[Kat Stewart]

Any suggestions for a Skyrim-capable laptop for <$500?

[Sarah Kim]

pc/not a laptop
windows 7 home premium
amd athlon II x4 650 processor
Ati radeon hd 4200
video memory 256.00
screen resolution 1920x 1080
total memeory 7.75 gb
hard disk 931.41


i have the game but playing it is a very sad sight compared to what all the vidoes and other pictures i see out there. i want to know what i have to change in the above stuff to have it be able to run at top quality. because tweaking the heck out of it just to play it a bit is not fun at all. suggestions and where i could get the items.

[Nuno Castro]

Hello again everyone.

Would somebody please be so kind as to tell me if these specs are enough to run Skyrim. I am not very computer savvy and am one of the peeps having problems with mouse control, as in almost zero control.


DellXPS
Mobile Intel Series 6
Express ChipSet HM67
Intel Core i7
Memory 1 GB
Memory Type 1066 MHz Sodium DDR3
Audio Realtek ALC665
Video I(Integrated) ntel Graphics
Vid memory up to 1.6 GB

Descrete NVDIA GetForce GT 525M

Thank you vrey much. I am so sad that I cannot play this game.

[Claudz]

There's an Alienware m15x on Craigslist for $325 in my area.... this would run Skyrim quite well, correct?

Intel Core 2 Duo X9000, 2.8Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800M GTX
4GB RAM, DDR2

So would this run Skyrim? The video card checks out, but I'm a little worried about the CPU in regards to Skyrims very demanding requirements, CPU wise.

Thoughts? I really appreciate the input, guys.

[Naomi Lastname]

Would somebody please be so kind as to tell me if these specs are enough to run Skyrim. I am not very computer savvy and am one of the peeps having problems with mouse control, as in almost zero control.

DellXPS
Mobile Intel Series 6
Express ChipSet HM67
Intel Core i7
Memory 1 GB (NOT ENOUGH)
Memory Type 1066 MHz Sodium DDR3
Audio Realtek ALC665
Video I(Integrated) ntel Graphics
Vid memory up to 1.6 GB

Descrete NVDIA GetForce GT 525M

Thank you vrey much. I am so sad that I cannot play this game.

You need more RAM, and your graphics card is not very good. With 2 GBs of RAM, if you can force the machine to actually use the correct video device, you can play on low settings.

[Lily Something]

Hey guys. Please forgive me I'm a PC newb. Have been thinking about getting this PC for Skyrim:

3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-2120 dual-core processor for smart performance and 4-way multitasking processor power to work on four tasks simultaneously (3 MB Smart Cache). Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology enables each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time, delivering the performance you need for smart multitasking. It also comes equipped with Intel Quick Sync Video, which provides accelerated encoding, decoding, and transcoding features (for converting video for portable players or online sharing).
1 TB SATA hard drive (7200 RPM)
4 GB installed RAM (DDR3, 1333 MHz, 2 DIMM slots, 8 GB maximum)
Intel HD graphics for an everyday computing plus casual mainstream gaming capabilities without an additional graphics card or chip. It offers Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support.

I Have No idea if this is the information needed.. I'm a complete newb here lol.

Much thanks ahead of time to anyone willing to help. PM me if you have any questions I guess.

[Dalton Greynolds]

You cannot get by with only Intel for graphics. They simply do not have the inclination or the experience to do it right. You must have graphics from either AMD or from nVIDIA, and it should be from among those that were actually designed for use in games.

[Scotties Hottie]

This thread isn't very viable at the moment.
I have the biggest rig in my country and I can't run Skyrim with 2 GTX 590's.
Maxx graphics 30-50 FPS and huge spikes.
Lowest graphics 30-50 FPS huge spikes.

i7-990xe + Water Cooling.
12GB Corsair Dominator.
Corsair AX1200W PSU
ROG Rampage 3 BE
2x Asus GTX 590's.

I get about 700 FPS on portal 2 on MAXX just for a slight comparison.

[jodie]

Hey guys, I have ordered Skyrim already but haven't got it yet, anyways what do you think will be my biggest problem with this setup?

