Hey guys,

Has anyone any info on the possible computer specs for Skyrim? I just got a new laptop in December it's an Asus Notebook K52F/K62F Series, Intel Core i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.4GHz, 64-bit Windows 7 OS (Service Pack 1). So I don't think it's necessarily a gaming notebook regardless of it being a gaming company that made it, but I'm able to play Sims 3 on it just fine along with Oblivion (awesome game btw, it's hard for me to get enough!). So can anyone shed light on this please?

Thanks!

cheapest option is to build a gaming desktop from components and buy a separate non-gaming laptop. the total cost will be cheaper than a gaming laptop.


what is your total budget? It's been reported on Anandtech that Asus will drop a new K53-3D model with NVIDIA 560m - haven't been able to find anything about it on the Asus website, but if it has 1080p display and is a decent price, seems like it would be pretty sick because it is relatively thin and portable.

if you have to go with laptop for mobility then I would make sure about the following criteria:

• Display resolution no lower than 1600x900. 1920x1080 display is ideal.
  
  
• Minimum level of GPU needed to deliver decent frame rates for recent games at 1920x1080 resolution is 1GB NVIDIA 460m or AMD 5830m. Get one with video card at least equal or better than this.
  
  
• try to get quad core Sandy Bridge CPU if possible

If you are considering any laptop with display of 1600x900, you might consider dropping your video card requirements down a step or two from the 460m, to the NVIDIA 555m, or something similar. Personally I would not recommend any gaming on a 1366x768 display or worse, simply because you would be missing out on a huge part of the visual experience of recent games.

You might want to take a look at some of these Sager laptops. Not only are they generally a much better value than brands like Alienware, Asus, etc., but they are designed and assembled with upgrade potential in mind.

The NP8150 line has just been refreshed with the brand new NVIDIA 560m

base price for 15" http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8150-clevo-p150hm-p-2972.html?wconfigure=yes is $1279 as assembled by xoticpc.com

base price for 17" http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8170-clevo-p170hm-p-2971.html?wconfigure=yes is $1268 as assembled by xoticpc.com

Considering it'll be squeezed out for current generation consoles, you shouldn't need powerful or recent hardware *at all*, however I'd definitely suggest you don't attempt it on a laptop. Even if a company tout it as a 'gaming laptop', no such thing truly exists and you'd have to pump thousands in to get decent performance out of pretty much any laptop. It'd be cheaper and easier to simply go for the desktop option.

Ya, problem is that the laptop is the best I have. And I can't afford a desktop with all the stuff I need to pay for now. And I'm automatically ignoring the build your own comp thing, not gonna happen. lol.

if you're going for a desktop with 1080p or better monitor, you can go either Intel or AMD for the CPU and motherboard, but make sure to get a video card at least equal to or better than

• 1gb NVIDIA GTS 450
  
• 1gb NVIDIA GTX 460
  
• 1gb AMD 5770

Any of those three can deliver decent frame rates at 1920x1080 and they will cost between $90-150




What is the video card and what is the display resolution of the laptop.

Those are the features we would need to know to give you an idea if you can get playable frame rate for skyrim.

I am just started to build a CPU specifically for Skyrim/Witcher. Jumping into the PC gaming world and weening off an XBOX.

I-7 Quad core 3.4 Ghz water cooled, 8 GB Kingston Hyper X Ram, Z68X Motherboard, HD 5830 & HD 5850 crossfire water cooled, SSD & HDD, Bluray burner. Hooking it to the big screen with optical out on surround sound.
Once overclocked, it should be able to handle Skyrim.

So it seems Skyrim is good for the economy, because I sure pumped money into it.

The specific specs are TBA.

Intel HD Graphics and 5.6" HD (1366x768) LED backlight (I think this is what you were looking for) I don't know much about comps, just basics.

The official requirements have not been confirmed yet.

However, for most recent games you will have to play on low detail settings and possibly reduced resolution (1280x720, 1024x768 or 800x600).

Since Skyrim is probably not going to be more demanding than most recent games, the same will probably be true for Skyrim.

Okay, can you recommend a good graphics card I can buy to have installed into my laptop? One that'll play games like Assassins Creed, Borderlands, and Sims games?

99% likely you will not be able to upgrade your laptop graphics card unless you replace the entire motherboard.

Most of them are either attached in a way that is impossible to upgrade, or they use proprietary MXM connectors that are not easy to upgrade.

To confirm this, you may want to check with other K52 owners in the http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/

What would replacing the motherboard do to my files etc? And if I backed them up, could I easily put them back on my 'new' laptop?

The motherboard is separate from your hard drive, so it doesn't affect any of your files.

However, even replacing the motherboard, it might not be possible to get one with a better graphics card. I'm not familiar with this model K52/K62F - are there options available for this laptop with a better graphics card?

And it might be more expensive to go through this process than it would be to build a new desktop computer. You can build a decent gaming desktop for around $600-800.

Another option you might consider is to buy a used gaming laptop from ebay - you can probably find a decent one for around $700-800.

Thanks for the help.