Wait until October. AMD's new processor architecture launches soon and might lower prices on current Intel and AMD processors by October.

Yes...5 years is a long time for computer hardware and software...But I still use ACAD 2002 when I design and draft...My computer is a freakish 'Frankenstein' amalgamation of drives, parts, both hardware and software that still manage their current use just fine...Though admittedly...I will have to upgrade a few pieces so that I may play Skyrim...But when I can...I shall buy them...My apologies to you Miss Mitheledh for my insult to you as I did not know you were both female and misunderstood your argument...I relinquish my response to you...And hope that I may take this as a lesson...Humblest apologies Miss Mitheledh...

No worries. I figured it was just a misunderstanding. I sort of found myself scratching my head trying to figure out what you were going on about. As for the whole he/she thing, I find it's often just easier to let that slide online (if it's not pertinent).

Do you already have a desktop atm? If so all you really have to do is put in a video card and maybe ram or two (if your do not have 2GB+

Do not go over 2000$ ... Mine cost me about 1134$, the stock graphic card is pretty good..but I can always upgrade it.
And an intel core i7 is well enought...but you can go a bit lower, but not to much.

I'm gonna be 100% honest here...
If you're only considering buying a PC because of mods for Skyrim, then I say - don't.

Why? There are, in all honesty, very very very few mods that are really good. Most mods just detract from the "atmosphere and spirit" of the original TES-game, and they bring tons of bugs and conflicts, as well as huge performance drops. Sometimes they even make things look worse than they did before.

There are some true gems out there, but they aren't many. If you only consider buying a PC because of mods, then I therefore say don't.

I play on PC for other reasons. Mainly because of the tons of more control you have, and that I prefer a mouse & keyboard 100 times more than a controller. Gem mod are a plus.

Meh, im probably about to get alot of hate for this but i honestly would much rather play Skyrim on console, i just dont like the fact that one you get the game you have the choice of getting a mod to the game were you can reach level 999999999 and then fly around with a naked modded argonian and a laser gun and blow up dragons with a new mod which makes them pink, you can then enter whatever and hoarde yourself with gold and make cabbages fall out the sky and other endless possibilities, this sounds awesome and stuff but wheres the fun of playing a realistic and beautiful game made carfully by the developers to make us weep as we take that first step into a magically rendered forest with the real feeling of gravity and limits and we engage in real combat with a pack of real angry wolves (as opposed to modded super wolves with green firebreath) in the rain and the mud as we smack our iron mace into ones face and crush it to bits and send its friends running... what im saying is, id prefer to play the game the devs made for us, if i wanted to play a game where i could do whatever i wanted i would play a game where it was MADE to give me no limits.

I would buy a new PC just to avoid the annoying floaty controls of a console

Exactly this. I cant stand keyboard and mouse. I suppose I can use a controller with my computer but then I cant talk to my friends on xbox about it.

No its not. that is if you buying a gaming PC for one PC game then its not worth it but if you get into stuff like

Arma2/Arma 3, SC2, diablo 3, BF3, the witcher 2, CIV 5, sword of the stars 2, red orchestra 2 ect and so on.

Then yeah it's worth it

also if your lazy and want a prebuilt then ibuypower/cyberpower OR Asus but you'll most likely have to buy a GFX card and PSU if you get an Asus tower.

yes you can;

game for windows allows you to.

No mods are not worth it to buy a gaming pc, get it for the xbox 360.

Short answer: yes mods are worth it (you have no idea until you use them) and eys you should spend money on a gaming rig.

The requirements aren't out yet so imo you should check the Community Tech Thread closer to the game's release and tell them your budget and purpose.

Cant go wrong getting it for the 360, but ive always been a console guy so thats just me. Skyrim will be awesome no matter what system its played on.

Get a gaming pc because you want to play pc games, not for mods that fix bad games. If you're happy with your console then keep it.

Not to mention the really good mods tend not to come out for quite a while after release

OK, http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/41808-1296413411.jpg is a showcase of the difference that mod can make.

A comparison of a scene in Morrowind.

there are pro's and cons to both to which i will list

console
pro's
game is tailored to run the best possible graphics giving you smooth gameplay, console is cheaper

cons
no AA, not the highest possible graphics but will still look good, you have to wait for beth to fix bugs/glitches if they ever do.

pc
pro's
best graphics PERIOD!!!!, mods that can fix bugs and glitches that beth never gets around to fixing, mods that add new content, mods that stream line the game and improve the graphics

cons
pc's tend to be more expensive.

there may be more than that but these are usually the biggest things brought up. i personally will play (if i can get my rig built) on pc. i will only use the bug fix mods untill beth releases patches. i will eventually move on to other funner mods after ive beat the game a few times.

This will depends on:

1.) how satisfied you are with the default game
2.) are you actually willing to put in all the extra effort that it takes to add mods to your game (which is way less than the effort that it takes to make the mods)
3.) how much you plan on replaying the game (as mods can greatly alter the game play, and can add quests)

I would not have played Oblivion much at all if I had not been able to add mods to the game (and the same was true with Fallout 3 and NV). If Skyrim actually lives up to its hype (which I doubt), mods might end up being less necessary.

Eh pc's tend to be more expensive UP FRONT, but consoles (if your really into gaming) tend to be much more expensive over time.

I game on my pc thats 2.1k US (built myself i do overclocking 3x2560x1600 kinda stuff) and my friend plays on his 360 since launch; He's spent more but i have more gaemz.

Don't buy an entire computer just for Skyrim. It's not worth that.

Only get the PC if you're planning on using it for multiple things.

All that means is you are a more crafty consumer than your friend. I personally love waiting for sales and when games I thought looked interesting make it down to the $20 or $30 mark, I get them for my PS3. There is nothing inherently more expensive about console games other than some newer PC games starting off at $50, but I've seen plenty of newer releases going for $60, these days. PCs are just more expensive. One's habits as a consumer have no bearing on that.

Definetly worth it. Look at the screenshots on the obgev2 page (its a mod). I posted one called SSAO vs SE vs Vanilla, which gives a direct comparison to a graphics modded oblivion to vanilla. The vanilla has qarls too btw giving better res textures. Look at some of the pther shots on the page too, many are a lot better than mine, but dont show active comparisons.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30054

Well if you're looking for a computer that you don't have to build, that will arrive ready to play Skyrim, all for under $1000 then I think I can help you.

I'd recommend this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229250

it's a computer built for gaming, and I can tell you that for me it runs everything I play as smoothly as I need it to. I don't do movie making/editing or any other kind of memory hogging things on my computer. I only really play games, so if that sounds like what you plan to do, then I definitely think that computer is right for you

Also, it's very easy to customize. So if you decide you want to replace the video card it comes with something more powerful for instance, then you could easily do that.

Imagine playing vanilla Morrowind as a Vampire...it absolutely svcked. Only 5-10 NPCs would even talk to you or give you quests, and you couldn't go outside half the time (Day). All you basically got was increased Stats/Skills at a serious drawback. Mods, not only made playing as a Vampire in Morrowind tolerable, it even made it enjoyable. Mods are definately worth it.