Vista Ultimate x64
Asus P5Q Pro motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
ATI Radeon HD 4850
4 GB of DDR2 (afair? not 3 at least)
300-400 GB of free HDD

The computer itself is 2-3 years old, can't remember, except CPU, that was bought used from a friend.
Most likely GPU is slowing me down? or maybe the used CPU? I have performance monitor and it pretty much always tells me that my disk is running 100% even when I don't have programs (or only those such as internet) running, both GPU and CPU are running less than 20%, haven't observed that so much since the disk has caught my attention. Could that be actually the problem?

Btw I'm not expecting to run this with ultra high settings, maybe medium-to-high or something like.

Thanks!

[David John Hunter]

Can anyone give me some good advises how to make my pc run skyrim? my pc should run this game on high without a single problem!!! my friend got the same pc (laptop) as me and he can run it very smoooth on high. What is the problem? I have no programs running in the background, ive just updated my driver last week....?!?! please help.

[SiLa]

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bog+down

The GT 130 is a Geforce 9600 GSO, which was a Medium performance card four years ago. Matched to a terrible and old Pentium, it will slow down into the low quality range.

So you wouldn't recommend me to run the game on this machine?

[Amy Melissa]

Alienware m15, it'll run Skyrim fine, right?

[Mel E]

Alienware m15, it'll run Skyrim fine, right?

Who knows? They didn't ever make anything that I would pay their asking price for, so I have no idea what they do, other than price their stuff too high. You want to tell us what it contains?

Basic Hardware Specification Chart (Empty so far)

Processor Manufacturer: AMD / Intel
Processor Name / Type: Athlon X2 / Pentium D / C2D / dual core / quad, etc.
Processor Speed: ?.? Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: WindowsXP with SP #?, Win7, Vista ?
System RAM: ? ? GBs (MBs, if less than 1024 ? )
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: ATI / Nvidia (only those two are supported, PERIOD, so please answer which of them you have)
Video Card Model: (examples) Radeon HD 6670 / Geforce GTS 450
Video Card Driver Version: Catalyst ?.? / Nforce ??.??
. . (please use the numbers, and dates, *not* the word "latest")
Video Card onboard RAM: ? ? ? MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer:
Sound Card Driver IDs:
Sound Card Model:

(And this is only for the raw hardware & driver variations. Potential software conflicts are far more likely to be game play problems, and developers cannot test for all possible program loads.)

So you wouldn't recommend me to run the game on this machine?

Everyone has his / her own individual sensorium; we don't all react the same to slowness, and lack of smoothness. Personally, I'd not want to accept the quality of play that such a system would relegate me to.

[Marcia Renton]

Who knows? They didn't ever make anything that I would pay their asking price for, so I have no idea what they do, other than price their stuff too high. You want to tell us what it contains?

Basic Hardware Specification Chart (Empty so far)

Processor Manufacturer: AMD / Intel
Processor Name / Type: Athlon X2 / Pentium D / C2D / dual core / quad, etc.
Processor Speed: ?.? Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: WindowsXP with SP #?, Win7, Vista ?
System RAM: ? ? GBs (MBs, if less than 1024 ? )
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: ATI / Nvidia (only those two are supported, PERIOD, so please answer which of them you have)
Video Card Model: (examples) Radeon HD 6670 / Geforce GTS 450
Video Card Driver Version: Catalyst ?.? / Nforce ??.??
. . (please use the numbers, and dates, *not* the word "latest")
Video Card onboard RAM: ? ? ? MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer:
Sound Card Driver IDs:
Sound Card Model:

(And this is only for the raw hardware & driver variations. Potential software conflicts are far more likely to be game play problems, and developers cannot test for all possible program loads.)

Processor Manufacturer: Intel
Processor Name / Type: Intel Core 2 Duo X9000
Processor Speed: 2.8 Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: Win7
System RAM: 4GB DDR2, 6MB L2 Cache
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: Nvidia
Video Card Model:NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800M GTX
Video Card Driver Version: No idea
Video Card onboard RAM: 512MB
Sound Card Manufacturer: No idea
Sound Card Driver IDs: No idea
Sound Card Model: No idea

This is something I found for $325 on Craigslist, by the way. I would never even consider Alienware otherwise.

