Unofficial "Will My PC Run Skyrim" Discussion #22

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:40 am

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1227891-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-discussion-21/


Spoiler
If anyone had a question from the previous thread that did not get answered before the post limit lockdown, feel free to repost it here.

This thread is the catch-all discussion thread for questions concerning computer hardware and its capability of running The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Please post all system spec queries here, as all other threads on this topic are liable to be closed.

The general rule of thumb here is that we are comparing the systems you post with the official system specs for the Xbox 360, which is the platform the game is primarily being designed for. These specs (in basic) are:

CPU: IBM Xenon @3.2GHz (Three cores)
Memory: 512Mb DDR3 (this memory is shared by the CPU and GPU and is bandwidth-accelerated by an onboard eDRAM chip)
GPU: Xenos graphics chip @ 500MHz
>DirectX 9.0c
>Shader Model 3.0
>No dedicated VRAM (it shares the system RAM)

What this means is that although the game will likely not be very demanding graphically (at least, before factoring in the increased texture resolutions and various other graphics features the PC gamers will get), it will likely put a heavy load on the CPU, and it is recommended to have at least a quad-core, although dual cores will probably not have too much issue so long as they have a reasonable clock speed (about 2.8 GHz on a modern dual-core should do).

We then take into account the fact that the game will likely not be as well optimized on the PC due to varying hardware setups. We also take into account the different optimization techniques required for PC setups due to the existence of, for instance, dedicated GPU memory. This means we are expecting Skyrim to require a decent processor of at least dual-core architecture with a reasonably fast clock speed, and GPUs with at least a 512Mb dedicated framebuffer and reasonable core clocks and memory clocks, as well as at least 4Gb of system RAM. If you meet these requirements, you should be able to run Skyrim; maybe not at the highest graphics settings without incurring a large performance hit, but you should be able to run it.

MODS EDIT:
General notice to begin with: at this point the system requirements are not yet known. Anything is speculation and conjecture at this moment. Asking about the requirements can yield an educated guess at best.

- From now on we're going to use this as the system requirement and speculation thread for both PC-systems and laptops.

- People can post questions related to their system in this thread.

- We'll also use this thread for general speculation regarding the anticipated and expected system requirements; be it minimum, recommended and optimum.

- This thread can also be used to ask about possible and potential upgrades that people plan or may want to make.

- Other threads will be closed and referred to this one. Once this reaches 200 posts, we'll continue in a new one and leave a link to the old thread.

- Once the official system requirements have been made public by Bethesda, we can change the topic to 'Will my system run Skyrim?'.

- Since this is unofficial, there are no guarentees and the administration may decide to change the course of this thread.

- We will appreciate it if you could link to this (and any subsequent) thread in new threads people make about hardware requirements. And, that you use the report fuction to report these new threads to the moderators.

Ok, let's see how it goes.

Thanks in advance.


OP note: Please stay on topic, this is specifically a thread to help those who are trying to figure out if they can run Skyrim, if you want general tech help go http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1227492-the-community-tech-thread-no-104/. Thanks!

User avatar
Eddie Howe
 
Posts: 3448
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:06 am

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:36 pm

From previous...


So, I've been wanting to buy a good laptop that could run skyrim on high settings, what do you guys think about this:

AMD QC A6-3410MX quad-core processor
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz ram
AMD Radeon HD 6750M

Can anyone comment on that one. I could get it fairly cheap, 699€ (980$). The main question I have is, whether the CPU is good or not.

Thanks :)

EDIT: while we're at it, what do you guys think about AMD Phenom ii x4 P960?

EDIT2: Basically the main question right now is: I haven't been keeping up with latest gaming news (except Skyrim) but how well do the quad-cores perform nowadays. A few years ago there was this problem that most games didn't utilize quad-cores, so they ran games slower than dual-cores. Has this changed? Will Skyrim use 4 cores? Will I have problems running older games?


Should pull mediums settings well at least. Probably medium-high.

The P960 will be slightly faster, but both are close.

Quads are being more used compared to a few years ago, but still...not very many games utilizing it. Most games are still optimized for dual-cores. I have doubts that Skyrim will utilize more than 2 cores.


Will my system run or is my CPU going to bottleneck me bad? Both cores are maxing out on Deus Ex: Human Revolution right now but I'm not sure how a Bethesda game would fare...

Win 7 64bit
4GB DDR2
GTX 560 Ti
Core 2 Duo 8400 OC'd to 3.4Ghz



Maxed. No bottlenecks.


I want to run Skyrim as high as possible. I recently splashed some cash and upgraded my pc and I think I should be able to. Can anyone comment on that?

Win 7 x64
Intel I5 750 @ 3.7 ghz
Radeon HD 6970
8 GB RAM



Maxed. Easily.


Closed thread for Post Limit.
User avatar
Kayla Oatney
 
Posts: 3472
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:02 pm

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 9:22 pm

Hi,
my pc is a bit old and will replaced later this year, I'm sure the new one will handle the game easily, but Skyrim has to run on the old one for some weeks:

win7 pro x64
gigabyte 770TA-UD3
Amd X4 965BE light overclocked on 3,6ghz
Radeon 4890 VaporX 1gb
4gb 1333 DDR3

Are there any bottlenecks, the gpu maybe?

Thanks for the advice and greatings from Germany
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Music Show
 
Posts: 3512
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:53 am

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:49 am

Hi,
my pc is a bit old and will replaced later this year, I'm sure the new one will handle the game easily, but Skyrim has to run on the old one for some weeks:

win7 pro x64
gigabyte 770TA-UD3
Amd X4 965BE light overclocked on 3,6ghz
Radeon 4890 VaporX 1gb
4gb 1333 DDR3

Are there any bottlenecks, the gpu maybe?

