I don't think Oblivion is a very good comparison for computer specs. I've got a pretty svcky laptop with a bad graphics card by todays gaming standards and I can play Oblivion on high settings with basically no issues.

Provided your laptop will be able to run Skyrim, the advantages, as I see them, are:

• Mods
  
• Probably slightly better graphics that will continue to get better as higher res texture packs are released by modders
  
• the ability to fix glitches and bugs using the console
  
• Unofficial patches and bug fixes made by the modding community

I honestly can't think of any cons. Also, to clear up any confusion you may have, all mods not made by Bethesda themselves are free. Charging any money for them would be illegal.

In my opinion Bethesda's games have, hands down, the best modding community I've ever seen, and sites like Planet Elder Scrolls and TES Nexus take the majority of these mods and organize them so they're all easy to find. Even if you don't plan to heavily alter your game, I suggest getting it for PC. It will be worth it. :goodjob:

PC, advantages:

- Mods.
- Unofficial patches, both while the game is still supported by official ones (fixing inmediate bugs not yet fixed by official patches), and when the support is over.
- In time, graphical expansions a-la MGE and OBGE.
- Dev console, useful to workaround bugs.
- Higher res than consoles, 16x AA support.
- More customizable graphics settings.

Disadvantages:

- If you've your OS and drivers updated, there's hardly any.

Your choice, but it's pretty clear to me.

Steam is only a good reason if one has the connection speed for it

I'm on my 2nd copy of TES3 (GOTY) & my old Teen rated Oblivion collector's edition still works fine & I only bought my second FO3 to get the GOTY to supplement my collector's edition

Windows Experience Index means absolutely zippo.

Here's what you do: Get 3DMark2005 or Futuremark or whatever for benchmarking
Get a hard drive benchmarking program to test your speeds


RE: Thread topic:
Mods
Console window
Mods
Better graphics
Mods
Unofficial Patch Projects
Did I mention mods?

all of the advantages already listed, but also the increase in FPS is a big factor imo.

I hate 30 fps caps, and alot of console games have this. I personally can tell a huge movement difference from 30 to 60fps

In my opinion the biggest advantage PC players have over Console players is that you can use a mouse instead of a controller. A mouse allows you to aim with much more speed and accuracy (don't really understand why you'd like a controller better, but that's you i suppose ).

Another advantage is that when playing on a computer you're usually a lot loser to your screen. At home i've got an Xbox and a Ps3 (comp died a few montsh ago ) and a big high res tv , still i prefer a nice big computer screen over any tv screen because the short distance you're removed from your pc screen really helps for the immersion in the game. Then again, if you prefer a Tv screen that's you again .

The other advantages consist of having better graphics and the ability to download and install mods to improve the game for you.

Personally i wouldn't think twice about choosing between a console or a computer, but in your case since you prefer a console over a pc in my first 2 reasons then i suppose you shouldn't bother buying the game on pc? Unless you want to mod ofcourse.

Personally, I think you should buy it for PC. Everyone's view on which is better is obviously subjective, as it's personal preference, but I personally prefer playing games like TES and Fallout on PC. Just feels more natural to me. With PC you have access to what I believe is the best part of PC gaming: mods.

Also, if you have to pay for mods at a particular site, don't bother.http://tesnexus.com/ and http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/ both have vast selections of mods, all available at no cost.

In my opinion much faster loading times are more important than higher framerate. Nothing is worse than idly waiting for the game to load something.

1. Install Skyrim on SSD
2. ???
3. Profit!

I suppose it would come down to frame rates, I don't want a choppy game on my PC when I could have it cleanly on my 360 or ps3.

Better graphics on p.c really? i thought it was the same as consoles on a 1080p tv?

The PC version of Oblivion + Skyrim both use much higher resolution textures because our computers can handle it. Not to diss consoles but their GPUs are rather... dated.

^^ Morrowind had higher res textures as well.

youre going to get it for pc and actually use a gamepad instead of keyboard+mouse? wow, im guessing you wont be using bow and arrow then

Much of the reason is also that pc players sit far closer to the monitor se we see more details.