[Emma Louise Adams]

Looking at a new laptop for Skyrim/ BF 3;

Intel i7 2670QM 2.20 ghz
12 GB DDR 3 RAM
Nvidia 570M 1.5 GB

I figure it'll do the trick, anything to be wary of?

Should do well with Ultra settings I would think.

Oh, haha thanks for the warning I live in sweden. My budget would be max 650 euro i guess, although i have monitor, keyboard, speakers, OS etc. etc. just not the computer to play it on haha I'd rather to have it pre-assembled, although if the price would be much lower otherwise i can build it myself

Ugh Sweden. The tax rates there are rather high. Now I know why the PC you mentioned had such a high price.Building yourself will typically come out cheaper for a gaming rig.

CASE: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=604788
CPU: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=518692
MOBO: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=638763
RAM: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=626265
HDD: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=491821
PSU: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=635831
GPU: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=623122
DVD: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=653726

That's under 6000SEK, which through conversion is around 650Euro. Can go with a Radeon 6870 or GTX 560 (plain) is some money needs to be saved.

I'm thinking of getting a new laptop... any recommendations?

I've been looking at an ASUS K53TA BBR6. Specs:

Win7 64bit
4GB DDR3 RAM
Quad-core 3400M 1.4Ghz, 2.3Ghz Turbo
Radeon HD 6650 1GB

I checked the specs, and the GPU puts me in the Medium settings range, but I'm worried about Skyrim's heavy CPU dependency.

Thoughts? Recommendations on a better rig? I'd like to stay withing $500 if possible.

Thanks!

If that setup is for $500, that's probably about as good as it's going to get with a notebook.

Hey everyone,sorry to add another "can my PC run it?" type post but im really not well versed in all the specifics when it comes tp PC specs and im hoping theres someone in here that could explain some things to me =)

Anyways,these are my specs :

AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core processor @ 2.4Ghz

4GB RAM

Radeon HD4800 series 2808MB

Windows Vista 64bit

First of all,will my PC run Skyrim on any type of acceptable level? im not looking for Ultra level graphics or the likes,just a generally smooth gameplay experience. With these specs,i was able to play and complete the Witcher 2 on High settings sans uber-sampling and with shadow quality turned to medium. It wasnt perfect mind you..FPS averaged 20-30 and the huge scripted battle parts of the game really crippled my PC..but ah,thats another game^^ the point is,i was able to get through it and enjoy it with these specs.

I own the xbox360 version of Skyrim also and that level of quality in terms of graphics/smoothness would do me fine on the PC version,even with the annoying texture glitch lol =)

Another thing about my specs..i really dont know much about my graphics card,if anyone here could enlighten me,please do =) Is it good? half-good? terribly terribly bad? Same goes for my processor..to me 2.4Ghz seems really low..but..doesnt the fact that its a Quad-core mean its a bit more powerful then that?

Anyways thats pretty much it,i just want to know if my comp has any hope in hell of running Skyrim on a level that is playable. =)

Should play it respectably at high levels.

Hello,

Just a brief, "can my computer run Skyrim?" question. I've heard a reasonable amount of conflicting evidence either way for the 9800 GT. Yes, it is old, and my intention is to upgrade early next year. The question is, can I run Skyrim at least on Medium and, at best, on High settings?

My thanks, in advance.

Windows Vista
CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (2x2GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (G.SKILL Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO: 2x NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (SLI)

Certainly should see medium at the very least. With SLI, should bump you into high although amount of VRAM (512MB) may lower your texture size a bit.

Hey guys, I'm currently running Skyrim with the lowest setting possible with 2gb ram and a GeForce 8400 GTS 256mb. It runs good except por the parts when there are too many people fighting, gets laggy then. I try to play it but it gets very frustrating and I'm missing so many stuff. So, I'm gonna buy more ram and a new video card. This is how my PC is gonna be.

DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2400 MHz (12 x 200) 4600+
Asus M2N-MX SE Plus (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 2 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)
4gb RAM (Gskill 2gb 800mhz DDR2 x 2)
EVA GeForce GTS 450 1gb

My question is... how good will Skyrim run with this? I don't mean if I could play it on ultra, I know I can't but I just wanna be sure it will run good maybe on medium settings without lagging at all. That's good enough for me.

