*I play Skyrim on Xbox. I have Dawnguard and Hearthfire. I am lvl 40 with 170 hrs gameplay*

I feel as though i've done alot but the more i learn here, thru these forums and elsewhere like youtube and Skyrim Mod sites, the more i feel as though i'm a greenhorn newbie and i am barely scraping the surface of what The Elder Scrolls V has to offer. All of these great things seem to be only obtainable for those playing on a PC.

I am both in awe by the advantages of mods and highly jealous of them as well. It feels to me like the gap between my limited experience and what hardcoe Skyrim players experience is so vast i will never know what this game has to offer. I feel like i'm playing a demo version of what someone could be truly experiencing if they were to use the creation kit and download mods, not to mention everything i have yet to learn.

I don't know if this is really a question or maybe more of a topic of general discussion, but if there is a question to be asked it might be, "Is it worth it to leave my comfort zone of the console system and focus my time and energy on keeping my computer updated enough to run Skyrim (and future TES games) and learn the in's and out's of modding, creating etc...?"

it seems like a lot to learn but maybe its more intimidating than it is.

Skyrim is not a very demanding game, runs on a lot of PCs that don't have the most powerful graphics cards.

I suppose it depends on your interests and what kind of mods you would like to try most, but there is such a wide variety that I believe mods can help anyone adapt the game to suit their personal preferences. And many mods do not have any impact at all on performance.

If you are interested in creating mods yourself, you may want to watch some Creation Kit video tutorials (link below in my signature), to get an idea of what is involved. You can learn how to make a simple mod to tweak some gameplay settings or make a small dungeon or house mod pretty quickly.

I can speak as one of those that left the Xbox behind. I've played on console for years (played some games on PC back in the days of Zork). I played Morrowind, Oblivion and Skryim all on Xbox and loved them. I decided to get Oblivion for PC and loved it. I then upgraded and got Skyrim for PC (paid $60 for it both times). I have no regrets, I absolutely LOVE it on PC. I probably won't buy another TES game or FO for that matter, on console.. only PC from now on.

edit: I will keep my consoles for things like COD and such though.

Short answer: Yes.

Long Answer: You have nothing to lose besides a small investment in maintaining your computer. You gain access to a plethora of mods presently available, and mods that will soon surface themselves as essential. It's really not intimidating at all, and I have yet to read of anyone regretting they made the change from console to computer.

Really preference. I personally like the controls and console commands, as well as better graphics. I don't use mods unless they fix bugs and such.

It just depends on you really. I know some people hate trying to play with a mouse and keyboard. Me, I have always hated gamepads. Some folks also love playing games while sitting on the couch in front of the t.v. Again, not for me. I think those two things are probably your biggest comfort zone changers. If you think that the mouse keyboard and sitting in front of a computer is not going to bother you, then go for it. If you have Kinect, it might be tough getting used to playing without it. The X-Boxers whom I know have it, love it.

As has already been stated, you do not need a supercomputer to play the game. X-Boxes and PS3s are really just 5 year old computers. Skyrim is made to run on those, so unless your computer is really old and low end, the game will probably run (check your specs vs. the game's minimum requirements first of course). You only need a high end computer to play the game on Ultra settings with high res texture packs.

That said, mods will add an entirely new experience to the game. Between what you can download, and what you make yourself with the creation kit, mods allow you to make the game exactly how you want it. That is something I personally could not live without. If you do not like the rate that magicka regenerates at in combat, you can change it. If you do not like the stats of an item, you can change it. If you want a greater variety of weapons in the tutorial, you can add them. If you want to play the game without ever doing the tutorial, you can do that too, etc...

No disrespect.. but these just don't apply anymore. I don't like playing with mouse and keyboard.. so I use a wired xbox controller I paid $25 for. Many people, (Senor Cinco for example) play Skyrim on PC... hooked up to a large screen TV and they sit on the sofa playing with a controller.

thanks for the great advice.

Actually, i was mostly inspired to post this question because i referred to your link from your response to another post of mine earlier today. I usually dont look at game-related content i dont have and dont plan on getting, but i HAD to check out all of the things you could do with the creation kit and all of the things other people came up with. I loved the new armours and the idea of armouring your horse. Thanks for your relpies and insight

I cannot emphasise strongly enough how much better TES games are on the PC with mods. It isn't just a slightly better experience. It's several times better, at least.

Back in the 90's i played the demo version of Daggerfall on PC and that's what got me hooked on TES games. I used to prefer PC games over console so making the adjustment to mouse/keyboard is easy for me. I went to console games mainly for the FPS games but my computer is still pretty up to date. thanks for all of your inputs people. I will do a little more research and make careful considerations.

Really, if you've got the computer for it.. Go for it, wasn't Skyrim on sale for like $40 during the summer? You can maybe get it fairly cheap now.

If you're used to using an xbox controller, you may want to invest in one that works for PC, if you don't have one already. In my opinion the PC version is vastly superior, but playing with a keyboard and mouse is literally painful for me.

Same boat here. I just got Skyrim for the PC last month. I don't see myself ever buying TES or Fallout games for the console ever again. I'm actually planning on playing Morrowind now since I've never played it before(I have done research on it's story though) along with Oblivion and Fallout 3 + New Vegas again. Feel Like I missed out on so much.

I'm an utter newb when it comes to computers yet I was able to figure out how to create my own conjuration spells along with other tweaks using the creation kit. There are many tutorials(both visual & text) out there to give you a start. I say go for it!

Yup, I bought Oblivion, Skyrim and FO NV for PC (already had them for Xbox) and then I also bought FO 3 for PC. I've considered buying Morrowind but I don't know. I played it for a long time on Xbox until I just couldn't take the clunkiness any more. I really don't think I could do it. But I do miss the feel of it.

And learning to use the Creation Kit was a lot of fun too, creating my own weapons and such. Then when I figured out how to change colors of items too was great.

Check the http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1406654-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-thread-61-w-hardware-guide/ thread.

My old clunker of a rig is running on a 9600 card from 3 or 4 years ago, and skyrim runs pretty well.

People don't, or shouldn't, go out and invest in a mid to high tier gaming rig for just one game...on top of that, pc gaming is not all beer and skittles. When a release comes out, I know it will not be until the night after downloading that I'll get to play it...because although it's ready to go at 'unlock O'clock', the game will have to get it's mandatory Day 1 Patch, and the rest of the time will be spent on forums trying to find workarounds that others have found to the inevitable problems that the game shipped with.

Sure, consoles have limitations...but on the whole you don't have to deal with anywhere near the issues that pc gamers have to (nor put up with the incessant whining of the technologically challenged apologists who believe that we should have to put up with shoddy products and business practices because 'komputas ar komplex').

Pc gaming can be very rewarding, and not just in the actual gaming itself...there are an awful lot of people out here who get no gaming done, simply because they are either modding, helping people with tech matters, administrating gaming clans or groups, or contributing in some other way - it's almost a different world.

I think they have mods for Morrowind which improve the graphics and game-play mechanics to Oblivion levels. Otherwise, I just feel so spoiled, especially by Skyrim.