[Cathrin Hummel]

Yerp nice rig.....you might hear alot of people on here reporting low FPS etc. but I run the game on Ultra x 50(meaning I bumped Ultra up by 1/2 of any values past their default Ultra settings) plus the DLC texture pack, W.A.T.E.R., Crimson Tide, Flora Overhaul and running in fullscreen windowed using SBW.exe on Ugrids(improved view range) at 7(default 5)......I get 45 avg fps and the game is smooth as butter(which to me is more important than any FPS over 30) even in heavily wooded areas and that is with more trees rendering. I have 2 GB VRAM and use 1.8 with the setup I described above. BTW Shadows are CPU rendered so what you set those to wont affect the GPU usage.....so if that 550 has like 1 GB you can definitely play Skyrim maybe not in the glory that I do but you can def play at High.

I can even push the game to 9 ugrids but I run a seperate version for that just incase it breaks my AI/quests. (that is closer to 30 fps)

[Janine Rose]

You sure? That GTX 550 Ti is worse than my HD5850, and I get maybe 30 FPS consistently at max settings when my i5 750 processor is overclocked to 3.9 GHz.

It'll run it fine, but I don't know about smooth 60 FPS.

Don't know how that's possible, my brother's got an HD5850 and he's got 60 FPS with settings that are quite high.

[Jordan Moreno]

It's the game it responds differently based heavily on the CPU as well as the GPU and the OS bit will def matter as well but since it seems everyone here has 64 bit that isn't an issue.
Some people have faster CPU's than me some OC'd some not and I have heard reports from all camps of low fps, stutter etc. I run a 60 hz 1920x1080 monitor but as I read anything higher in refresh rate suffers from a bug.
I find keeping FPS between 30-60 is fine as long it is steady.

[Annick Charron]

932 HAF case imo.....you will see way lower temps and your system will probably last much longer. Yes it will run Ultra...reference I run Ultra x .5

[leigh stewart]

The GTX 560 Ti is a better card then the GTX 550 Ti card however if the price difference is minimal depending on where you buy your computer parts. If the difference in price is $30-$50 then bite the bullet and get the better card.

[Nana Samboy]

Hi guys! Just a quick question here. I'm trying to buy a new gaming laptop and do you think this thing can run Skyrim at medium-high settings if I upgrade the CPU to Quad core I7?
Site doesn't let me post links for some reason so here is the model:
Prostar P151EM 15.6 inch

Intel? Core? i7-2670QM Processor (2.2GHz), 6MB L3 Cache

8GB DDR3, 1600MHz SDRAM. Expandable up to 32GB, depends on 4GB/8GB SODIMM module (32 bit OS editions have a memory limitation of 2.8GB. Other hardware or application limitations may further prevent use of all installed memory. Windows 7 64bit is required for memory configurations of 4GB and above.)

NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX 670M GPU
- 1.5GB GDDR5 Video RAM
- Support PCIe x16
- MXM3.0 Type B
- Microsoft? DirectX? 11 compatible
- nVIDIA? PhysX? Technology
- nVIDIA? CUDA? Technology
- HDMI 1.4
- nVIDIA? Optimus 1.2 Technology

Thanks in advance guys!

[I’m my own]

The comment immediately above was initially posted in a new message and I answered while that was the case.

There ALREADY is a master thread for your question, HERE:

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1350063-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-thread-58-w-hardware-guide/

In the intervening hour and a half, a forum Adminisatrator / Moderator moved both comments to where the one I'd replied to had belonged. (I presume it to have been Booty Sweat.)

[x_JeNnY_x]

Hi guys! Just a quick question here. I'm trying to buy a new gaming laptop and do you think this thing can run Skyrim at medium-high settings if I upgrade the CPU to Quad core I7?
Site doesn't let me post links for some reason so here is the model:
Prostar P151EM 15.6 inch

Intel? Core? i7-2670QM Processor (2.2GHz), 6MB L3 Cache

8GB DDR3, 1600MHz SDRAM. Expandable up to 32GB, depends on 4GB/8GB SODIMM module (32 bit OS editions have a memory limitation of 2.8GB. Other hardware or application limitations may further prevent use of all installed memory. Windows 7 64bit is required for memory configurations of 4GB and above.)

NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX 670M GPU
- 1.5GB GDDR5 Video RAM
- Support PCIe x16
- MXM3.0 Type B
- Microsoft? DirectX? 11 compatible
- nVIDIA? PhysX? Technology
- nVIDIA? CUDA? Technology
- HDMI 1.4
- nVIDIA? Optimus 1.2 Technology

Thanks in advance guys!

You will be able to max Skyrim at 1080p, certainly at least with all settings maxed except using FXAA instead of MSAA.

My CPU is Arrandale and the card in my laptop is significantly weaker than your 670m, however I get 40-60fps at 1080p in most places, occasionally dropping lower in areas like Markarth.

I would suggest however, to consider holding off on your purchase a few weeks and picking up a laptop with Ivy Bridge CPU and AMD http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7950M.72676.0.html, http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970M.72675.0.html or http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7750M.72677.0.html- not a lot of info is known yet, but all three of these new mobile 28nm cards will reportedly outperform the 670m.

[renee Duhamel]

I'm buying a new laptop anyway, and I really want to play skyrim on it with no problems. Here is a link to the one I was interested in buying:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Series-GT683DXR-603US-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B005WPUN1Y/ref=de_a_smtd

Here is a brief overview of the specs that are in question.

• Intel? Core? i7-2670QM Processor
  
• NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX570M discrete graphics (1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM)
  
• 1TB hard drive with RAID 0 (500GB x 2, 7200RPM)
  
• 12GB DDR3 (4GB x3)

It seems fine to me, and certainly meets all the requirements...but I just wanted to ask the experts. Thanks in advance

[Mike Plumley]

Hi!

I hope I'm posting this in the right place as I'm new around here...

I need some advice as my old pc finally gave up the ghost and I'm looking to buy a new system and thought while I was at it I might as well try to get something that can cope with Skyrim. Here are the options I'm looking at at the moment. If anyone could let me know how they might do and whether there would be a great deal of difference between the two processors in terms of running the game more smoothly I would be massively grateful:

Intel core i3 2120 3.3 GHz
6 GB RAM 1333 MHz
AMD HD 6850 1 GB DDR5

Or same system with

Intel core i5 2320 3.0 GHz

Many thanks!

Luke

[Roddy]

With a 6850, there shouldn't be any noticeable difference between the two. That range of CPUs doesn't start bottlenecking Skyrim until you're pushing the game to the max, which the 6850 can't do.

The video card is much more important for gaming than processor. Not sure why everyone seems to think it's the other way around these days...

If you're looking to burn a little extra cash into the build, get a 6870 2gb instead.

[Jennifer May]

ok, i have a HP Pavillion g6-106tu laptop. specs:
Operating system installed: Genuine Windows? 7 Home Premium 64
Processor:Intel? Core? i5-2410M 2.3 GHz
Chipset: Intel HM65
Standard memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 (1 x 4 GB)
Maximum memory: Upgradeable to 8 GB DDR3 i am probably going to upgrade RAM to the 8gig max
Internal drives: 500 GB SATA (5400 rpm)
Optical drives: LightScribe SuperMulti DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display size (diagonal): 15.6" High-Definition LED HP BrightView Display
Display resolution: 1366 x 768
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000

i might upgrade the RAM to 8gb, should i do this? or will it run OK with 4gb? i think i'll need the upgrade, but i just want a second opinion

[Alisia Lisha]

That's integrated graphics. You should experience no difference between 4gb and 8gb because you will have to be playing on low settings.

If you're going to be encoding videos, go ahead and get the 8gb. Otherwise there's no need.

[Emily Jones]

ok, thank you. so the game should run fine on low, right?

[An Lor]

Couldn't say for sure, but my laptop uses a 1st-gen i3 and it can play Oblivion on medium/low smoothly. Yours uses the 2nd-gen Intel HD 3000, which is a small step up, so I can't imagine you not being to find a playable balance.

[Cameron Wood]

Some promising http://www.anandtech.com/show/5771/the-intel-ivy-bridge-core-i7-3770k-review/16 for the new integrated graphics Intel HD 4000

[Peetay]

I'm buying a new laptop anyway, and I really want to play skyrim on it with no problems. Here is a link to the one I was interested in buying:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Series-GT683DXR-603US-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B005WPUN1Y/ref=de_a_smtd

Here is a brief overview of the specs that are in question.