I woulda have told them "Tough **** " after the first one. I mean, who REALLY is to blame for having to spend over $1000 on re-buying the same games? No offence intended, just food for thought.


Except anyone playing on a 1080 TV is running the game at 1080 and mid graphics settings with a smooth 30-60 FPS. Now if the 360's GPU is about as good as an x1900, then a computer 3 years old should be able to power through the game at 1080 and ultra setting while still having time to smoke a cig and play an HD movie.

Point invalid.


Resolution has little to do with the ability to render better graphics. It just allows you to see more detail, if there is any.

I'd buy it to console first, play it for many many hours and then IF it starts to get even the slightly bit of boring, I'd buy it for PC and install all sorts of mods at once, because at that point there surely will be quite a few to choose from.

I'd always recommend getting the PC version, when you have (or can get) the hardware to run it.

Access to mods aside, you can also configure your games to a greater degree (.ini configuration files often give far more options than the in game menus); you'll have access to the in-game console (allowing you to create and destroy objects, reset your position, etc from within the game); and you'll have access to graphics settings above and beyond the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions (eg, anti-aliasing), even if Skyrim doesn't specifically support any PC-only features like DX11.

Okay, just ran 3DMark Vantage and got 8652. Don't know how that compares to other notebooks. I have Asus G73JW-A1

Edit: This is with all settings enabled and no OC.

No. Even if either console was capable of rendering anything but very simple scenes at 1080p (They aren't) they have very dated hardware that simply isn't as capable.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLchrdsfAg (Make sure you're streaming that at highest quality, while the difference between console and PC is fairly major, watching it in low-quality footage at low resolution will be difficult to truly appreciate)
The resolution on PC is higher, with more anti-aliasing, bigger textures, better shadows, shaders, and view distance, at a better framerate. The extent to which the average PC is better than a console is almost farcical.
Most PC users consider having to run games at 30fps barely being able to run the game, 60fps is standard and much smoother.

That a PC is more capable than a console isn't even up for debate, it just is.

edit: And yeah, WEI is total rubbish - even if it reported consistently it doesn't actually tell you anything, you can't rate a PC on a single scale!

PC all the way for me.
Early this year my graphics card died on me.
Couple of weeks later I got a new one.

If it was a lap top I screwed because its all built in one board.
Motherboard, graphic, LAN/Internet, sound all in one.

Then there is the heat. Push a lap top too far it might shut down.

In the PC it has a lot of room for air to go around in the case it you have the fans set right.

Not recently. Dead Money was released on the PC at the same time as the PS3. Both late.

If history repeats itself, the 360 version is the only way to go if you absolutely cannot live without the DLC for a few weeks to a month.

In my case, I don't care about waiting to get the DLC, especially since TES games are already big enough on their own to last years. I don't like mods. I'm not against creating them, and I love what they do for the PC community, but I personally don't like using them. I primarily game on the PS3 so that's what I'll be getting Skyrim for. I like playing from the comfort of my couch, with my favorite controller, and my rather large TV. My computer isn't good enough to run Skyrim to the point of looking better than the PS3 version either and I'm not spending any money to upgrade my computer for one game. Especially since I rarely play games on PC besides MMO's.

So basically...

Want DLC early? Get it on the 360.

Want mods and possibly the best looking version if your computer is good enough? Get it on the PC.

Or if you're just like me... get it on the PS3.

Gerza, lots of high end notebooks have removable GPUs, particularly the "desktop replacement" subset, the ones with battery lives measured in minutes.

I have to say, I've never understood not liking mods. Even if bethesda creates the perfect game, they are making it for their audience, with the wide and varied tastes within. Mods make the game for you, and you alone. If Oblivion is anything to go by, many mods are actually *more* lore friendly than the vanilla game - and the vast majority of others live in that dark space where lore has nothing to say one way or another. There simply aren't any disadvantages to using mods, except perhaps finding it harder to enjoy the game vanilla because the quality difference is so huge! (Disclaimer: There are disadvantages to using mods, however because you can remove them as easily as you can add them, there are never any disadvantages you aren't willing to live with)