[teeny]

Hey guys, I don't know thing #1 about computer hardware..
I was wondering what I need to imporve upon in my machine to run Skyrim at the highest quality. (i want to run starcraft 2 on highest as well )
Right now, I can run Oblivion at highest quality but with a FPS of about 16...
This is what I've found I have so far:

--Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series
3059 MB Memory (What is considered a good amount of memory for a graphics card?)

--Memory (RAM): 8.00 GB
--Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad CPU Q8200 @2.33GHz 2.34 GHz
--System Type: 64-Bit Operating System

I use CCleaner and Gamebooster 3 as well, both are awesome programs.
Any other information I should provide?

Thanks

[Naomi Ward]

I just bought this laptop for $850. It has a 720p screen resolution, I am hoping this game runs well at that native resolution. What do you think?

Windows 7 premium
i7 2630qm 2.0 ghz
8 gb 1333 mhz RAM
Nvidia 555m 1 gb DDR5

[IsAiah AkA figgy]

Anything above 2 GHz is OK for CPU speed, maybe not ideal, but not bad. Don't worry too much about that.

I was under the impression that most new games recommended like 3 GHz. I would actually get more of a performance boost if I upgraded the Radeon HD 5670?

[I’m my own]

I was under the impression that most new games recommended like 3 GHz. I would actually get more of a performance boost if I upgraded the Radeon HD 5670?

These are for example the requirements for Crysis 2, as released by Crytek

Minimum: 2GHz Core 2 Duo / A64 X2 CPU, 2GB RAM, 8800GT / HD3850, 512MB Video Memory, DX9.0c, Shader Model 3.0, Windows XP, 20fps @ 1024 x 768

Recommended: 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo / A64 X2 CPU, 3GB RAM, GTX280 / HD4870, 1GB Video Memory, DX9.0, Shader Model 3.0/4.0, Windows XP, 30fps @ 1650 x 1080

Highly Recommended: 3GHz Core i7 4GB RAM, GTX560Ti / HD4870 X2, 1.8GB Video Memory, DX11, Shader Model 3.0/4.0, Windows 7, 30fps @ 1920 x 1200

[Andrew Lang]

Hey guys, I don't know thing #1 about computer hardware..

--Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3400 Series
3059 MB Memory (What is considered a good amount of memory for a graphics card?)

When any GPU is a low quality as the HD 3400, RAM is meaningless. It can't actually manipulate more than 128 MBs in a game setting, with perhaps a rare instance up to 256 MBs. It's not for games, and if it's been built into a laptop, that is the end of any such PC as useful for gaming. If it's in a proper desktop that is in a normal tower case, upgrades are both easy and quite inexpensive. Odd looking special cases, such as the silly looking "slimline" designs, add complications to such an expent that a new case should be part of the upgrade.

[Lillian Cawfield]

When any GPU is a low quality as the HD 3400, RAM is meaningless. It can't actually manipulate more than 128 MBs in a game setting, with perhaps a rare instance up to 256 MBs.

So if I were to buy a ATI Redeon HD 6900, I would be set? I'm running a Dell desktop pc, about 3 years old btw

[Tyrel]

Hi!

What do you think how it would run on my Laptop?

Intel Core i7-2630QM
Radeon HD 6770M (1024 MB DDR5 Video Ram)
6144 MB DDR3 RAM
Actual resolution: 1600X900 (would drop it, to play properly)

[Mistress trades Melissa]

--Memory (RAM): 8.00 GB
--Processor: Intel? Core? 2 Quad CPU Q8200 @2.33GHz 2.34 GHz
--System Type: 64-Bit Operating System

So if I were to buy a ATI Redeon HD 6900, I would be set? I'm running a Dell desktop pc, about 3 years old btw

You almost certainly will need an upgrade to the power supply to move beyond the level of an HD 5670 (middle of Gaming Class, more or less). You probably will also need to improve the air flow inside the case with an additional fan, and Dell cases do not normally offer any additional mounting space to do that (edit: other than an XPS, they are probably also too short front to back for the latest High End cards as well). A more modern gaming case will probably be in order as well. There are several HD 6900 Radeons, all of which should do what you want to do (and one GB is a nice size for a GPU these days).

[Bethany Watkin]

Hi!

What do you think how it would run on my Laptop?

