This. You wont even need half your budget (1500$) to max Skyrim and any mod you throw at it. Heck a 400-500$ PC will max Skyrim. A bad ass rig isn't all that expensive anymore.

I bought a better computer with Oblivion in mind specifically. I don't take vacations I just splurge on good computers.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_I/

Price tag of $745

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt2R9xk5kxw

That card seems to run Skyrim fine on ultra settings. You'd actually get an extra 10 FPS on top of what's seen there if you're not using FRAPS to record.

Around $700 for new computer to run Skyrim, less if you're upgrading a couple parts from an existing machine. A negligible price to pay to indulge in all the great mods to come.

Of course it really depends on your financial situation. Playing Skyrim on maxed out detail, modded textures, tweaked INI, and so forth is certainly worth something. I personally couldn't justify spending $1500 on a custom build if the only game I wanted to play on PC were Skyrim. If I were going to play other games and do other things with the computer it might be an investment I would make. If you are going to spend that much incidentally I would go with a 1080p widescreen TV.

I just upgraded to a GTX 560 and I can tell you that Skyrim cranked up is pretty sweet, and of course it does add to the immersion to get that quality and frame rate together. For me the PC would be more about the ability to use mods than anything else however. Looking back at Morrowind and Oblivion, we quickly reached a point where vanilla of either was a joke compared to the modded versions.

I've just bought a ￡600 new PC that runs Skyrim on ultra settings with 0 lag...

idk were these people are getting their ridiculous price tags from.


Yes, it's worth it. You can even use an xbox pad with the game. And hook it up to any modern TV via a vga cable.

If you do get a PC for Skyrim I'd get a better one that what is required to max out the settings if you still want to max out settings after installing game modifications. The reason is because mods will add more scripts and higher resolution textures. That is why my previous post lists parts beyond what the game requires.

If you want the PC just for Skyrim it may still be worth the cost if you are that into Skyrim, no one can decide if it's worth it but you. If you look at it as an entry fee to play the game with user made mods and you think you would like it then it is probably worth it.

If you do build the computer yourself then you will have the benefit of controlling everything on the system from the start including default installed software, meaning no extraneous junk.

Building a computer is pretty easy, just order the parts plug them together and put the windows dvd in. Even overclocking with the i7 2600k is a no brainer because it's unlocked.

It really comes down to how bad do you want to play the game with modifications. Since you already have a Steam account i'd bet you find yourself installing other games as well.

￡600 is still about 1000 USD.

600-700 bucks and you'll max any game out in 1080 at a great frame rate. Don't overspend when no matter how much you spend now, it will be obsolete down the road. Your better off spending the 600-700 now, and spending the rest when you have to upgrade your CPU, GPU, and if you need more Ram or a new MB in the future.

If you do build a computer the most important thing to remember is that all the parts are sensitive to electrostatic electricity. Touching a metal part of the computer case just before grabbing a piece of hardware will ground you and drain your body of the evil electricity that seeks to damage your parts. Avoid building the computer on carpet. Also avoid touching contacts on hardware where the part plugs into the motherboard, this will minimize risk.

I saw something really funny once. Several years ago I was doing a contract at the biggest software company in the world. We just moved into a new building and the carpet caused a lot of electrostatic electricity, I know this because I was constantly being shocked on door handles. No idea why they didn't pick a better carpet or use tile. Anyway another team was doing something with a computer (not sure what but they had it in pieces). The computer was on its side and on the carpet. As I walked by I was laughing. The teams manager walks over to my office and asks what's so funny, I said haven't you noticed how bad this carpet is why the heck are you doing that on the carpet when there's a room down the hall with a tile floor? He said, oh they are just putting RAM in it or something. An hour later he comes back and says hey that computer won't boot can you take a quick look? I said sure but some of the parts are probably fried. Given the size of the company he decided to scrap it and requisition a new one rather than figure out which parts are bad since there were no extra parts or power meters to test with. <<-- That was so darn funny because of who they worked for and should have known better.

My point is that electrostatic electricity is really the only way you would mess up building a computer if you are careful because all the parts are either color coded, have pins and brackets that will only let you plug the device into the correct spot. The one exception is when plugging the power connectors in for the HDD, reset button, power button, etc but even then they are labeled with + and - signs on the board and connector with color codes and labels.

