Buddy...friend...pal...listen to me.

Build a desktop.

I know it sounds crazy. I know it does. 6 months ago, I'd have said the same thing. But I asked a buddy of mine who's done it before if he thought it was a good idea for me. He said to go for it. One of my specific goals was to build something that I could expect to run Skyrim near maximum settings. I have a quad-core 3.4 ghz cpu and an ATI Radeon 5770 gpu, which basically means my computer is a freaking thug. I may be buying a second Radeon 5770 and taking advantage of its crossfire support. If I do this, I am ABSOLUTELY sure my computer will be able to run Skyrim at maximum settings. Seriously, my comp eats Crysis, Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, Starcraft 2, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution for breakfast. I play all these games at maximum settings without seeing so much as a hiccup. (I'm having trouble with RAGE, but that's because it needs some serious patching, not because of my rig). This beast cost me less than $800 (Not including the mouse, keyboard, etc.)

I know that might sound like a bit much, but think about how much more useful a pc is than an Xbox.

If you need help building it, check out Reddit.com/r/buildapc and read the BaPC Beginner's Guide.
After that, read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-pc,2601.html

Then get on Newegg and get started. But be sure to get in touch with somebody who really does this stuff. They'll be able to think of stuff you wouldn't, and help you avoid a lot of headaches. If you don't know anyone personally, the guys on reddit.com/r/buildapc are good people; they'll help you out. But I'm telling you, the computer I'm using to type this is one of the best investments I've ever made.

Good luck, bro.

Get a desktop unless you need a laptop for college or just really want one. Their are down sides to laptops like the cost but I still prefer a laptop over a desktop any day. I use use my laptop way more then my desktop although my laptop is a lot better then my desktop, my desktop is still pretty good. Just the fact that I can take my laptop any where and I don't have to stay in one room and many other things like the keyboard, screen ETC. Don't let people turn you away from a laptop because so many people say you can't game on laptops, but their are some killer laptops out there and yes there more expensive then a desktop but IMO they are definitely worth it or at least for me.

Trying to figure out if I should just play this on the xbox or not...I'd SO much rather play it on the pc though.

Here's my rig.

Asus Intel Core 2 Duo 2.17 Ghz
Radeon HD4670 512MB
4 GB Ram
etc..

It would cost me about 400 to upgrade my comp so I can play with with the highest gfx according to page 1...then again I can just play it on xbox and my 52 inch. Kinda strapped for cash, how well do you think my PC can currently handle it?

Well, we won't know for sure until later this month. Predictions say I'll get medium-high (ATI radeon hd 5750), but i think I'll get high settings. Nice list, though.