Intel Core i7-2630QM
Radeon HD 6770M (1024 MB DDR5 Video Ram)
6144 MB DDR3 RAM
Actual resolution: 1600X900 (would drop it, to play properly)

You should be looking at medium settings for sure with the possibility of high settings. Probably more towards high settings on that resolution. The 6770M is on par with the ATI 5670 desktop version, to give you an idea of the cards performance. From here http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6770M.43955.0.html you can see that it is on the low end of the high end GPU's, but it is still high end so you should be set to go. The i7-2630QM is just a beast, so no concerns their.

[Nuno Castro]

You should be looking at medium settings for sure with the possibility of high settings. Probably more towards high settings on that resolution. The 6770M is on par with the ATI 5670 desktop version, to give you an idea of the cards performance. From here http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6770M.43955.0.html you can see that it is on the low end of the high end GPU's, but it is still high end so you should be set to go. The i7-2630QM is just a beast, so no concerns their.

Thanks, sounds good!

[Sharra Llenos]

Intel Core i5 2.67 ghz

4.00 GB Ram

64 bit OS

Nvidia Geforce 310M

1366 x 768 resolution

It's a laptop. if it will run, will it run better than an Xbox 360?

[Lewis Morel]

No chance. The 310M is abysmally weak and not at all suited for gaming. A game as graphically complex as Skyrim is way beyond that chip's capabilities, even at lowest detail.

[D LOpez]

Macs are cool!

Gosh, I know people are going to hate me for this.

[Gavin boyce]

Macs are cool!

Gosh, I know people are going to hate me for this.

Macs are cool. Shame they won't get a skyrim release

[lydia nekongo]

Pentium® Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz (2CPUs), ~1.8GHz

4GB RAM

Win 7 32-bit

GeForce 9500 GT

[Juliet]

Intel i7 2600k Quad Core 3,40GHz

4GB of DDR3 RAM

Radeon HD 6950 2GB DDR5

This is the setup I am buying in the next few weeks, what level (low, med, high, ultra high, etc) will this run?

I'm new to PC gaming, been more of a 360 gamer but have recently wanted to get into it and have done some research, but figured I'd may as well ask just to be sure

[Dewayne Quattlebaum]

Intel i7 2600k Quad Core 3,40GHz

4GB of DDR3 RAM

Radeon HD 6950 2GB DDR5

This is the setup I am buying in the next few weeks, what level (low, med, high, ultra high, etc) will this run?

I'm new to PC gaming, been more of a 360 gamer but have recently wanted to get into it and have done some research, but figured I'd may as well ask just to be sure

Ultra-high, obviously, even at 1920x1080. Don't even doubt it

Pentium? Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz (2CPUs), ~1.8GHz

4GB RAM

Win 7 32-bit

GeForce 9500 GT

It should run decently at Medium, if not High settings.

[Colton Idonthavealastna]

my rig is :
CPU : Intel e8400 3.0 GHz
GPU : ATI HD4870 1G
RAM : 2 gigs DDR2

I ran Crysis 2 on highest settings 1080p averaging out 42 FPS on DX9 and 48 FPS on DX10 (benchmarked using fraps) , I'm pretty sure it'll run Skyrim on constant 60FPS on highest settings DX10 .

[asako]

Motherboard: Asus P5N-D
Chipset: nvidia nforce 750i SLI SPP
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3000 Mhz
RAM: 4096 MB DDR2
VideoCard: Nvidia Geforce GTX 295
SoundCard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer

plan to upgrade to 8gb of RAM

[Je suis]

CPU: i3 M330 @ 2.13Ghz
RAM: 6GB
OS: Win 7 64 bit
GPU: ATI HD 5650 1GB Dedicated

I can play oblivion on highest settings, runs like a knife through butter!

Do you think I might be able to get some of the high settings working on Skyrim?

[Misty lt]

I’m a console gamer looking to make the jump over to P.C gaming and invest in a gaming P.C (for Skyrim). I understand the best and most cost effective thing to do is build your own, but I haven’t got a clue how to and its something I’m not willing to attempt on a whim.

I have been searching the net looking for a reasonably priced pre built Gaming P.C around the ￡1,000 mark that will play Skyrim (and other new games) do you have any suggestions?

