-you don't need a $1000-1500 pc to max out skyrim

-you get the benefit of a better version of most games, not just skyrim.

Spec wise my computer is between medium-high and I play Skyrim with maxed out settings, no lag, no performance issues.

i have a 450$ pc, which is a year old. i am sure it can run skyrim with higher settings than current consoles can. the highest settings @1080 are not recomended, but a new system could handle it. it is a missconception, that pcs have to be more expansive than consoles. the times, where you could upgrade your system every second month, are long over. thanks to consoles. sorry for the strange english

ps: you won't be dissapointed with all the skyrim mods that are going to be released the next weeks. much more fun than fancy graphics...

ps2: never buy the last gen pc hardware. too expansive, too few performance advantages

Answer: MODS

Sorry, I didn't realize a gaming PC purchase would be for a dedicated Skyrim machine. $1000-1500 will MAYBE get you an "acceptable" vid card, 8GB, i5 on a 15" laptop or smaller. In three years, the machine will be useless for then current games, though. BUT, be careful with heat in that case. It's pretty easy to overheat non-gaming laptops with minimal play of barely taxing games.

I got my PC two years ago so I could use Oblivion mods and don't regret it at all. Runs Skyrim great too, only small issues here or there, might CTD once in a blue moon (like if I play for 8 hours straight also a higher chance for CTDs taking screenshots, I guess due to Steam) but overall I've had 110 hours so far relatively free of bugs. And that's with around 6 mods so far.

When the CK comes out and the modding community gets a good start, say a year or so, it's going to be no contest between PC and console if you're willing to spend the money for a PC.

If you don't use a PC for anything else and you have to ask if spending that kind of money is a good idea then it isn't.

Console commands are a double bladed sword. On one hand it is great to be able to resurrect your horse because he is to stupid to run away from a dragon, but once you start down that road it is very hard not to cross a line that makes game play completely unrewarding. Why pick up items when you can give yourself a million gold, why buy ore for smithing when you can pop 1000 iron into your inventory, why practice smithing when you can max it with a command, why spend those perk points when you can max the tree, why max the tree when you can drop any weapon or item straight into your inventory?

Console commands are great, but tend to shorten the life of your game once you start using them.

Whatever you do, build your own PC.
If you dont trust yourself to do that, ask a friend who does. If you dont have a friend who does, teach yourself. Its easier than you think.

Thats true, gotta have self-control in that respect. I know when my bro plays the game crashes way easier because, just because he can, he runs with tgm on all the time plus maxed skills and anything else to make his character into a mass murdering super villain ^^.

Skyrim only can utilize 2GB RAM at the most due to its 32 bit exe (Skyrim doesn't even use more then 1GB without mods). RAM is cheap anyways and any upgrade you plan should include that if it is needed.

This game is designed for consoles. If you want to buy it for PC for mods you better wait for like a year.

OP, here are some hard facts about cost as of this date. This assumes you can build your own:

Go to pricewatch.com and select CPU/motherboard combos
select the Phenom II X4 955
take the first selection
On that page, reselect the standard CPU heatsink (using other voids the chip warranty; read the box).
turn off all the added features save the 8gig DDR 3 ram
You now have a motherboard, memory, and CPU for $250.70 including shipping. You can see there are a lot of other options.

Now go back to the main pricewatch page. Select video cards
Choose the Geforce 400 series, and select the 460 GTX
The first is just fine at $161.96, including shipping.

So far the total is $412.66

do the search on hard drives, you can get a 400 gig SATA drive for $59 with shipping

That brings the total up to $471.66

Do the search on Power supply.

I'd go with a Coolmax 750 watt unit, which is $62.99 with shipping.

Bringing the total up to $534.65

Literally, the only things left are your choice of case (which can cost from $40 to $500, depending on your tastes), and a either a DVD or bluray drive (players can be had as cheaply as $10.....bluray players as low as $40). The keyboard and mouse are throwaways, and the video card has a mini hdmi interface and adapter, so you could plug it into any HDMI video system, like a widescreen TV. You do not need watercooling, sixy lighting, windows on your side access panel, anything fancy. That is actually slightly better than my system (well, better processor; I use a better mobo), and I can run Skyrim in full HD with minimal issues on high. The video card is DX-11 capable. The on motherboard sound is sufficient for desktop speakers. You do NOT need the hottest Intel chip on the market; games are still just beginning to dip their toes into multithreading a quad core is more than enough for the next 2 years, at least. Stay at least a generation behind the bleeding edge, and you get the exact same performance at a much lower cost.