• Intel? Core? i7-2670QM Processor
  
• NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX570M discrete graphics (1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM)
  
• 1TB hard drive with RAID 0 (500GB x 2, 7200RPM)
  
• 12GB DDR3 (4GB x3)

It seems fine to me, and certainly meets all the requirements...but I just wanted to ask the experts. Thanks in advance

Can anyone confirm that this is good. I intend to install Skyrim HD - 2k Textures. This is a massive mod, so much that it even has it's own recommended specs. So I really wanna be able to run skyrim at the max setting, If I can with this rig. My GPU is right in the Max setting sections of this thread, so that seems promising to me. The only thing that worries me is the 2.2 Ghz processor speed. I dont know if this will have a big effect on the speed (FPS) of the game, but just making sure.

[Oceavision]

Can anyone confirm that this is good. I intend to install Skyrim HD - 2k Textures. This is a massive mod, so much that it even has it's own recommended specs. So I really wanna be able to run skyrim at the max setting, If I can with this rig. My GPU is right in the Max setting sections of this thread, so that seems promising to me. The only thing that worries me is the 2.2 Ghz processor speed. I dont know if this will have a big effect on the speed (FPS) of the game, but just making sure.

I've never tried the mod you are talking about, but with a significantly weaker GPU and CPU in my laptop I've been running the game just fine at 1080p with official high res texture pack, all settings maxed except using FXAA instead of AA. 40-60fps in most areas but it drops down lower in Markarth.

If you are considering a new laptop purchase, however I would highly recommend holding off for a bit. New laptop models will be announced in the next few weeks shipping with Ivy Bridge mobile quadcore CPUs and 28nm AMD 7970m, 7950m and 7750m cards, all three of which should be faster than the 570m.

[Baylea Isaacs]

Older system that is currently run Oblivion:
Windows XP 32bit
4 GB 2700 RAM Dual channel


Motherboard 6150BK8MC
CPU AMD 2.0 GHz Dual Core ADA380DAA5BV
XFX NVIDIA GForce 9600 GSO 512 Mb PCI Express 2.0

[мistrєss]

^ very similar to my old desktop from a few years back

it can probably do skyrim on medium pretty decently

[Roddy]

With a 6850, there shouldn't be any noticeable difference between the two. That range of CPUs doesn't start bottlenecking Skyrim until you're pushing the game to the max, which the 6850 can't do.
The video card is much more important for gaming than processor. Not sure why everyone seems to think it's the other way around these days...

If you're looking to burn a little extra cash into the build, get a 6870 2gb instead.

Thanks toothman! Yeah, I thought this was the case but wanted to check with someone who kenew their stuff more than I do

I guess this question is off topic so apologies, but where can you get a 6870 2 GB? Only ones I can see are 1 GB...

Cheers!

[chinadoll]

A 2gb 6870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150563

And a 2gb GTX560:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130662

I couldn't say which one is a better choice. I've read the 6870 has a higher minimum framerate but I've yet to see any data to back that up.

Also, having more than 1gb of memory will only help with Skyrim if you download the HR texture pack. If that doesn't matter to you, save money and get a 1gb card.

[Jodie Bardgett]

A 2gb 6870:


And a 2gb GTX560:

I couldn't say which one is a better choice. I've read the 6870 has a higher minimum framerate but I've yet to see any data to back that up.

Also, having more than 1gb of memory will only help with Skyrim if you download the HR texture pack. If that doesn't matter to you, save money and get a 1gb card.

And thanks again!

Pretty much decided now to go for the i3 2120 processor and 6850 1GB. Last question, if you're not bored by now: do you need a sound card for skyrim to run properly or is 6 channel onboard audio enough to cope?

Cheers!

[Hairul Hafis]

Sound cards have become entirely unnecessary with modern motherboards and processors. Graphics have gotten more demanding, but sound really hasn't. Virtually any processor from the last few years can multithread the sound, so there's virtually zero performance gain to be had from using a sound card.

[Donald Richards]

How crucial is a fast processor. For instance, lets say you have the best possible graphics card, and the rest of the specs of your rig go well beyond what's needed to run max settings...but your processor works at 2.2 Ghz. Will this have a large affect on the performance of the game? I've seen benchmark tests that put 2.2 Ghz around a 32 FPS constant...which I didn't think is that great.