This is the machine i have been looking at ‘EREBUS - I7 GAMING PC’

? Antec 1200 Gaming Case
? Corsair TX 650W PSU
? Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz Processor
? ASUS P8P67 Motherboard
? 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz/PC12800 RAM
? ATI Radeon HD 6970 2GB PCI Express Graphics Card
? Seagate 1TB SATAII 7200rpm Hard Drive
? Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio Soundcard
? High speed DVD and CD Rewriter
? 2 Front and 6 Rear USB Ports + 2 USB 3.0 Ports
? Gigabit Ethernet
? Windows 7 ready

Would this do the job, I appreciate any help.

[Khamaji Taylor]

I’m a console gamer looking to make the jump over to P.C gaming and invest in a gaming P.C (for Skyrim). I understand the best and most cost effective thing to do is build your own, but I haven’t got a clue how to and its something I’m not willing to attempt on a whim.

I have been searching the net looking for a reasonably priced pre built Gaming P.C around the ￡1,000 mark that will play Skyrim (and other new games) do you have any suggestions?

This is the machine i have been looking at ‘EREBUS - I7 GAMING PC’

? Antec 1200 Gaming Case
? Corsair TX 650W PSU
? Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz Processor
? ASUS P8P67 Motherboard
? 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz/PC12800 RAM
? ATI Radeon HD 6970 2GB PCI Express Graphics Card
? Seagate 1TB SATAII 7200rpm Hard Drive
? Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio Soundcard
? High speed DVD and CD Rewriter
? 2 Front and 6 Rear USB Ports + 2 USB 3.0 Ports
? Gigabit Ethernet
? Windows 7 ready

Would this do the job, I appreciate any help.

If I were you I'd take a look at something like this. I've taken it from PC Specialist, a UK firm who build PC's to specification. They are reliable and efficient, my current gaming PC was bought from them.

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel? Core?i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS? P8Z68-V: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, NVIDIA?SLI?, ATI?CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON? HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES? TX650 V2-80 PLUS? BRONZE (￡72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (￡19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (￡79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft? Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (￡5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: ￡962.00 including VAT and delivery.

The i5-2500K is a fantastic CPU which will more than satisfy your gaming needs, and the AMD HD6950 will give you near-equal performance to the 6970 for less money. That said, if you do decide to go with the original spec, it will run Skyrim on max no problem.

Hope I've helped out.

[TRIsha FEnnesse]

If I were you I'd take a look at something like this. I've taken it from PC Specialist, a UK firm who build PC's to specification. They are reliable and efficient, my current gaming PC was bought from them.

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel? Core?i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS? P8Z68-V: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, NVIDIA?SLI?, ATI?CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON? HD6950 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES? TX650 V2-80 PLUS? BRONZE (￡72)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (￡19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (￡79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft? Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (￡5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: ￡962.00 including VAT and delivery.

The i5-2500K is a fantastic CPU which will more than satisfy your gaming needs, and the AMD HD6950 will give you near-equal performance to the 6970 for less money. That said, if you do decide to go with the original spec, it will run Skyrim on max no problem.

Hope I've helped out.

Thanks a lot thats a great help.

Looks reasonably priced cheaper than the one I mentioned, and it will run Skyrim on max without issue? Do you have a link to that website please?
Thanks for the info.

[danni Marchant]

Thanks a lot thats a great help.

Looks reasonably priced cheaper than the one I mentioned, and it will run Skyrim on max without issue? Do you have a link to that website please?
Thanks for the info.

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

My build from the same sight

Spoiler

Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel? Core?i5-2500k Quad Core (3.30GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS? P8Z68-V PRO: USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, NVIDIA?SLI?, ATI?CrossFireX?

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON? HD6970 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

2nd Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON? HD6970 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX? 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM (￡36)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES? TX850 V2-80 PLUS? BRONZE (￡99)

Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (￡39)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (￡19)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (￡79)

Office Software
FREE Microsoft? Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Monitor
IIYAMA E2271HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, HDMI/DVI-D HD 1920x1080 (￡139)

DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables
1 x 2 METRE GOLD PLATED V1.4 HDMI CABLE (￡8)

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (￡5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity 1

That ￡1514 after VAT though, but it'll run Skyrim on ultra with ease, and pritty much anythink else i throw at it, but that rig is designed to be expensive but overkill
Also includes a high end monitor in there, which accounts for ￡139

[Devin Sluis]

Pentium® Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz (2CPUs), ~1.8GHz

4GB RAM

Win 7 32-bit

GeForce 9500 GT

That one misses on the processor by a long way. Pentium Duals are just like Celerons, cheap and slow. In order to be cheap, almost all of the cache is ripped out, so they are about half as good as a full power C2D.