Thanks for the advice and greatings from Germany

i would guess medium to high depending on resolutions and other settings (vsync, aa and such). and yes, the gpu would be the main bottleneck. if you are running a 4890 you could probably go to a 6850 using the same psu and be able to max the game as well.
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Klaire
 
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Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:56 am

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:27 pm

Thanks,

I have a 24' display with a 1920x1080 resuloution. I think I'll replace the gpu earlier with the Radeon 6950 I'm planing to buy.

Later when available I'll get an AMD FX-8150. That should be a good plan...

Greatings
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lydia nekongo
 
Posts: 3403
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:04 pm

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:27 am

Thanks,

I have a 24' display with a 1920x1080 resuloution. I think I'll replace the gpu earlier with the Radeon 6950 I'm planing to buy.

Later when available I'll get an AMD FX-8150. That should be a good plan...

Greatings


Radeon 6950 should be a fine upgrade. If PSU can handle the 4890, that card shouldn't be much problem either.

However, you should double-check CPU compatibility with your motherboard....that chip is an AM3+ one. I know some of the 7xx and 8xx chipset series board will get BIOS updates for AM3+ support, but I cannot say for sure with your Gigabyte 770TA-UD3. You should keep an eye for user updates on that one.
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Liv Brown
 
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Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:44 pm

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:39 am

Thanks for the advice,

I know, the motherboard and the ram will be changed with the FX-8150 too. The plan is to change the gpu first to get a better resoloution and details for the game.

And then, when the AMD FX cpu's are available to change the mainbaord, ram and cpu...

Thanks
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Wayne W
 
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Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:49 am

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:27 am

That's a good plan. If you haven't considered it, solid state drives are also starting to come down in price and they make an excellent upgrade for games like this, not to mention just general use.
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xx_Jess_xx
 
Posts: 3371
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:01 pm

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:02 pm

Motherboard question.
Specifically PCI express 2.0 question.

Alot of boards have one x16 slot.
The boards with multiple slots typically run one at x16 or two at x8.

If you run two graphics cards, reducing the pci express 2.0 slots from x16 to x8;
will this reduce performance?

BTW can anyone recommend a good MB (1155 slot) for under $200?
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Guy Pearce
 
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2007 3:08 pm

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:56 pm

That's a good plan. If you haven't considered it, solid state drives are also starting to come down in price and they make an excellent upgrade for games like this, not to mention just general use.

mmmm......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96dWOEa4Djs :celebration: :tongue:
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Claudia Cook
 
Posts: 3450
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:22 am

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:00 am

Motherboard question.
Specifically PCI express 2.0 question.

Alot of boards have one x16 slot.
The boards with multiple slots typically run one at x16 or two at x8.

If you run two graphics cards, reducing the pci express 2.0 slots from x16 to x8;
will this reduce performance?

BTW can anyone recommend a good MB (1155 slot) for under $200?


There are very very few cards that would even get close to saturating the PCI-E 2.0 x8 bandwidth and even then, performance difference is rather negligible..like around 5% and these are usually the dual-GPU single slot cards like the Radeon 6990 or GTX 590

Boards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=p67+extreme4&x=0&y=0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128478 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494
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Lakyn Ellery
 
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Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:02 pm

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:34 am

i thought games werent healthy for a ssd? or is that a misconception?
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Rude_Bitch_420
 
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Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:45 am

mmmm......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96dWOEa4Djs :celebration: :tongue:

OCZ is getting very close to that performance on a single PCI-E based drive. one of the revodrive 3 x2 drives gets up to something like 1.5GB/s reads and 1.2GB/s writes, it costs like $800, but wow
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Sammygirl500
 
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Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:46 pm

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:31 pm

There are very very few cards that would even get close to saturating the PCI-E 2.0 x8 bandwidth and even then, performance difference is rather negligible..like around 5% and these are usually the dual-GPU single slot cards like the Radeon 6990 or GTX 590

Boards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=p67+extreme4&x=0&y=0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128478 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494

Cool, thanks.
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joannARRGH
 
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Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:09 am

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:43 pm

i thought games werent healthy for a ssd? or is that a misconception?

Well SSDs have a finite life, and their performance will degrade over time, but the mean time before failure based on observable degradation is usually over 100 years. So even if the games torture the SSD and you get like 10 years out of your OS drive at max, think about it, you'll probably be upgrading before that happens anyway.

my 10 year old HDDs are total crap and half of them have failed.
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Heather beauchamp
 
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Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:05 pm

Post » Fri Sep 09, 2011 4:39 am

Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6700 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Vista 64 Professional
8GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 @ 1920 x 1080
C: 64GB SSD w/29GB free
D: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black

I will probably put the game onto the HDD, not the SSD - unless someone says that I'll see a noticeable difference.

I'm really interested in very high quality graphics. Will my Nvidia 260 handle the game with all graphic stuff maxed out? Close? Not very close?


I'm debating building a new PC. Skyrim would be my only reason to do so. Any comments appreciated.
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Suzie Dalziel
 
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Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:19 pm

Post » Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:30 pm

Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6700 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Vista 64 Professional
8GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 @ 1920 x 1080
C: 64GB SSD w/29GB free
D: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black

I will probably put the game onto the HDD, not the SSD - unless someone says that I'll see a noticeable difference.

I'm really interested in very high quality graphics. Will my Nvidia 260 handle the game with all graphic stuff maxed out? Close? Not very close?


I'm debating building a new PC. Skyrim would be my only reason to do so. Any comments appreciated.


You probably be close to high settings IMO
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Ana
 
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Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:29 am


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