won't affect your gameplay now or in the near future. The FPS comparisons, shown below, show the differences are quite small within the same price range.

Thus in my opinion,
The 7850 is the best deal.
The 7870 is in the middle.
The 7950 with boost is the most powerful.


Side by side comparison of two video cards, (I can't post links, so you will have to copy/paste this in your browser)
www
.anandtech.
com/bench/Product/549?vs=660

www
.anandtech.
com/bench/Product/548?vs=647

If you hit "ctrl + F" to open 'find' within the browser, then search and highlight for '1920'. This is the most common resolution most people use while gaming.


*If you look at near the bottom you will see "Load Power Consumption - Metro 2033 - 300W" That is how much power the video card actually uses when in use. Your CPU consumes another 100W, and the rest of your system probably only comes another 50W. This is where the minimum estimate of 500 watts comes from.

Its pretty standard to include PSU around 500 watts anymore, so its probably pretty safe assumption. Where did you get it, just out of curiosity? If you bought it online at a place like newegg, then you could probably look it up in your past transactions.

guys do u think i can run the game with the following specs?(even with minimum details)
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Card name: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
Processor: Intel? Core? i5 CPU M 430 @ 2.27GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 3072MB RAM
edit:i can run skyrim on medium details with my laptop

I can't be positive without any real info on the game. However, my guess is it could probably run the game on low, but it would run very poorly.That mobile video card is the equivalent of about a 7600 GT. Which is very old, like 6 generations ago.

yes that is true i myself can`t really understand how i`m running new games such as skyrim with my Graphic card xD
however i also can run WOW and some other MMOs with my laptop so my guess is that i can run TESO on low graphics