my old computer crashed a while back. i am having my uncle build me a new gaming computer since i dont know enought to do it myself. i just need to let him know what i want so he can order the parts. i have saved up a good amount of money towards this build. i was originally saving up to get a full size Alienware desktop but my uncle could build the same thing for me and i would rather give him the money. what would i need in a computer in order to play Skyrim special edition will all of the settings maxed out? if it makes any difference i plan on installing a lot of mods for the game.

i really do not know anything about building a computer so i am 100% counting on my uncles and your suggestions in order to know what to get.

i forgot to add that my preferred budget is in the $2500 range but i am able to go higher if need be

I'm planning to build a PC this Summer because the one i use now can't handle SSE, but first, AMD needs to start pumping those Zen processors into the market.

Currently the build i planned cost ~ 2000 euro, but i hope it will get lower by the time i'll start with the investment:

I7 7700k

Asus z270-A motherboard

32 GB DDR4 (2x16 GB) 3000-3200 Mhz

GTX 1070 8GB DDR5

256-512 GB SSD M.2 PCIE x4

4TB HDD

1000W Power Source

I still haven't found a good cooler for that processor (air, not water)

Don't bother with 32GB of RAM, at least for a gaming setup. Maximum system usage for me is ~9GB. 16GB is sufficient.

For most CPU cooler I would recommend a Closed Loop AIO Liquid Cooler.

My system never drops below 60 on SE. This is at 2560 by 1600 and with 30 texture mods. I am still amazed by this. I am at 100 hours and have had only one incident, a freeze soon after the game came out. I can't get Oblivion to run this good. It doesn't crash but I get dips into the 40's in Imperial City.

Budget $2500 range? So money is no object?

You can build a hefty rig with that. I might ask though If you are comfortable or savy at all with computers. If there is a problem, is your Uncle willing to help you solve it?

If you build your own PC you are responsible if there is a problem. Pre-built PCs usually come with tech support. If there is a problem, you ship it off and someone else deals with it.

i spent a little over $1,800 on my last pre-built computer and it could never do what i wanted it to.

i was originally saving up for an Alienware area 51 (the one with the 1070 video card) this time around.

after thinking about it i realized i could have my uncle build me a similar computer for less and i would rather pay him for his time than pay Dell another penny.

i am fairly computer savy once it is put together. the thing is, i have always had pre-built computers and been disappointed with them so i have no idea what parts would be needed in order to accomplish what i want out of a computer. my uncle is always willing to help me out with "tech support" if i need it. he is an IT guy as his profession and builds computers for our local College so he really knows his way around a computer.

My advice is to build it yourself instead of having your uncle build it for you. I didn't know the first thing about building computers before I built my first PC a few years ago. It is not that hard to learn by googling a few online guides and doing a little research on your parts to make sure they are compatible with each other, etc. Building a computer is not rocket science and does not require a technical degree. It just requires a little common sense and a few hours of researching how to do it.

The actual "assembly" of a computer is super easy, just plugging things in and screwing them down (use a ground wire on your wrist to prevent damaging delicate components with static) -- the only part that is remotely difficult is applying the thermal paste and securing the cooler to the processor, but that turned out to be pretty easy. I did it all without an uncle's guidance, but you could get your uncle to oversee what you are doing if you want.

I also agree with the guy who said you don't need more than 16GB of RAM, unless you plan to run the game on a RAM disc. With 32 MB of RAM, you could put Skyrim on a RAM disc and have zero second loading screens, but with an SSD, loading screens are pretty quick anyway. I had initially planned to do a RAM disc and to overclock my CPU, but my loading screens are quick enough and my performance good enough that I have never bothered with either.

here are the specs of the computer i was originally saving up for. i upgraded the video card from the 1070 to the 1080. what are your thoughts on a similar setup to this? i was thinking of giving my uncle these specs to use as a guide. what would you change and what would you keep the same?

Alienware Area-51 Desktop

Alienware Area-51

Processor

Intel? Core? i7-6800K Processor (6-cores, 15MB Cache, Turbo Boost Max 3.0,Overclocked up to 3.9 GHz)

Operating System

Windows 10 Home 64bit English

Power Supply

Alienware 850 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power for Intel 6xxx series Processor

Video Card

NVDIA? GeForce? GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X

Memory

32GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2133MHz; up to 64GB

Hard Drive

128GB SSD 6Gb/s Main + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s Storage

Optical Drive

Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)

Wireless

Intel 7260 802.11ac 2x2 Wireless, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0

Driver

7260 AC Driver

I would personally not put an i-7 processor in a gaming PC. Games don't take advantage of hyperthreading nearly enough to justify the additional cost of an i-7. Maybe if you are going to edit video, you might notice the difference of an i-7, but for a gaming PC, I'd save the money and go with a good i-5, like maybe an i-5 7600k.

Then put the money you saved on a CPU into a bigger SSD. My PC is three years old and I have a 500GB SSD with a 2 TB HDD backup drive. 128 GB is tiny. I'd want at least 500GB for my SSD, maybe even 1 TB.

Also 128GB SSD often have slower IOPS than bigger SSDs. 256GB good for a boot drive and some applications. Not all application need to be on a SSD, so I wouldn't spend too much.

Stick to Skylake/Kaby Lake. Broadwell-E doesn't perform better in games. Most if not all games don't advantage of more than 4 cores. Faster cores are better than many slower cores. Again 32GB of RAM is a waste of money.

Core i7s have a speed advantage over i5 even without factoring hyperthreading. Of course, you can overclock the i5. 6600k/6700k/7600k/7700k all good choices.

All TES/FO games need to be on an SSD, unless you enjoy long loading screens. You could easily run out of space on a 256 GB SSD with modded Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, SSE and a fallout game or two.




Agreed, unless you want to use a RAM disc to eliminate loading screens entirely. I know someone who put an entire modded Oblivion into a RAM disc and has literally no loading screens. You need 32 if you want to do something like that. Loading screens are quick enough with an SSD though that I've never bothered with the extra hassle of setting up a RAM disc.

True and that's how I learned to build my own computer by simply listen to other people who knows how to do things.

It's never wrong to max out RAM from 16 Gb to 32 Gb, if you can afford it, and in my case the RAM become cheap at that time, so I thought why not take the opportunity and max out the RAM on the http://www.asus.com/se/Motherboards/Z97PRO_GAMER/ in my current PC.

About SSD, I have a different opinion now than I had before I actully starting using a SSD and that's I've notice a few things I am not happy about.

1. Cannot defrag a SSD

2. Having a strange oddity in Skyrim

You don't need to. In fact, because of how SSD's work it wouldn't even do anything.