Well I'll be honest I spent 800 bucks on a nice set-up with the sole intention of being able to mod and play a modded version of Oblivion ( and this was just last Christmas that i finished building it). I got a nice amount of power for the my price and can even The Witcher 2 on High/Ultra at about 40 fps. If you build it right and shop smart ( whilst deals are underway) you can end up with a machine that will last you quite a while. Now if your doing it for one game maybe its not such a smart investment however, having access to a rig with such power opened me up to a whole new world. I started to learn the modding tools and played many new games thanks to the inexpensive cost of games on Steam. I am now pursuing a degree in Game Design at a 4 year school because I bought a computer that let me explore my opportunities.

I came into this thread to see how many posts it took until someone gave an absurd claim on how much it takes to buy a gaming PC and sadly it was in the first one.

Best i could say is, I play it on PC on ultra and its magnificent.

I look at it this way, do I need the money for anything else?, nope, pc it is then, in the end you are the one who has to make the choice, pc is certainly more flexible than console, but it's not about the hardware, it's about where you prioritize your spending.

Yeah, that's why I took the time to show the kiddies the facts, not the fantasy.......

If you know what you're doing or have a friend that does the PC is cheaper than a console overall.

I'm not sure about your country, but here in the U.K PC games are 10-15 pounds cheaper than console games on release. If you are someone who buys most of the popular titles then in the long run this can work out cheaper.

A lot of people always say that you have to upgrade your PC every 2-3 years, this is not true. If you get a modern PC then that will last 5 years or more. I have an I7 920 as my main PC but still have an old XP that can run Skyrim on medium settings that is nearly 6 years old.(have upgraded the graphics card though.)

Again, with the games being cheaper, you can simply save that extra money towards the next time you do decide to upgrade your PC.

In short, yes the jump is worth it as i believe in the long run its actually the cheaper option. 360 you don't only pay extra for games on release but also having to pay for Xbox live just to play online.

Mods alone make the PC worth it for me though. Having owned a PS3,360 and PC though, all platforms are good in their own way. Comes down to personal preference.

My biggest qualm with skyrim right now is just how UN-optimized it is for PCs. There are several tricks that Bethesda have used for the X-Box and PS3 to try and make the game run on those systems with better graphics then they really support by using over processors to take over some of the jobs. Unfortunately they have used the same tricks on the PC where they make literally no sense . So even if you get a top notch PC, Skyrim may not run at max graphics at 60 FPS because things like shadowing appear to be done of the CPU rather then the GPU (and a PC's GPU can easily handle these things).

As such I'd not recommend getting a top notch build for Skyrim because it's just not going to take advantage of the superior hardware which is disappointing.

Bump...


EDIT (from original post) :

Wow was not expecting this many replies... Hell I would have put a bit more detail...
If I was to do this it would only be a desktop to get more bang for your buck, and I would be a custom build on a 1500 dollar budget (Built several in the past)
I already have a 23 inch monitor and speakers... So i would just need the tower, guts and a keyboard...

I have a laptop now that handles minecraft and left 4 dead 2 (lowest settings, but gets the job done)
I also have a library of games purchased on steam for really cheap that I cant play on my laptop.

Over all it would be a luxury device, needed? not really
Can I afford it? thankfully yes at the time being...

Nope, you are completely wrong. You can build a PC that runs skyrim on MAX settings for less than $600. You just have to do it right. I built mine almost from scratch and it cost $630. The things I already had were Case, Power Supply, and disk drive. My computer will run any game on full setting without a hop or skip.

i would just absolutely love if someone challenged that too, i will tear you apart.

The machine I'm playing on has 64 bit Windows 7 and 12 GB of RAM.

Runs smooth as silk.

Console maxed: (1280w*720h)30fps
*PC maxed: (2560w*1600h)60fps

PC can render up to 9 times the optical stimulation per second (*up to 18x if eyefinity (3x1600p). Then there's draw distance, AA, AF, AO, mods, modding, .ini files to tweak, etc. I'd say it's worth it, and not just for Skyrim. Make the jump and you'll never look back.

What? desktop can bet just as powerful then a laptop lol for the same price desktops are better, a 800 desktop will be better then a 800 laptop... unless you get screwed. that laptop is more expencive then my desktop but mine has more power what it comes down to is laptops are portable, desktops are more bang for your buck and easier to upgrade atleast I think ther are.

i payed $600 for a computer that is too powerful for skyrim

u dont need to spend much at all!