Unofficial "Will my PC run Skyrim" thread #11

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:31 am

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1220760-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-thread-10//

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.

User avatar
Samantha Wood
 
Posts: 3286
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:03 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:43 am

...as I was going to say, if mainly for Skyrim, the 6850 will be more than OK. I don't know which level of DX11 effects/features will be included (or eventually could be included, via mods), though, but in any case the 6950 is a bit overkill.

Your choice. If you can live paying up 100 extra bucks, go for the 6950. If you're low on the budget, a 6850 will be already more than OK.
User avatar
NIloufar Emporio
 
Posts: 3366
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:18 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:36 am

...as I was going to say, if mainly for Skyrim, the 6850 will be more than OK. I don't know which level of DX11 effects/features will be included, though, but the 6950 is a bit overkill.

Your choice. If you can live paying up 100 extra bucks, go for the 6950. If you're low on the budget, a 6850 will be already more than OK.

thank you, I'll be getting the 6850 now
User avatar
Erika Ellsworth
 
Posts: 3333
Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:52 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:45 pm

thank you, I'll be getting the 6850 now


Are you sure your computer can handle a card like that? What is your power supply? Is your case big enough? Know one seems to have asked you any of these questions...
User avatar
Mark Hepworth
 
Posts: 3490
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:51 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:14 am

Are you sure your computer can handle a card like that? What is your power supply? Is your case big enough? Know one seems to have asked you any of these questions...


You should have asked "Is your computer man enough to handle it?" :lol:
User avatar
Nitol Ahmed
 
Posts: 3321
Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 7:35 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:29 am

i5 2500k psu 700w power supply good enough?
and this case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161
User avatar
Brιonα Renae
 
Posts: 3430
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 3:10 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:27 pm

From the previous thread.

Here's the one I was looking at, again I'm new to gaming rigs, but the guy told me it would suffice:
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/detail.jsp?skuId=2670319&pid=1218343206257&catId=&ev=prodView


Your going to need a GPU and power supply and either do the work yourself or pay for labor [and void the warranty]... so figure the budget is ~$850

www.ecollegepc.com

Intel Custom Builder i5/i7 LGA 1155

$860 w/free shipping

3.1Ghz Intel Core i5-2400 6MB Cache Quad-Core
Stock Intel LGA1155 Heatsink and Fan
MSI H61M-E23(B3) (Intel H61, HDMI, DVI, PCI-E, 4xSATA, 2xDDR3)
4GB (2GBx2) PC3 10666 DDR3 1333Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache Serial ATA300 (Major Brand)
22X LG SATA Lightscribe Dual Layer DVD+/-RW DVD-RAM w/Nero
1GB ATI Radeon HD6850 GDDR5 PCI-E DVI/HDMI (Major Brand)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Apevia Black X-Dreamer 3 (4 5.25, 5 3.5) 3 Fans, Front Audio/USB/eSATA
600watt Corsair CMPSU-600CX V2
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
Wires and Cables neatly tied up away from fans
3 Year Parts and Labor Warranty
User avatar
The Time Car
 
Posts: 3435
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:13 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:06 am

You should have asked "Is your computer man enough to handle it?" :lol:


Many people are just making suggestions of very powerful cards and not asking to see if their PC's are even capable of handling the card...That's not helping anyone.
User avatar
Natasha Callaghan
 
Posts: 3523
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 7:44 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:04 am

i5 2500k psu 700w power supply good enough?


Yes this is good enough but can you give a link to your case?

Edit: Congrats, the GPU will fit. But make sure its one of the first things you put in on the motherboard. Its a big pain in the ass if you do with everything else already connected.
User avatar
Emilie M
 
Posts: 3419
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:08 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:49 am

i5 2500k psu 700w power supply good enough?
and this case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161


What brand is the power supply, the wattage isn't nearly as important as the brand.
User avatar
kristy dunn
 
Posts: 3410
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:08 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:17 pm

What brand is the power supply, the wattage isn't nearly as important as the brand.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256072
User avatar
Jade
 
Posts: 3520
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:42 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:46 am

...as I was going to say, if mainly for Skyrim, the 6850 will be more than OK. I don't know which level of DX11 effects/features will be included (or eventually could be included, via mods), though, but in any case the 6950 is a bit overkill.

Your choice. If you can live paying up 100 extra bucks, go for the 6950. If you're low on the budget, a 6850 will be already more than OK.


I would not consider a HD6950 overkill, I'd call a HD6950 2GB "Texture Mod Ready"
User avatar
Brian Newman
 
Posts: 3466
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:36 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:57 am

Seeing as I almost burned up my CPU yesterday, Im wondering how my old processor will work if im forced to use it to paly skyrim. Here are specs, cpu bottleneck for sure?

4870 1gig
Pentium D 2.8 (lol so old!)
4gigs ram
User avatar
Stryke Force
 
Posts: 3393
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:20 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:40 am

Seeing as I almost burned up my CPU yesterday, Im wondering how my old processor will work if im forced to use it to paly skyrim. Here are specs, cpu bottleneck for sure?

