I have been playing Skyrim on console, but I will be getting a new pc soon so I want to download the game onto pc and use mods. Now, I think I am supposed to sign up for a steam account first, purchase the game then download. Will that not also download the official Skyrim patch thru 1.9 at the same time? And if it does, I hear that I have to have an unofficial patch instead in order to use mods. Would I also need the Skyrim Mod Creation Kit too? If I know the proper way to get started, I think I can figure out the rest. I know about a website called Skyrim Nexus and some program called BOSS but not much else. I don't know where else to turn for help to get started forgive me.

When you sign up for Steam and download the game, you'll automatically get the latest version of it. You won't need to patch it.

The Unofficial Skyrim Patch isn't required, but it's highly recommended. Check out its http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19 to get an idea of the many, many bugs it fixes. While you're there, you could always set up your Nexus account as well - it's free, and you'll need a Nexus account to download any files larger than 2 MB, as well as any mods that add age-restricted content.

You only need to download the Creation Kit if you're planning to create your own mods at some point. If you're only going to use mods created by others, you don't need the CK.

Before you start modding your game, first make sure you have a stable, well-running vanilla installation. Then do some reading on the stickies in the mods forum here and check out some tutorials on YouTube about using mods and what you need to know about them. Start small - don't go throwing a whole bunch of mods at your game all at once. Thoroughly read their readmes and other documentation. Install one or two at a time, play test your set up and then repeat until you're satisfied with your load order.