i bought skyrim for the xbox, but now i want to be able to experience it on the pc. there is no way my computer would be able to run it. Right now i have a windows 7 pc, my video card and everything else is all cheap garbage that is next to useless. i dont know much about computers or any of that, but to run skyrim with mid- prefferably higher settings what kind of things would i need to buy and how much would it cost me? any help is appreciated thnx

i5 2500k processor
a AMD 6800 card or higher DDR 5
8 gb of DDR3 ram

500gb harddrive

This should max your game, pretty cheap as well.
it will land on about 400-500 euro

Do you plan on upgrading your current PC? if so what system do you have? Brand and model number.

If you plan on buying a new system entirely, how much do you plan on spending (and what currency) and are you willing to build it yourself?

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

Thanks thats extremely helpful

i have a HP a6200n i just want to upgrade it. my price range is between about 300-600 US$ it uses a NCIDIA GeForce 6150 graphics card, and AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 5000+. as i said i dont know much about computers so i hope that's all the information your looking for

You'll need a new PSU, GPU, and possibly a CPU.

It may be better to just buy a new rig, to tell you the truth.

Actually, that is a four year old system for which I am relatively certain there aren't any upgrades still readily available (AM-1 socket). You'll need a system board, CPU, GPU, and possibly even RAM. The PSU will need replacing if that PC has been used very much -- those deteriorate fairly rapidly. If you have never totally rebuilt a PC to that extent, it will be a challenge, but your budget will be adequate.

i was hoping i wouldnt have to but that would probably be best in the long run

it would probably be worth it just to get something brand new. probably learn to build one myself

If you are good at putting things together, it is very easy. If you are not good at putting things together, it is not hard and there are plenty of online instrucitons available. I bought my computer in 1991, and it is still working just fine though it has traded in all its parts several times.

If you're willing to put in the time to learn, it'll get you a much better system than if you buy pre-built for the same amount of cash - but do be prepared for things to go wrong and to have to troubleshoot.

For example. I built my latest system, and had terrible overheating issues at first - my motherboard came with monitoring software which was invaluable to know this, otherwise with extreme use I could have unknowingly caused some damage.

Was my problem a faulty processor, or was it the motherboard, or was it the fan not cooling correctly? These are the things you'll need to be able to troubleshoot - in my case it turns out all I needed to do was to re-seat the processor and I went from 80 degrees down to 30 degrees. Luckily the internet is full of others like us, and if we all help each other then we can have great systems for much less!

Set aside at least a day to build from scratch if it's your first build, and bear in mind if you're unsure of anything, look online before you chance it - and be prepared to wait for the right answer - you'll be eager to get it up and running but it's best to be on the safe side if you're unsure. If you can't afford the time to learn, build and troubleshoot - then maybe look into buying pre-built.

The other advantage to building yourself is that you don't get all the junk software that manufacturers insist in clogging your system with, and are completely in control of what goes into your system.

What is your budget for a new build, and which country are you in?

im looking for something from about 300 to 600 US$. i would obviously prefer cheaper, but i want it to be able to run games such as skyrim smoothly and effeciantly with high video settings. I have a good friend of mine who builds computers as one of his favorite hobbies, as long as i can tell him specifically what i want to be put into the computer, he can build it for me.

Sounds like trigger from Only Fools. He had the same road sweeping brush for 20 years, it's only had 18 new heads and 14 new handles.

+1 BigDaddy,
I have never bought a prebuilt computer. I prefer to tweek so components when ever possible.

This definitely *used* to be the case but times have changed. If you're patient and keep checking the various 'deals' websites you can get some pretty spectacular deals. Example - I stumbled upon a great 15.4" Asus laptop deal a few days ago - core i5, 8GB RAM, 640GB hard drive, full KB (with num pad), webcam, HDMI out...all for $399. Great desktop deals are out there too but a good gaming rig on the cheap is a little more difficult to come by. Most mfgs. ratchet up the cost when they add the word 'gaming' to the specs. They're out there though.

Yep, at the lower end of the market you can find some good pre-built deals - on the other hand my z68 i7 2700k (o/c @ 4.5ghz with water cooling) with 16gb vengeance ram, 6970 (manufacturer o/c'd @ 940/1425) & SSD was difficult to find pre-built, and impossible to find at all with the exact specs I wanted - and the closest lower specced version pre-built would have cost many hundreds more...

Even with this system it's not possible to run Skyrim FULLY maxed out (ie. with 8x SSAA @ 60fps).

What? can you sustain 60 fps with 4x SSAA?

Nope, I wish! Was just clarifying to the OP that even decent rigs can be stretched by Skyrim. 4xSSAA gets me 45fps in Whiterun and Riften exteriors (dropping to 35fps in Riften exterior as a fight between 3 guards, 3 wolves and 4 villagers happens), but closer to 60fps in the snowy areas and interiors. 2XSSAA gets me minimum 55fps in the same areas of Whiterun/Riften. To be honest, I can't go back to MSAA after seeing how much better SSAA looks - and I'm willing to suffer reduced fps if that's what it takes.

So strange I can hold 60 fps with a less powerful CPU and stock clocked 6970 GPU @ 4x SSAA

Yep, I really don't know what else I can do to troubleshoot - I've tried the various Catalyst drivers (including beta), made sure there's no junk running in the background - just the other day realised my power settings were on "balanced" and have now changed to gamer mode... but still no difference