Hmm, I've only played the PC version of the game, but I'll still chime in here and say that no ONE game is worth dumping $1000 to $1500 into buying a computer JUST to play that game.

If you have plans on playing other games and doing other things tht make the PC useful to you, then sure, I encourage everybody to get a decent computer if they can afford it, but NOT just to play ONE game.

You could also easily bend your CPU pins if your not carefull. But just keep youself grounded by touching the case every so often TC. You also dont want any of the back of your MB to contact the screws, or back of the case, or you may short it. Anyway, if you do actually short or fry something, all you have to do is send it back to NewEgg and lie and say it was DOA. But, its better to just do it right the first time like Jeff says.

Well the thread is really long and I didn't read it all. I think TES are better on the PC because of all the fantastic mods that eventually become available. You can get it looking better too of course, but beware tech problems abound, only become a PC gamer if you also enjoy I.T./technical challenges in general.

My main advice to a new PC gamer would be to build the rig yourself, learn what all the bits do and how to put it together and read up on it all before buying. You will be astounded at what a ripoff pre-built PCs are!!!! (Gaming ones the price is wacko. General cheapo ones make the xbox 360 look like some kind of super computer on steroids when it comes to gaming and still cost more than your selfbuilt rig).

Yes go for it but you really don't need to spend $1500 on a PC to play Skyrim on high settings or ultra for that matter $800 will get it done easy.....go newegg baby :thumbsup:

Yep. I spent $2k on my rig (desktop) which can run this on ultra no problem, and I should get good use from it for years. I tried to keep costs at $1.5k or less but no matter what sacrifices I made I was not happy, so I svcked it up and spent the full $2k. It's not even a top of the line rig.

Is it worth it? For me it is. I only "upgrade" every few years, so a great rig now can last me quite a long time. Is it worth it for just Skyrim? Hell no. Don't look at it as upgrading for just one game though.

You got ripped off if you spent 2K and didnt get the very best. Heck, even 2k is overkill for the very best. You could crossfire 2 6950s and have a i7 with an SSD for less than 2k.

Definitely.

Most motherboards come with a manual or folded up paper that include step by step instructions. Read completely through the instructions before starting so when you are following the instructions you have a better understanding of where you are in the process and will probably understand more about what you are doing during each phase.

Also, go to the tech thread in General Discussion forum. There they have 3 videos from NewEgg that shows how to install and build a rig whether your using AMD, or intel, Nvidia, or ATI. Lots of good stuff in that thread for the first time builder. The third video is on installing an OS, which is actually harder and can give you more troubles than the actual hardware build.

The very best CPU costs $1k by itself. Just the CPU. I bought an i7 2700k.

About bending CPU pins...when I installed the CPU it felt very tight and I heard a crunching sound when securing the lever. I do not know if that's normal, but the computer works just fine. I was very afraid I bent multiple pins because I was not expecting such a tight fit. I was expecting it to just clamp in place, not squeeze in place, if you know what I mean.

Is there any way to tell if you've bent some CPU pins? Would it even work if some of the pins were bent?

(the rest of the installation was pretty painless. I'm quite proud that it booted up and I didn't screw anything up. Last computer I built was 7 years ago and I bought the CPU, motherboard and RAM together as an installed and tested package.)

$1500 for a good gaming rig? That's pretty close. The question is how much you love gaming. If you love gaming, then go PC gaming. PC gaming compared to console gaming only adds a pretty small commitment to technical knowledge. But, you have to love the challenge of building, tweaking and upgrading your gaming PC. To me that's half the fun: building, tweaking and upgrading. It takes a chunk of money to start, but it you do it right, you can build, overclock, upgrade for years, and enjoy that tinkering as much as gaming itself.

If you love gaming, game on PC. Consoles are for kids that can't help it. PC gaming will always be the better art, consoles will always be mass-market crap. Look at how gimped Skyrim is on the PS3. The consoles determine the limits of the gaming experience. Being a PC gamer drives gaming forward. You're supporting the art of gaming, the best of it, by gaming on PC. Furthermore, gaming is better for you, personally, than just being a cumbucket for advertising by watching TV and movies.

