Ecksbawks threehundred and sixty, my computer is too beaten down to run games well

PS3 all the way. I only hope it's better adapted to the PS3 than Falloun: NV.

Probably PC. Mainly because my TV svcks (CRT) and though I could hook my 360 up to my monitor and have done so in the past, at that point it's like why bother?

Also because I just replaced my aging Athlon 64 x2 with a Phenom II x4. Regardless of the settings and Skyrim's requirements, it will still look better on my PC than my Xbox on a burned out old CRT.

That said, I've played both Morrowind and Oblivion on PC and Xbox/Xbox360, and there's something to be said about kicking back in a recliner instead of an office chair.

step 1: move office chair away from pc monitor
step 2: move recliner in front of pc monitor
step 3: recline in recliner with keyboard in lap and mouse on a small table/dresser on your right or with a 360 controller plugged into your pc
step 4: ??????
step 5: profit




edit: or even better, get a new tv and use a dvi to hdmi cable and go straight to your new tv, and repeat step 3

Wait... people play TES games without mods? That's like a PB&J sandwich without the bread!

Don't even own a console. PC for me.

Same here.

Skyrim deserves a PC.

360, no way my laptop could run a new Elder Scrolls game.

And a 360 :biggrin:

I HAS A QUESTION!!!

*ahem*

:shifty:

If I want to play Skyrim for the PC, but build a rig and set it up like a console in my living room (connected to my 1080p HDTV), what is the impact of that lower-than-typical-monitor resolution on how the game will look? I guess I'm wondering if there will be a noticeable drop in the quality of visuals, as compared to sitting up close to a computer monitor (something I am trying to avoid with my gaming PC). I did some perfunctory research and found that, for instance, standardizing the PC resolution viz. the 360 for graphics comparison showed a bit more jaggies since AA could not be turned on simultaneous with HDR.

I otherwise wouldn't know these kinds of details, so I appeal to those involved in making that PC bar up there the longest. :cookie:

PS3, because my pauper's computer would curl up and die if it even came within a fifty foot radius of Skyrim. :'D

It all depends of your graphics card, and the resolution and refresh rate they both support. Most modern graphics card can reach resolutions up to 1920x1080 and more without problems, which is waaaaay more that any console could offer.

So, short answer: it'll surely look better than with consoles in your HDTV.

P.D: If you post details about your graphics card, and what connectors it has (DVI or standart VGA), and from your TV, I could be more specific about that matter

Playstation 3 since I care more about my PS3 trophies than Xbox Achievements and I doubt my PC has a chance to run it on high settings.

if you ship it to me i can guarantee that i will return it to you in %100 non-working condition. ill only charge you $50 plus shipping and handling.

Thanks for answering!

I haven't built the PC yet, as these are the sorts of issues I want to be informed about. I know practically nothing about the PC market anymore (it's been YEARS since I gamed on one), so my questions might seem silly. But: Could I get a graphics card that outputs video via HDMI, and a sound card that outputs audio via optical? I ask because the setup I have now relies on separate audio input for distribution to my speakers, and the audio quality is degraded if I run it through my TV.

Separately, my concern about resolution has more to do with the limits of my TV vs a computer monitor. As far as I understand (which isn't that far :sadvaultboy: ), the resolution of monitors can really outpace that of a big retail HDTV. Does this have a noticeable impact on the quality of the visuals between the two?

yes tv's as monitors are much different than using a monitor as a monitor, you generally want a high resolution tv if your going to be using it as a monitor, for instence i have a 24 inch 1080p (1920x1080 resolution) led tv as my monitor and its great, but i also have a 32 inch tv that is only 720p (something like 1356x768 resolution) and when i plugged it in and could only use up to the supported 720p resolution, things just didnt look that great close up at least, if your going to be sitting 5 feet away then 720p may be fine but i would still go with 1080p.

also, yes the newer ati graphics cards have native HDMI output. and most if not all newer motherboard have digital optical output for sound (my gigabyte board does and its an entry level single pci-e/no onboard video thats a couple years old now) sound cards really arent needed but you should be able to find one with digital optical out if you really must have one.

hope this helps

There are HDMI <-> DVI connectors, adapters and cables, so video is not a problem. Plus, they are both digital adapters (unlike the VGA output), so that will ensure maximum quality.

And sound...that is a part I've never mastered But it shouldn't give you any problem, even with integrated sound cards (e.g, sound cards built into the motherboard, normally of lower quality that PCI sound cards). And even less if you buy a good Soundblaster card. If you run the TV sound though your own speakers and not the TV ones, I guess you've it even easier: just connect your speakers directly to your sound card (depending of how you've configured your TV to run it's sound though the speakers, you may even not have to do that...that's just about playtesting, I think). (no, no, no, no, no! only image is transmitted from the PC if you only connect the HDMI/DVI cable...I guess you definitely must connect your speakers to your PC sound card).

As for your 2nd concern, you should look at your TV's manual and search for it's specifications. There are 2 of interest: Your Vertical rate (in Hz) and maximum resolution.

Aha, thx. I probably will need to get a separate sound card, as I'd like it to be able to output 5.1 (or at least some approximation of that) to my speakers. I have no concept of how "Home Theater" sound works from PCs...




Is Vertical rate refresh rate? If that is the case mine is 60 Hz, while max resolution is 1920x1080. Is that... cool enough for TES? :shrug:

Good to hear there should be no quality issues with the visuals, as that (+mods of course) would be kind of the point in me putting together a PC for Skyrim

Thanks for the responses! I'm leaving work, so I'll be quiet for awhile.

It's as good as http://www.benq.com/products/product_detail.cfm?product=1796&pltag=49&ptag=104, and with a much bigger screen! So you know, go for it! (and I also suggest you to playtest it a bit prior Skyrim is released, either with your new PC or with one of your friends').

BTW, thanks to this discussion, I've changed plans regarding which monitor I'll buy (I was targeting one without DVI/HDMI connectors, just one crappy VGA). Found another one that fits my needs and it's not much more expensive than the first. Good karma at work, I guess



Nowadays most integrated cards support 5.1+ speakers, although if you don't mind spending a bit more (around 120-130$) into a good Soundblaster card and you want to get max audio quality and minimum difficulty when configuring it...be my guest I had a 4.1 system with a Soundblaster Live! in the days that was new tech, and was pretty awesome, and easy to install, configure and test (now I'm happy with just my integrated card and my headphones).

PC if my comp can run it on an 8600 gt. Otherwise xbox 360.

PC hopefully. I just got a Dell XPS gaming laptop to replace my desktop so hopefully that'll run it at least with medium settings.

I imagine that since it has to run XBOX 360 which also ran fallout 3 and oblivion, Skyrim shouldn't require too much more in PC requirements than either of those games.

Hopefully...

I though XPS was discontinued 2 years ago when Dell bought Alienware. hope you can run it man!

My 1710 crapped out and I got an Asus G73 as replacement, SHOULD be able to run it decent on that. buying on PC no matter what.

Hm well not according to their website! I think they market the XPS as merely a powerful laptop rather than a pure gaming machine like Alienware.

its running with a core i7 740QM, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 2GB GT435M. Much better than the desktop it replaced!

I will buy it for the xbox 360, if my laptop was strong enough i bought it for pc because of the mods like everyone knows. But a positive thing about xbox 360 are the achievements, so i will enjoy it also like hell on my console