So I bought Skyrim and installed it and started it up. It said that I could run the game on High so I said OK and started it up but it is really bad like in an online game with the way it lags.

I've spent the majority of today trying different settings and different tweaks that I have found but I can't seem to make any headway due to changing too many things at once.

I was wondering if anyone could look at these specs and tell me if

• My computer simply won't be able to run Skyrim
  
• If you can run skyrim with equal or lesser settings
  
• Any suggestions for tweaks I should make to the game to play it

Computer: Dell Inspiron 537s

• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
  
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 8400 @ 3.00 GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
  
• Memory: 4096 MB RAM
  
• DirectX: DirectX 11

Display: ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series

• Core Clock: 600MHz
  
• Memory Clock: 400MHz
  
• Memory Size: 2303 MB
  
• Approximate Total Memory: 2296
  
• Software: Catalyst Version 12.3

When I purchased this computer it was to serve as a multimedia computer and at the time the salesman told me it would play most games on Medium settings. This was about a year ago. If there are any possible upgrades you can suggest I am certainly all ears. I don't know a lot about the technical side of computers, but I know that I am limited in the graphics cards I can upgrade to because I have a "slim" case model.

I really appreciate any help that you can offer. I registered just to post this and hope that someone can help because right now I have what seems to be a really fun game that I can't even play. The graphics look great, but its just this problem, so I don't know what this is indicative of. I don't have anything byut my firewall/av running and I am able to play other games (like The Sims 3) just fine. One example: I get killed by wolves after the opening sequence because by the time tI position the camera to hit them, they have already moved to another side of me and my swing just hits the air.


Thank you.

EDIT: WIHOOPS I noticed I posted this in the wrong section. It meant to go to Skyrim board. I am reporting this post to ask it to be moved.

Use this instead of moving it: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1350063-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-thread-58-w-hardware-guide/

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/intro.aspx

Hmmm.. my card isn't in that list. It's called ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series. How do I find out what my real model number is? It says ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series in Device Manager as well as in the Catalyst Control Center program



Sweet! Running this now. Hopefully it will find the answer!

That's fairly inaccurate quite a bit of the time. It's not really that reliable. Best to use the thread I linked for optimal results.


I have almost no experience with ATI/AMD cards, but maybe perform a dxdiag and look there?

Both the HD 4350 and the HD 4550 are old, very low end business graphics cards. The game's configuration utility was designed by a company that is essentially TECHNOPHOBIC. They do not care to know anything about hardware and always publish ridiculously stupid system requirements. Even if an HD 4350 had 4 GBs of VRAM attached, it is so slow that all but 128 MBs would be totally wasted when trying to play games.

The correct setting is as low of a graphics quality as possible.

The SR Lab tries to do something, even if wrong way too often. Bethesda plainly doesn't care to be correct about hardware.

Here is the HD 4350 side by side with the gaming card from that Radeon generation, which is about what a true minimum would be if Bethesda had anyone on staff knowledgeable about hardware:

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=585&card2=579

The HD 4670 has four times faster and more capable gaming performance by comparison.

Thank you for your help, especially Gorath the Elder. Well, I guess the only result is to upgrade, right? From that test blahs44 lead me to it said I met the LOW requirements but the recommended I should upgrade both my processor (dual core) to a quad core and my graphics card. My new question is, do you think I could just upgrade my graphics card (if I can find one that will fit into the slim design case, that is) or would I also have to upgrade my processor? And at that point would it just be better to buy a new PC?

If the latter is the case, I'll probably just have to see if Target will take back the game because I don't have that kind of money right now, lol. I haven't tried the game on LOW but if that setting is anything like any MMORPGs I've played it won't even be tolerable, especially since I have seen this game on my friends' XBox360 and know how awesome it can look!

Thank you for your time and information. I really appreciate it -I don't know anything about the innards of computers

Depends on your PSU. In all likelihood, you're going to need a new PSU to go along with a new card.

The "Slim" cases from HP may have a 250 watt power supply, barely adequate for an HD 4350 / 4550. If it has 300 watts, get an HD 6570 in the half-height, or Low Profile, variety. That is newer and easier to find than the HD 4670 mentioned, and here is one of the 6570s for $42 after mail-in rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127611

+1 to Gorath's comments

I lost sight of this thread! but I finally found it again. Thank you so much for your time, if I could I just ask a a couple more questions:

• If I have to upgrade, I want to get the best IU can, since it will be outdated again in a few months. (I have to prepare for Elder Scrolls 6!) Is there any card that ranks higher up on the current performance list than HD 6570 (keeping in mind the "slim case design" that I would be able to put into my computer?
  
• (For that matter, could I just buy a new case and put all the parts in it instead of having to worry about the "slim case" limitations?)
  
• I don't mind upgrading the power supply if I have to. I don't know what it currently is.
  
• Do you think I am fine with the processor I have and just upgrading the graphics card?

Thank you again Gorath the Elder for sharing all your knowledge about this kind of stuff!

EDIT:
Also so not to appear like an ingrateful idiot, I am going around any trying to research some of this stuff myself but there is so much information and its hard to comprehend. For example, I found this card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131448

Which seems like it is low profile and ranks much higher on the list. At the end of march, one of the reviewers said it is the best low-profile card available. One person even said it would run Skyrim at max settings. Would I be able to use this in my computer? And if so, what upgrades would I need to perform?

The characteristics of the Slim-type cases are quite poor for game playing. Look at the image of the HD 6750 you were looking at, see the second fan? One isn't enough for a Low Profile graphics card that powerful. They have terrible internal air flow, and very limited options for power supply upgrades. I've not looked up any of the HD 6700 series cards' power requirements, however, I would be surprised if it was less than 450 watts.

A replacement case of more normal proportions, with superior ventilation, would be easy and relatively inexpensive to purchase. However, other than a few of the brands, Cooler Master being one, if a case being considered for purchase includes a power supply, it usually isn't one worth trying to use.

If Bethesda keeps to their typical development schedule, we will be in an entirely different PC market in three or four years, and almost nothing from 2012 will be useful that long.