Bethesda games are unique in all of gaming for their mod-ability. You can mod them yourself with the software Bethesda gives you. That alone is half the fun of them. When the Creation Kit comes out, you can make the dragons properly stronger, tweak your companions, change the weight of potions and staffs, etc.

More importantly, PC gaming, and building your own rig, make you a better, smarter person. Sappy, but true. What else do you want to spend your entertainment dollar on? Netflix? Electronic Arts spyware?

Screw that, be a citizen not a subject, be a PC Gamer!

That CPU is overkill, but if you have money to spend like that, more power to you. If you thought the intel was a tight fit, try a AMD. You actually feel the MB bend when putting on the fan, lol. If you bent your pins, you wouldn't be playing anything, so I doubt you did.

If you include all my peripherals like monitors, keyboards, mouse I spent 4k (as of today with my upgrade to a gtx 590) on my system and didn't get ripped off but I did spend buy some crazy stuff. No SSD though waiting a year or two for those since I don't see them as worth the price yet. Extreme parts make the system price go up quickly.

I think 1500 should be the absolute max to spend for him and could get the price much lower if went with some less expensive parts like using a MICRO board from ASROCK and Kingston RAM. Personally I prefer to spend a premium to purchase brands and models I like. This doesn't mean I was ripped off it just means I am in my comfort zone.

EDIT: Right now HDD prices are high so they are effecting overall system price much more. 209.00 for a WD 1TB Black drive could save 50 bucks by going with a 1TB samsung spinpoint but I like the WD Black drives. Myself I go with Raptor drives but they are a lot more money for not much improvement. I still like them because they are faster and still cheaper than SSD's.

Weather or not buying a PC just for Skyrim is definitely a personal preference. Another way to look at is how many hours you think you will play the game on PC with MODS.

1500 dollar PC / 750 hours will cost you 2 dollars an hour to play. This is assuming the PC is not used for anything else which is doubtful.

I'm just talking the PC. I can make a build that will be obsolete at the same time a 2k build will be, for 1300-1500$, if that. I personally spent 700 on my PC, and it will max any game for at least the next year and a half, maybe more. And after that , Ill only have to upgrade the CPU, not the GPU. Its always better to go cheap in the beginning, but get parts that are easy to upgrade, like a am3+ MB for example.

For 2k though, you could get a i7, ssd, 6990, 12 gb of ram, 2t HDD, and still have money left over. And probably pay 3/4ths of that a year down the road.

Yea 2k is to much for a beginner that may not like it but I think 1k would be a good aim. He could put together an i7 for 1k if searching for cheaper parts. Anyway CPU and Video card are the most important parts to gaming. All the other parts just need to support them decently.

EDIT: You are right that an AMD system can run games fine and are a lot cheaper, I just like intel more since the i7's came out. Back when AMD Athlon XP chips were new I did not use anything intel. I hope AMD gets back in the game, more competition helps pricing. Before that I did not like the AMD Duron chips so I used Intel.

Before that I did try Cyrex with Pentium I but found intels were better.

I dont wanna read 5 pages of replies... but, I played it on the XBOX for about 50 hours before buying it on the PC. I guess I was curious like you and a little tired of the loading times everytime I wanted to open a door. The game definitely has better graphics and is a little faster paced on the PC but it does not feel like a new game. Theres a few quirks, some good and some bad, between the two. On the XBOX, for example, you cant aim near a wall or anything else without hitting it, if its relatively close to you. Sneaking around a corner for example, you had to be a ways out or the arrow would hit an 'invisible' item and bounce back. On the PC I dont experience that problem at all, I can barely see the enemy around a corner and have no problems with arrows hitting where they are supposed to. Also, on the XBOX I can sneak very slowly and get close to enemies a lot easier than on the PC. On the PC theres only two speeds for sneaking.


Just my experience.

Edit: Oops forgot to mention followers appear weaker on the PC. As soon as a fights over on the XBOX my followers almost immediately recover HP. On the PC, it apperas to be significantly slower, almost a normal HP regen rate.

Have you tried variable speed on the PC by using the XBOX controller on the PC?