Thanks in advance.

Should see high settings although that CPU is showing a bit of age. May have to turn down setting a bit in light of all the revelations of how CPU intensive this game is.

I have been around the Skyrim hardware and Software issues forums since the release of this game to get a grip of the problems that surrounds Skyrim. For example the problems some people seem to have with newer GPUs and CPUs.

I haven't bought the game yet but I do have a new computer with these specs:

Intel? Core i7-2600K Processor, Quad Core, 3.4Ghz
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 590 3072MB PhysX CUDA
Kingston DDR3 HyperX 1600MHz 16GB

I DO realize these specs would kill most, if not all, games out there but the things I've heard about the CPU problems and memory leaks etc.... It's scary stuff. So if anyone have about the same specs as me I would really appreciate your insights and comments. Should I worry?

Not much to worry about there. One of the fastest video cards with one of the fastest CPUs in the market.

There's an Alienware m15x on Craigslist for $325 in my area.... this would run Skyrim quite well, correct?

Intel Core 2 Duo X9000, 2.8Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800M GTX
4GB RAM, DDR2

So would this run Skyrim? The video card checks out, but I'm a little worried about the CPU in regards to Skyrims very demanding requirements, CPU wise.

Thoughts? I really appreciate the input, guys.

Will run the game alright. Should see medium settings at least.

Hey guys, I have ordered Skyrim already but haven't got it yet, anyways what do you think will be my biggest problem with this setup?

Vista Ultimate x64
Asus P5Q Pro motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
ATI Radeon HD 4850
4 GB of DDR2 (afair? not 3 at least)
300-400 GB of free HDD

The computer itself is 2-3 years old, can't remember, except CPU, that was bought used from a friend.
Most likely GPU is slowing me down? or maybe the used CPU? I have performance monitor and it pretty much always tells me that my disk is running 100% even when I don't have programs (or only those such as internet) running, both GPU and CPU are running less than 20%, haven't observed that so much since the disk has caught my attention. Could that be actually the problem?

Btw I'm not expecting to run this with ultra high settings, maybe medium-to-high or something like.

Thanks!

Medium-high is a good price to start with that setup.

[Steph]

Hello again. Got this game for the PS3 because I figured it would run better on it (first Bethesda game I've played on console) and in light of the rather worrying things I've been hearing about unplayable lag and all that I'm back on here again in case it doesn't get fixed as a lot of people fear, and in that case I'd have to trade in the game. I'm giving my specs again since this is after release and all and benchmarks should be out.

Specs:
Windows Vista 32 bit
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200 2.33 GHz
3 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD4670 1GB
Resolution 1280x960

Some gameplay videos are out with people playing on this card so that is encouraging, BTW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srTdI-9umC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erVBCFcLArM

[Hella Beast]

Processor: AMD Phenom™ II X4 810 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4200

I couldnt even get good framerates on low and the worst screen resolution, would upgrading to this http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/amd-amd-radeon-hd-a6770pe51ge-1gb-gddr5-pci-e-video-card-a6770pe51ge/10173210.aspx?path=7e91d84597390fb7d9d9af1ff4f0583aen02 solve my problem ? plz help im a noob with graphics, I wasn't even considering upgrading
my computer but unfortunalty i have the PS3 copy so i dont have much choices.

[Nathan Hunter]

I7 2600k 3.4ghz
GTX 580 1.5gb
4 gb Ram
Win7x64
Ultra settings

In some towns my fps drops from 60 to 30 , any ideas why?

[Jonathan Egan]

"Will my PC run Skyrim"

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.00 GHz
RAM: 3.25 GB (max for 32-bit Win XP)
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB
Windows XP Home 32-bit

System requirements lab.. here's a screenshot of a test I ran of my system: http://i.imgur.com/70Gm5.png

Pretty sure I'm in the clear for Skyrim, but I'd like to double check.

[Claudia Cook]

I have a system that I built about three years ago. I'm running Skyrim on ultra settings. Listing my specs below. I hope it helps.

