As the title suggests, I am building a new PC for the sole intent of running Skyrim as high as it can possibly go in all aspects.
I am not all that savvy with finding the right parts, and knowing what's good and whatnot... so... can someone suggest the right parts that I would need to accomplish this?

I've read that the Intel Core i3-200 Sandy Bridge would work well for the processor, and I've already got 4gigs of RAM that I can port over from my current build, but other than that I'm not sure what to do in the other departments.

So what I'm basically asking is for someone to recommend the following items:

• Power Supply
  
• Graphics Card
  
• Motherboard

I would really appreciate the help.

start here for video card options: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074.html

there are more options for the other two that will probably not be specific for skyrim. check out the forums at tomshardware, or various other tech websites for advice. something like this could be a starting point : http://www.tinyurl.com/falconguide

So, do you want to JUST be able to play the game at max, or do you want some margin? Are you going to use a lot of heavy mods, texture packs or stuff like that that make the game harder to run and thus needing a stronger PC? just what are you aiming for? Also, you can make a lot of changes in the .ini files to make the game look better but also needing a stronger PC, are you going to do that? What FPS are you aiming for? you want a constant 60fps, or is a steady 25 ok?

Surely you must have some sort of budget in mind?

This is the forum and thread you want. http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1328500-the-community-tech-thread-no-111/

Or build to the requirements of the game, that is suggested by Beth.

If you only want to play Skyrim then i3/i5 with GTX560ti are more than enough.

Thanks for the links. I'm looking to upgrade in the next month or so.

Skyrim doesn`t push PCs like some other games do so a mid range OC should be plenty.

I could use a new graphics card... My 260`s getting a bit old.

I have a Core2 Duo (e8500@4ghz), 4gb Ram that is over 3 years old, Windows 7 64-bit, along with an ATI 6850 and I have all but shadows maxed, i get 60 frames per second

I cannot believe a 3 year old PC still gets the job done, but I guess that shows what The Laws Of Therodynamics plus a weak economy will do you

The card used to be a 4870 , it is upgraded.

I figure I'll be running a hundred or so mods eventually, as is the case with Oblivion.


I don't want any lag whatsoever, and I want the game to look as good as possible. So high-res texture packs and mesh improvements would be a must.

Not really.

This PC used to be able to run Oblivion at the highest settings with Qarl's texture pack and many mods just fine, but not so much anymore...
"If you can run Oblivion you can run Skyrim. huhderp" Yeah but you didn't say it would run and look like ass.

And just because I'm lazy, here's an image with my specs

img692.imageshack .us/img692/277 3/cpuzv.pn g

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