Building a Desktop PC with the ability to run Skyrim on High : Othor Games

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:18 am

So , i'm going to try and build my first gaming PC , i have looked on-line and such but cant make my mind up about the parts i should use and the parts i should avoid , the only thing i can decide on is which case to buy :blush:

.
So i'd like to ask you guys(the PC gamers) Which:

Motherboard
CPU
Processor
RAM
Video Card
Hard Drive
Sound Card

To choose from, i realise i may look like a complete idiot to people who actually know what they're talking about , but i don't care

Any help is Appreciated.

-S

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:16 am

What price range are you looking around? (Specify if that's including monitor, keyboard/mouse, speakers/headphones)

Also, I noticed you listed CPU and Processor in your list. They are the same thing. And most modern gaming systems don't need sound cards unless you are running really high end speakers/headphones.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:34 am

I'm going to link you to a very informative person on the world of warcraft forums, he helped me build my first computer and the guide he has written is extremely comprehensive and you should be able to figure out what you need from reading. You won't be able to post replies or ask questions unless you happen to play WoW as well but simply reading his guide should help you out a ton. Keep in mind Skyrim isn't very demanding even on Ultra, so I would stick with his "Budget Build" recommendation. My personal GPU recommendation would be the Radeon 7870 OC Edition from Sapphire. That GPU will take a piss on any game out there right now on Ultra settings, at high res. Going higher then that is not necessary unless you want something that's going to be future proof for years and years.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/5592454629

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:07 am

What price range are you looking around? (Specify if that's including monitor, keyboard/mouse, speakers/headphones)

Also, I noticed you listed CPU and Processor in your list. They are the same thing. And most modern gaming systems don't need sound cards unless you are running really high end speakers/headphones.

Ahh i see thanks , and my price range would be around 600-650 pounds, and i don't really need a super high end set of speakers or keyboard & mouse , and im not bothered about HD either lol.

Thanks i'll read that now

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:49 am

You don't need a powerhouse of a PC to run Skyrim at high settings. I run it with 95% of the bells and whistles on and this is my PC before I upgraded my GPU:

i5 2.8
4GB RAM (then upgraded to 12GB....did some good but not much for this game)
Nvidia GTS 250

Now that I have a GTX 680 I have all the bells and whistles on (except AA) and run it @ 60fps and rarely goes lower.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:50 am

You don't need a powerhouse of a PC to run Skyrim at high settings. I run it with 95% of the bells and whistles on and this is my PC before I upgraded my GPU:

i5 2.8
4GB RAM (then upgraded to 12GB....did some good but not much for this game)
Nvidia GTS 250

Now that I have a GTX 680 I have all the bells and whistles on (except AA) and run it @ 60fps and rarely goes lower.

All you're doing with that build is bottlenecking the hell out of your GPU by not having a CPU you can overclock, and 12gb of ram is overkill for every game on the market right now. I'm getting the same performance with a card that's $200 cheaper and I have the same CPU and I also run full AA actually. 1920x1080 rez at full 1080p.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:00 am

You don't need a powerhouse of a PC to run Skyrim at high settings. I run it with 95% of the bells and whistles on and this is my PC before I upgraded my GPU:

i5 2.8
4GB RAM (then upgraded to 12GB....did some good but not much for this game)
Nvidia GTS 250

Now that I have a GTX 680 I have all the bells and whistles on (except AA) and run it @ 60fps and rarely goes lower.

Often, when people say "high" settings they are actually referring to maximum settings, which you won't come anywhere close to achieving with a GTS 250. And you can forget about most graphical mods with that card.

All you're doing with that build is bottlenecking the hell out of your GPU by not having a CPU you can overclock, and 12gb of ram is overkill for every game on the market right now.

Heck, more than 4GB is overkill for many games

. 8GB tends to be a sweet spot for price/performance, but only if you're running a 64-bit copy of Windows.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:05 am

Often, when people say "high" settings they are actually referring to maximum settings, which you won't come anywhere close to achieving with a GTS 250. And you can forget about most graphical mods with that card.

I have a GTS 250 and run Skyrim at max settings with the Bethesda texture pack + visual mods. 40 FPS+. EDIT - I don't have AA maxed out, however. At 2x on a 1440x900 monitor, things look pretty good. Jaggies are largely non-existent.

Not to say the GTS 250 is ideal for gaming, but for Skyrim alone, it does more than I'd have expected. Still gets stomped quite nicely in games like Battlefield 3.

» Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:39 pm

I have a GTS 250 and run Skyrim at max settings with the Bethesda texture pack + visual mods. 40 FPS+. EDIT - I don't have AA maxed out, however. At 2x on a 1440x900 monitor, things look pretty good. Jaggies are largely non-existent.

Not to say the GTS 250 is ideal for gaming, but for Skyrim alone, it does more than I'd have expected. Still gets stomped quite nicely in games like Battlefield 3.

Yeah, but what resolution is your monitor?

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:38 am

I have a GTS 250 and run Skyrim at max settings with the Bethesda texture pack + visual mods. 40 FPS+. EDIT - I don't have AA maxed out, however. At 2x on a 1440x900 monitor, things look pretty good. Jaggies are largely non-existent.

Not to say the GTS 250 is ideal for gaming, but for Skyrim alone, it does more than I'd have expected. Still gets stomped quite nicely in games like Battlefield 3.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that you get 40+ FPS in Markarth and overlooking Whiterun...not to mention various other outdoor locations.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:49 am

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that you get 40+ FPS in Markarth and overlooking Whiterun...not to mention various other outdoor locations.

There is if he has a little 1024x768 display or something lol

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:17 am

There is if he has a little 1024x768 display or something lol

He said he's running at 1440x900...with 2xAA, no less.

» Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:16 pm

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that you get 40+ FPS in Markarth and overlooking Whiterun...not to mention various other outdoor locations.

Markarth, maybe not. I don't recall. From Dragonsreach however, definitely. I tested that area specifically. And yea, at 1440x900.

I can't blame you for not believing me, I wouldn't believe me either. I'm also rockin' an i5-2500K @ 4.4Ghz, so I'm sure that helps out quite a bit.

I can't show off the FPS in Dragonsreach now, however, as I've modded Whiterun and get about 30-35 FPS there now. Let me see if I can get a screenshot with fraps up for you.

» Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:18 am

Overlooking...

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/jerhicco/Skyrim/TESV2012-07-2212-16-41-39.jpg

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab71/jerhicco/Skyrim/TESV2012-07-2212-17-41-74.jpg

I hope I took those in appropriate areas. I can take more if you'd like. Always happy to show off how pretty I can make Skyrim :biggrin: