I am for the most part a Console gamer. I play strategy games on my computer, played oblivion on xbox 360, but after learning about the modding community for the elder scrolls and seeing all the awesome ideas and improvements they implemented. I felt like I missed out on Oblivion. So This time around at some point during the year I have decided to build myself a rig mainly for Skyrim. I mean I can play games on my pc with my 360 controller which is a big deal for me, I like having my options open lol. Although having a Xbox and a Ps3 makes me feel like maybe it's not worth the extra money.

This video is a good example of some really cool stuff people did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX3o4Hdcp78

I figure for 600 I can get a nice rig, I don't need a screen I have a 42 inch 1080p Plasma tv I plan on using and a 5.1 S system.


So what do you guys think? Also is anyone else here in the same mindset lol?

We are not yet sure if modding is in - with the new engine, although this is a BGS game. And yes, if I'll have the money, I'll put some into some new components, even only for Skyrim.

Oh wow really? That would really stink I hope modding is available.

Yes and make sure to buy the BEST, high quality, best looking, and the most expensive build.

Mods for Oblivion really added years to the game, they're really fantastic. I had Oblivion for PC and the 360, and the PC one was exponentially better. Graphics and mods make it much more enjoyable, so if you have the money then you should try and build one. Gaming computers can be expensive, but I feel that in the end it's worth it.

wait for recommended specs and build according.

Yeah, endless new content ftw. Yeah I see now that PC is the way to go with options like this.

phenom 2 processer is basically what everyone is using so go with that, I got a 3.2ghz and it runs all my games fine, I can even run black ops

Wise advice, good post I was just thinking this. :thumbsup:

if you consider not buying the next console and becoming a PC player yes its worth it.

you need 4 Go of DDR3 RAM (DDR2 is now pricier)
you need 1 Go of video Memory and it needs to be a fast card cause its not all about the memory when we talk about Video Cards
you need either a 4 core processor with at least 2.2 Ghz of frequency or a 2 core with 2.8 or 3 ghz

you can probably find this for 600$
then you need a screen. i would go for 22''' like mine to go about for 160 to 200$
speakers. you can have a 5.1 system at logitech for like 45$ but id go for a quality 2.1 (i got a bose companion 3 wich is about 200$)
keyboard and mouse (depends entirely on the fancyness you want (from 30$ to 400$ for both) (i got a G15 keyboard and a MX revolution mouse that would go for about 240$ for both)

thats all you need your whole thing could range from 835$ to 1400$ with the specification i put up there and all depending on your other things you got with it.

Recommended specs can actually be more harmful than useful, as running at a 'playable' frame rate is subjective. Sure a certain setup may run it at around 30fps and at 1024x768 at high settings, but do you really want that? Also they never include the resolution that recommend specs is for, therefore if you go for 1080p you may get very poor performance.

I suggest just going for the best you can afford and make sure it is well above the recommended.

True, I will be spending about 600 prolly I figure I can get a good rig for that amount? I don't need a screen or speakers I have a 1080p plasma TV and a 5.1 S system so I figure I will be good on that. So it will all be toward the desktop. What do you think?

I am building a new one in February. Using some of my existing parts, it will cost me less than $400.

I'll most likely simply upgrade my video card. I'm running an 9800 right now, and that allowed me to run Crysis on max settings with a little stutter. I really don't think it will have any issue with Skyrim, but then again, Bethesda always seemed to lack in optimization skills.

recommended is specifically meant to run game on high everything and yes I just picked up a box and it states (although in fine print) which reso is being used. but in either case it's going to run the game.

Nice, I have a Nvidea GForce 8500 GT it's ok hehe my comp was never really meant for hardcoe gaming. Yeah the main thing for me will be a good graphics card I probably won't start this project until after august so I will start deciding what parts then.

I definitely support this idea. I've played console pretty exclusively for the past 10 or so years, and I have to say that PC gaming has more than a few significant advantages (I'm not trying to flame, just saying for the types of games I most enjoy PC is preferable). I'm pretty confident Bethesda will have allowed for significant modding, and as Todd Howard said, "To this day, I think what the modders have done...has helped define the series." http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/12/26/decrypting-the-elder-scrolls.aspx?PostPageIndex=2

I'm sinking $1600 into a rig in the coming months.

I totally understand where your coming from! I really felt like I missed out on that in the past so I can't wait for Skyrim and all the cool stuff people will do.


1600 that's gonna be nice man

I have a dual core 2.8 ghz PCU, 4GB of ram, and a GTX 260 Core 216 GPU [I can run CRYSIS at max everything at 1680x1250] - but I am thinking about upgrading to a GTX 470/480 just in case gamesas utilize DX11.

Would what I have run Skyrim at max without the upgrade?

I'm going to buy a rig in a year or 2.

I'm just going to have it for console for now and see how well I like it.
Then check out the specs and what types of rigs and my budget.

My friend is really into this stuff so I'm going to go check some things out with him and learn the basics of starting one up.

My main focus right now is college but during the summer, I'll start to get more into it.

That would definitely be the best way to do it.

If you intend to install a lot of mods, I'd also suggest buying an SSD or hybrid drive (both of which will likely be much cheaper toward the end of 2011) or, if you can afford two SSDs to set up in Raid0 configuration.

I have a pair of Intel X18 G2 SSDs in Raid0 in my laptop, and read speeds with crystal diskmark can get up above 500MB/sec. With vanilla oblivion it takes a few seconds to load a game and the load time for entering new areas is almost instantaneous.

However, after installing a crapload of mods, it takes 30-40 seconds to load a save game. I can't even imagine how long this would take with a regular hard drive. If you will play on a high difficulty setting and keep dying, that is a lot of time to wait.

SSDs in Raid 0? You, sir, are a braver man than I.