4870 1gig
Pentium D 2.8 (lol so old!)
4gigs ram


:confused:

That thing needs a huge upgrade. Heck, you might as well buy a whole new PC, well if you're playing at 1920x1080. How old is it? And yes that CPU is way too old for modern games for sure.
User avatar
Krystal Wilson
 
Posts: 3450
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:40 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:37 am

:confused:

That thing needs a huge upgrade. Heck, you might as well buy a whole new PC, well if you're playing at 1920x1080. How old is it? And yes that CPU is way too old for modern games for sure.

Well actually im running 2048x1152 res. The cpu really cant hold up?? I know the graphics card is a little outdated but it still plays games really well, I've had this computer since 2007 I think.
User avatar
Mimi BC
 
Posts: 3282
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:30 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:37 am

Well actually im running 2048x1152 res. The cpu really cant hold up?? I know the graphics card is a little outdated but it still plays games really well, I've had this computer since 2007 I think.


It should hold up but I don't see why you have a CPU that old for the resolution you play with. Have you played Crysis or any other graphically intensive games with the 4870? Because if it goes OK it shouldn't have a problem with Skyrim.
User avatar
sara OMAR
 
Posts: 3451
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:18 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:21 pm

It should hold up but I don't see why you have a CPU that old for the resolution you play with. Have you played Crysis or any other graphically intensive games with the 4870? Because if it goes OK it shouldn't have a problem with Skyrim.

Thanks!
Yup. I can play bc2 on max, but thats with an OCed c2d... my cpu really overheated (over 90 celcius!) and im hoping its OK (have to wait on part in mail) otherwise i'll have to see about this pentium : /
User avatar
Jessie Butterfield
 
Posts: 3453
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:59 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:02 am

Thanks!
Yup. I can play bc2 on max, but thats with an OCed c2d... my cpu really overheated (over 90 celcius!) and im hoping its OK (have to wait on part in mail) otherwise i'll have to see about this pentium : /


Woah, that's too hot. I wouldn't let mine get near that. If you have the money I'd recommend a newer CPU. If you're for it, you can give me your budget and I'll give you a link to a good CPU. But yeah, if it's getting temps that high every time and you have good airflow then wow.
User avatar
Ashley Tamen
 
Posts: 3477
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:17 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:26 am

Yea, very hot. Try using some duster on the CPU cooler and dusting out your case.

Did you build this computer or is it a store bought? If store bought, chances are you won't be able to upgrade your CPU because your vender quit supporting the BIOS and thusly, you can't use any of the "newer" chips in the LGA775 socket.
User avatar
Justin
 
Posts: 3409
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:32 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:58 am

Woah, that's too hot. I wouldn't let mine get near that. If you have the money I'd recommend a newer CPU. If you're for it, you can give me your budget and I'll give you a link to a good CPU. But yeah, if it's getting temps that high every time and you have good airflow then wow.

Im flat broke atm or I'd be all for a new cpu :sadvaultboy: If the pentium can play even on low/medium settings though i'll be fine. Yeah it got hot enough to shut my copmuter down for me... I think it had been running that temp the whole previous night too... So idk if its going to last much longer or what.

I built it myself (its my first build ever).
User avatar
Nims
 
Posts: 3352
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 3:29 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:14 am

Im flat broke atm or I'd be all for a new cpu :sadvaultboy: If the pentium can play even on low/medium settings though i'll be fine. Yeah it got hot enough to shut my copmuter down for me... I think it had been running that temp the whole previous night too... So idk if its going to last much longer or what.


Oh. Well you still have 3 months. Playing on lower settings should lower the heat though it's really no excuse. Do what the other guy said and check for dust. You could try sliding off the side panel off your case and then aiming a house fan at the CPU. Then play on max on some game for a few minutes and see if it's helping.
User avatar
KRistina Karlsson
 
Posts: 3383
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:22 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:12 pm

I would not consider a HD6950 overkill, I'd call a HD6950 2GB "Texture Mod Ready"


My "simple" GTX 560 Ti 1 GB can run Crysis 2 at DX11 + HD Texture pack at 1680x1050 (no AA). I'll run Skyrim even better, no matter what texture pack I'll put, and the 6850 is more or less at the same level (I remember I had doubt about buying the 6850 or the GTX 560 Ti, as their benchmark results are pretty similar).

So it's still overkill. At least unless you're completely obsessed and want to run at max res AND max AA. If so, then yes, it's a good option for extra 100 bucks.
User avatar
Taylrea Teodor
 
Posts: 3378
Joined: Sat Nov 18, 2006 12:20 am

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:32 am

So if i get the 6850 what fps ccould I expect at max xettings?
User avatar
..xX Vin Xx..
 
Posts: 3531
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 6:33 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:29 pm

So if i get the 6850 what fps ccould I expect at max xettings?


What's your resolution?
User avatar
Veronica Flores
 
Posts: 3308
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:26 pm

Post » Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:50 pm

What's your resolution?


Doesn't matter the 6850 will max the game at any resolution with ease.
User avatar
Amy Smith
 
Posts: 3339
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:04 pm

Next

Return to V - Skyrim