Upgrading my PC, need modding advice!

[Doyledeth]

I love Gopher. Watch him everyday.

[MarchinBunny]

 

16GB? Doesn't Skyrim only use up to 4 GB? As for the power supply, I have a Corsair 850 watt, so I should be good. So, every world texture at 2048 and most people Armor and weapons at 4024? Also, how many mods plus the T packs is considered overkill? I've seen people on youtube use well over 200 with steady gameplay and no crashes.

 

First, it's future proof, at least for a year or two. Besides it never hurts to have decent amount of free memory, just to be safe. You can also use at least 4GB of your free memory as ramdisk.

 

I personally think 16GB is okay, anything higher than that is overkill (for most games, unless you're planning to do some productivity works with your rig).

 

I don't know if your power supply will provide enough power for your rig but I think it should be enough so long you don't overclock anything too high. I use stock clock for all my hardwares and 860i is sufficient and safe for me, although I'm still thinking about getting that AX1200i just so I won't upgrade my power supply for a very long time and I can put my mind to rest knowing I have more than enough clean power to run my rig.

 

As for textures, I think world texture should be at 1k for better performance unless you're using paralax or do some screenshot archery. It's not like you're going to stare at the ground or the tree for a very long time. :laugh: But it's up to you if you decide to use 2k. I only have 660Ti (for now) to run Skyrim so I don't think I should push my luck too much. That's just my setup anyway. You can always use higher than that with hardwares faster and more powerful than mine.

 

As for the mods, that depends on what mods they were using. Running Skyrim with 200+ light mods (like ones that change the arrow speed or your chance to find more loot) is easy, but if those 200 consists of custom body mesh with 4k textures, Vurt's Flora Overhaul, Skyrim HD, SMIM, customised weather/lighting and audio, custom 4k armors and weapons and big abodes with lots of stuff inside then don't expect miracles. Creation Engine is Gamebryo with fancy name, it can only run so much stuff at the same time before CTD. Not even massive amount of RAM or powerful graphics card could save you from freeze and crashes.

 

My tip? Use only the best mods, and the ones you really, really need. Before installing an armor or a weapon mod, take your time and think: will I be using this for the rest of my playthrough or I'm just gonna put it in my mansion as a decoration? If you're not going to use it or if you don't need it then don't install it, even if it looks great in somebody else's playthrough or video.

 

 

I don't know if you know this, but you are very wrong about power supplies. The only time you really need more then a 700w power supply is if you are running 2 power hungry graphic cards and many drives, and eye candy lights, fans and stuff. OR If you plan to later on.

 

Most who build a computer never realize they go over board on their power supply. 850w should be more than enough.

 

And the only time you need to go above 1000w is if you are using a hefty liquid cooling unit and seriously pushing the limits on your hardware.

Edited November 9, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[wolfpack91]

i just did a search on the processor you listed on my component site and it came up out of stock and discontinued maybe you can still get them elsewhere but id say try for the 6 or 8 core processors like the FX 8350. i recently bought 3 of the new release games for PC and all of them recomended minimum of a 6 core processor prefered was 8 you build with a non hyperthreading quad core and you will build an obsolete pc incapable of running new releases at optimum. seriously if you want a quad core get an intel i5 or i7. but as far as amd goes less than 6 cores and you will struggle with all new games and probbly will not even be able to run the next fallout and TES game. when building build for future not current id say go one step beyond the next gen consoles. get an 8 core processor and 16GB of ram and you will be set for the next generation

 

battlefeild 4 as an example for new release officialy states it requires 8GB ram and 6 core processor to run at decent quality better stats for ultra. recomends 3GB gpu to run smooth at decent quality. i have a 4GB and BF4 uses 3.7 GB of it at ultra and it uses 7 of my 8 cores running at 70-85% load. the next generation is breaking the bar and getting really big and heavy on components

 

i have the FX 8350 8 core and 16GB ram and GTX 770 4GB and i run BF4 smooth as BF has been the benchmark for most pc gamers i know id say if your rig can run BF 4 smooth you can handle the next generation and any future bethesda games

[Fistandilius]

 

16GB? Doesn't Skyrim only use up to 4 GB? As for the power supply, I have a Corsair 850 watt, so I should be good. So, every world texture at 2048 and most people Armor and weapons at 4024? Also, how many mods plus the T packs is considered overkill? I've seen people on youtube use well over 200 with steady gameplay and no crashes.

