Build an 'Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim' PC for under $1,000

Znet: 'Your mission, should you decided to accept it, is to build a PC capable of running the new ’Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘ game at ‘High Quality’ graphics setting or better for under $1,000.’

[T900]

1000usd is too much, to run Skyrim Maxed out you could easily build one under 600usd.

[Kalowest]

My laptop, with a mid-range graphics card can play Skyrim on High. Skyrim isn't a very demanding game like ppl think.

[T900]

Yes it isnt, this is what tomshardware had to say about the game:

"The good news is that you don’t need an uber-rig to enjoy the game. A 2.5+ GHz Phenom II matched up to a Radeon HD 5770 or GeForce GTX 550 Ti is enough to enjoy at least 40 FPS using high-quality details at 1080p, even with FXAA enabled to help smooth out the bothersome aliasing artifacts. That’s a reasonable requirement that probably won't necessitate many upgrades. Best of all, the result looks almost as good as ultra-quality details."

Laptops with midrange cards are generally equal to entry level desktop cards. I personally have a 5870M in my laptop, which would be weaker then a 8800GTX from 4 years back. Today a 8800GTX gets outperformed by 100usd GPUs.

Edit: 8800GTX is atleast 2-3 times more powerful then what ever is there in the consoles.

[kevnb]

youre selling the 5870m short, its about equal to a 5770 which outperforms an 8800 easily. Now some of the newer desktop cards can stomp all over a 5770 though. Still though a 5870m is about double an 8800gtx in some games.

[Spitfire_Riggz]

Thats what I am saying, open world games from Bethesda do not demand a lot. I built mine for about 700 and it plays b3 on high and everything else on ultra

[CrimsonEngage]

1000 on a PC to play Skyrim? A game that was ported to PC and has an astounding amount of PC bugs? Seems like a legit investment! /s

[hiredhelp]

Im sorry i have skyrim on pc Amount of pc bug's a port im sorry you completely lost me.

[VanguardOfCalamity]

my rig is about 3 years old -

dual core 3.0 ghz
4 gb ram
(updated video card) GTX 460

play with Ultra settings no problem

[CoryHG]

Mine cost just under $600. I have that video card and power supply. i have a good motherboard and 12 gb of ram. i have the amd 3650 apu 2.6 oc to 3.1 ghz. Fun full at above 60 fps, same with bf3, although more 40 fps.

[Johnny_Cojones]

PC version is gorgeous.
http://i9.photobucket.com/a...

[Johnny_Cojones]

Oh, & **** whoever disagreed with the above statement. You're either blind, a PC hater, or petty. All three, most likely. Want games to look great, & have fantastic mod community support? Get a good PC. Can't afford one? Save money until you can. I was in my mid twenties before I could afford a great PC. Prices on PC parts are very reasonable, these days. It's well worth the investment.

[mrsatan]

I have a quad core 3.2 Phenom II, 560 gtx, and 8 gb of ram. I play at beyond Ultra settings with tons of graphics mods installed. The game is really smooth after allowing it to use more than 2 gb of ram.

[Johnny_Cojones]

I have a 2600K, GTX 590, & 8GB 1866MHz RAM. On Ultra, @2560x1600, with a few texture mods & a tweak to allow the application to use more than 2GB RAM, it's already one of the best looking fantasy games I've ever played. When some serious mods hit in the next few months, this shit will be incredible.

The tweaks really help "de-console" the visuals. I bought it on 360 for my kid, too, though, & it looks surprisingly great considering the hardware limitations.

[kevnb]

ya they did good with the 360 version, the ps3 version not so much... The big deal breaker of the 360 version is the long load times and 30 fps cap.

[GraveLord]

lawl. $1000 is way too much.
Not doing any favors to the "PC gaming is expensive" trolls.(which have a point by the way)