Dual core E8400 @ 3GHz, Asus Maxixmus MB w/ Rampage extreme BIOS, NVidia 8800GTS (512), 4GB RAM (Mushkin), 24" Samsung 245 B Monitor @ 1920x1200, Windows XP (32 bit)


Running on Ultra settings (4 AA, 8 Anio), with great frame rates!! I've had two CTD's in over 50 hours. One was caused by having AA set too high, and it crashed from the game's start menu.
The other was a result of a BIOS configuration I had changed to accommodate another game. Other than that, gameplay is excellent and graphics are simply stunning!!! Best I've ever seen for a game of this size and scope.
FYI, when playing the game, my CPU maxes out at about 75% load and my RAM use is at about 71%, so it isn't really pushing the performance envelope for me.

[Kim Bradley]

Hello again. Got this game for the PS3 because I figured it would run better on it (first Bethesda game I've played on console) and in light of the rather worrying things I've been hearing about unplayable lag

Specs:
Windows Vista 32 bit
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200 2.33 GHz
3 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD4670 1GB
Resolution 1280x960

Some gameplay videos are out with people playing on this card so that is encouraging, BTW.

Rather than the HD 4670,`various benchmarks are showing a need for faster CPUS, and that one isn't very fast. I agree that you will see a better looking game on that PC than on a console, and it should be its equal in smoothness, if not even better.

Processor: AMD Phenom™ II X4 810 Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4200

I couldnt even get good framerates on low and the worst screen resolution, would upgrading to this http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/amd-amd-radeon-hd-a6770pe51ge-1gb-gddr5-pci-e-video-card-a6770pe51ge/10173210.aspx?path=7e91d84597390fb7d9d9af1ff4f0583aen02 solve my problem ? plz help im a noob with graphics, I wasn't even considering upgrading
my computer but unfortunalty i have the PS3 copy so i dont have much choices.

That particular choice at Future Shop looked like it is overpriced to me. Here's a page from Price Grabber about the XFX brand HD 6770 at much better pricing:

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/video-cards/m/876941761/

"Will my PC run Skyrim"

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.00 GHz
RAM: 3.25 GB (max for 32-bit Win XP)
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB
Windows XP Home 32-bit

System requirements lab.. here's a screenshot of a test I ran of my system: http://i.imgur.com/70Gm5.png

Pretty sure I'm in the clear for Skyrim, but I'd like to double check.

Please don't refer to those idiots at SR Labs while discussing potential good, reliable information. They are all idiots. Your CPU is terrible, and will drag the entire system down into the basemant with it, slow, unsmooth, and unpleasant.

[Tammie Flint]

Hey guys

I simply want to know, can i run Skyrim on at least medium settings with this?

Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2,33GHz
4GB RAM
NVIDIA Geforce 9500 GS 512MB RAM

thanks

[priscillaaa]

Hey guys

I simply want to know, can i run Skyrim on at least medium settings with this?

Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2,33GHz
4GB RAM
NVIDIA Geforce 9500 GS 512MB RAM

thanks

I am not familiar with any "GS" version of a Geforce 9500, other than a 9500m GS, mobile.

The 9500 GT was just an 8600 GT with a new name, and was Middle class four years ago. It might make Medium, the laptop card would not do as well.

[W E I R D]

I am not familiar with any "GS" version of a Geforce 9500, other than a 9500m GS, mobile.

The 9500 GT was just an 8600 GT with a new name, and was Middle class four years ago. It might make Medium, the laptop card would not do as well.

Hm, maybe the GS was only available here in germany...dunno it`s been a while but its not a laptop card.

Medium settings would be enough for me at least until i can afford a new machine but i dont wanna play on "ugly-mode"

Maybe anyone else could confirm that medium is possible with this system?

thanks a lot

[how solid]

Rather than the HD 4670,`various benchmarks are showing a need for faster CPUS, and that one isn't very fast. I agree that you will see a better looking game on that PC than on a console, and it should be its equal in smoothness, if not even better.

So you're saying my PC can run it about as smoothly on console and look better at the same time? If so, that's great Now I wish I waited before preordering the PS3 version, especially after hearing very recently that there were also lag problems on PS3 with the Fallouts that were never fixed.