 

People keep saying Skyrim only uses 4gb, like it's some kind of rule, but what does that actually mean? Sure, Skyrim can only use 4gb, but what about your operating system running it? What about steam? What about your antivirus software? What about all the other little programs you're running in the background on a regular basis? If you think you're good to go on 4gb and you're getting the max out of skyrim, I think you're badly mistaken, personally.

 

Not to mention, Oblivion only used 2gb of memory... until someone came out with a patch to allow 4gb. So what happens if someone decides to come out with an 8gb patch for Skyrim?

 

Also, what does 200 mods mean? Some mods are bigger than others, some mods effect your system differently than others. Throwing out a number is meaningless, again, IMO.

Edited November 9, 2013 by Fistandilius

[NovaCameron]

It means Skyrim is a 32-bit program. 32-bit programs can ONLY use a max of 4GB. No matter what. No matter what you do. If it goes even ONE byte over 4GB (or 4294967296 bytes) it will lock up and crash. Beth already put in a 4GB patch for Skyrim last year.

 

200 mods could mean 200 mod packages (I've hit that just on stability tests) or it could mean 200 .esps (dangerous under the best of circumstances) OP isn't clear on that.

[Fistandilius]

It means Skyrim is a 32-bit program. 32-bit programs can ONLY use a max of 4GB. No matter what. No matter what you do. If it goes even ONE byte over 4GB (or 4294967296 bytes) it will lock up and crash. Beth already put in a 4GB patch for Skyrim last year.

 

200 mods could mean 200 mod packages (I've hit that just on stability tests) or it could mean 200 .esps (dangerous under the best of circumstances) OP isn't clear on that.

The questions were rhetorical.

[MarchinBunny]

 

 

16GB? Doesn't Skyrim only use up to 4 GB? As for the power supply, I have a Corsair 850 watt, so I should be good. So, every world texture at 2048 and most people Armor and weapons at 4024? Also, how many mods plus the T packs is considered overkill? I've seen people on youtube use well over 200 with steady gameplay and no crashes.

 

People keep saying Skyrim only uses 4gb, like it's some kind of rule, but what does that actually mean? Sure, Skyrim can only use 4gb, but what about your operating system running it? What about steam? What about your antivirus software? What about all the other little programs you're running in the background on a regular basis? If you think you're good to go on 4gb and you're getting the max out of skyrim, I think you're badly mistaken, personally.

 

Not to mention, Oblivion only used 2gb of memory... until someone came out with a patch to allow 4gb. So what happens if someone decides to come out with an 8gb patch for Skyrim?

 

Also, what does 200 mods mean? Some mods are bigger than others, some mods effect your system differently than others. Throwing out a number is meaningless, again, IMO.

 

 

You do realize the OP has 8GB of ram right?

 

When he said "doesn't skyrim only use 4GB" it was in reply to someone who said he should up his ram to 16GB.

 

That pretty much makes your response entirely invalid. What about all the other programs? Well he has an extra 4GB of ram for that. Also, yes Skyrim is only able to use 4GB, and yes, it is pretty much a rule.

 

Also, mods do not effect the limit no matter how much ram you have. The limit will still be 4GB.

 

I have a feeling you don't really understand 32bit applications. It's irritating when someone makes a post acting as if they know something but clearly don't. Stop teaching crappy information please XD. Also, stop assuming he only has 4GB of ram when he already posted the amount he has right on the first post.

 

I will say however that 16GB of ram isn't a bad upgrade, however I really don't think it's necessary if you are only gaming. If you are doing video editing, artwork, or something along those lines then it can help a lot.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[PinkSamantha]

I don't know if you know this, but you are very wrong about power supplies. The only time you really need more then a 700w power supply is if you are running 2 power hungry graphic cards and many drives, and eye candy lights, fans and stuff. OR If you plan to later on.

 

Most who build a computer never realize they go over board on their power supply. 850w should be more than enough.

 

And the only time you need to go above 1000w is if you are using a hefty liquid cooling unit and seriously pushing the limits on your hardware.

 

Oh, really? According to whom? :laugh:

 

Wrong about what? Please read carefully:

 

I'm still thinking about getting that AX1200i just so I won't upgrade my power supply for a very long time and I can put my mind to rest knowing I have more than enough clean power to run my rig.

 

 

I'm gonna buy 1200i because 1) I have money to do that and 2) I prefer future proof (this is also the reason why I was considering 16GB or even more) and more clean power to any "I think it's enough for now" options. I'm not a girl who wants to spend my time once every 5-6 months for browsing and buying hardwares for upgrade. I'd rather hang out with my girl friends. :laugh:

 

Instead of judging me blindly, why not asking about my upgrade plan first? You obviously had no idea what my plan for my rig in the future yet you were so quick to say I was wrong. I'm planning on using 2 770 or even 780 Ti and a stable 4.0-4.2 GHz overclock so what's wrong about 1200i? I'm also gonna use Corsair H100i, replace all my fans including ones came with H100i (I'm using Corsair 550D case) with Corsair performance fans and add 2 more hard drives (I'm using 2 2TB WD Caviar Black for OS and games/data now and wanna add 2 more) for media files like pics/videos from my cam and backup. I've asked some users from Tweaktown and TPU for power supply recommendation before and while some of them recommend at least a 1000w, they agreed when I said I'm gonna buy a 1200w instead so I don't have to upgrade my power supply for at least two or three years. Is it wrong? :laugh:

 

As for the 16GB? I'm playing Battlefield 4 too, and last I checked it requires at least 4GB of RAM. By the year 2014, games are probably gonna need 6GB as minimum, who knows. Like I said, future proof. It might be overkill to you and everybody else but going this way I won't have to worry about anything, I just enjoy my hobby (gaming). Personally I think having more RAM and power never hurts, in my case at least (better more than less methink). Also I'm not a budget gamer so I'm sorry if my suggestion/recommendation is way overboard to most. :blush:

[MarchinBunny]

 

I don't know if you know this, but you are very wrong about power supplies. The only time you really need more then a 700w power supply is if you are running 2 power hungry graphic cards and many drives, and eye candy lights, fans and stuff. OR If you plan to later on.

 

Most who build a computer never realize they go over board on their power supply. 850w should be more than enough.

 

And the only time you need to go above 1000w is if you are using a hefty liquid cooling unit and seriously pushing the limits on your hardware.

 

Oh, really? According to whom? :laugh:

 

Wrong about what? Please read carefully:

 

I'm still thinking about getting that AX1200i just so I won't upgrade my power supply for a very long time and I can put my mind to rest knowing I have more than enough clean power to run my rig.

 

 

I'm gonna buy 1200i because 1) I have money to do that and 2) I prefer future proof (this is also the reason why I was considering 16GB or even more) and more clean power to any "I think it's enough for now" options. I'm not a girl who wants to spend my time once every 5-6 months for browsing and buying hardwares for upgrade. I'd rather hang out with my girl friends. :laugh:

 

Instead of judging me blindly, why not asking about my upgrade plan first? You obviously had no idea what my plan for my rig in the future yet you were so quick to say I was wrong. I'm planning on using 2 770 or even 780 Ti and a stable 4.0-4.2 GHz overclock so what's wrong about 1200i? I'm also gonna use Corsair H100i, replace all my fans including ones came with H100i (I'm using Corsair 550D case) with Corsair performance fans and add 2 more hard drives (I'm using 2 2TB WD Caviar Black for OS and games/data now and wanna add 2 more) for media files like pics/videos from my cam and backup. I've asked some users from Tweaktown and TPU for power supply recommendation before and while some of them recommend at least a 1000w, they agreed when I said I'm gonna buy a 1200w instead so I don't have to upgrade my power supply for at least two or three years. Is it wrong? :laugh:

 

As for the 16GB? I'm playing Battlefield 4 too, and last I checked it requires at least 4GB of RAM. By the year 2014, games are probably gonna need 6GB as minimum, who knows. Like I said, future proof. It might be overkill to you and everybody else but going this way I won't have to worry about anything, I just enjoy my hobby (gaming). Personally I think having more RAM and power never hurts, in my case at least (better more than less methink). Also I'm not a budget gamer so I'm sorry if my suggestion/recommendation is way overboard to most. :blush:

 

 

*Facepalms* You ... misinterpreted what I meant.

 

I was talking about your advice to the other person. In other words, I couldn't care less what you personally do with your computer lol. However, when you give advice based on your personal preferences rather then what they actually need, is when I have an issue.

 

You told him he should upgrade his power supply, and I am telling you ... he doesn't need to.

 

According to whom? Me.

I don't care if you don't believe me or something, but I am a telecommunications trade graduate. Telecom just so happens to deal with electricity, fiber optics, cable, satellite, computers and networking as well as many other things xD. So I would certainly hope, I know what i'm talking about rofl.

 

Of course now that you mentioned about your computer, I might as well say, you certainly do go overboard. Why?

 

I never understood the whole idea of future proof. How can you have something future proof when it comes to hardware? No matter what expensive hardware you decide to buy, it will be seriously out dated with in years. Sure, it will be able to keep up, as most computers can. It may perform pretty well for it's age and compared to the current hardware, BUT! ....

 

If you spend less and don't go all out, the money you save can be used to buy a better computer later on. Hardware becomes cheap pretty quickly. Something you spend $500 on will be $100 - $130 eventually.

 

That 16GB RAM, unless you do video editing, programming, photoshop, or whatever, you wont ever use it with that specific computer. By the time computer need that much ram for daily tasks or gaming, you will have a much better computer.

 

As for the PSU, here is a handy tool for those who don't know ohms law http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

It well help you calculate how big of a PSU you will need. You will understand how much people go overboard once you actually calculate it.

 

Companies will always make bigger and more expensive parts. That doesn't necessarily mean you need it. It's just a way for companies to trick consumers into spending more money.

 

Edit: I also would like to illiterate a bit, I don't think there is anything wrong with going overboard if you have that kind of money to spend. I just don't think it's right to tell someone they should get a more powerful (insert random computer component) when they don't actually have to.

 

I also like to go overboard, but I actually need to for my work anyway.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[PinkSamantha]

You told him he should upgrade his power supply, and I am telling you ... he doesn't need to.

 

According to whom? Me.

I don't care if you don't believe me or something, but I am a telecommunications trade graduate. Telecom just so happens to deal with electricity, fiber optics, cable, satellite, computers and networking as well as many other things xD. So I would certainly hope, I know what i'm talking about rofl.

 

Did I write he should upgrade?

 

I wrote:

"And power supply. Remember to use a decent power supply. Look for Corsair or any decent/high end brand."

 

He said:

"I have a Corsair 850 watt, so I should be good."

 

And I replied:

"I don't know if your power supply will provide enough power for your rig but I think it should be enough so long you don't overclock anything too high."

 

It should be enough assuming he doesn't overclock anything too high. And I know Outervision's tools. I am a frequent user.

 

Gosh, for a telecom trade graduate you seem didn't bother to read... I do sincerely hope you know what you're talking about.

Edited November 11, 2013 by PinkSamantha