New Computer Specs Recommendations

[Amyr]

You don't need to spread the thermal paste. In fact, you should not try to spread it at all. It will create air bubbles and it will result in poor cooling performance.

 

Just watch this and you will get a good sense of how to apply a thermal paste.

 

[sadampl]

Yeah, I reinstalled OS like 5 times now, someone adviced me to update BIOS and ME but bios freezes after choosing file from flash drive. I never had this much problems with PC. :/

 

Edit: Seems like unactivated (had to do so via phone) and unupdated windows was at fault, after updates so far everything works. So far. :P

Edited November 26, 2014 by sadampl

[CopperHeadGhost]

I have changed plans a bit. I now plan to have over a hundred mods, including hd retextures and high immersion mods. I still want to have as little lag of frame drops as possible, for as cheap as possible.

[Vagrant0]

I have changed plans a bit. I now plan to have over a hundred mods, including hd retextures and high immersion mods. I still want to have as little lag of frame drops as possible, for as cheap as possible.

First, number of mods is less of a factor than the types of mods added. Stability and performance depends on how large they are and how well they can be integrated. Even with a top-end system you can't just toss a bunch of mods onto a load order and expect them to work perfectly, especially with high immersion mods since these can often step on eachothers toes due to feature overlap.

 

Second, Skyrim wasn't designed with newer hardware in mind, for example it runs somewhat worse on a 6 or 8 core CPU than it does on a quad core due to lack of hyperthreading support. Meaning that if you're basing things around Skyrim performance, you may find yourself needing an upgrade in a few years once the next Fallout or Elder Scrolls game comes out. You'll still get some distance with a newer quad core i7, but it probably won't last the whole generation.

 

Third, when you're talking about framerates above 60fps when using HD mods, you're almost dependent on a dual videocard setup. You're also dependent on a monitor that operates above 60hrz and higher than 1080p resolution since while the game can render more than 60 frames, with a 60hrz monitor you're still only seeing 60 of them. Running a mod setup with HD or 4k quality textures generally doesn't benefit you unless your monitor can display that high of resolution up close (and most above 4096x4096 become increasingly memory intensive while often being blurred by AA settings or shaders. Since you're running more than 1 card, you'll need both of them to be the same, and probably 4gb dedicated ram on each. As you are running more than 1 card, and the cards tend to be rather large, you'll need a large case in order to fit them while having space for harddrives. Larger case means larger cooling system since you need to swap out a larger volume of air, or you'll have to go primarily water cooling. This is why top-end performance usually bumps the cost of the whole system to around 2-3k. If you want SSDs to decrease load times, that's more money.

[CopperHeadGhost]

So what build would you recommend?

[Vagrant0]

So what build would you recommend?

 

That depends entirely on budget, what you plan to do with it beyond just running modded Skyrim, and what sorts of framerate and resolution you can live with.

[CopperHeadGhost]

I plan on having minecraft, and some strategy games like total war. I might want to have mods on those. I would like to be able to play future games, or be able to upgrade the computer if need be. I would like to have as many frames as possible with a budget of about 1000-1200 dollers. I can go higher though. Tell me if this is asking for to much and how much higher I would need to go if so.

Edited March 24, 2015 by CopperHeadGhost

[Vagrant0]

After some quick parting out to give an idea:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zQqdcf

 

Keep in mind, this has no OS or media drive specified (add about $150 for both).

 

It's also only a single 4gb videocard, single 3tb harddrive, has a low-end power supply, and a kinda crappy case.

 

 

It will however give you 30+fps in a modded skyrim, Be reasonably quick and stable in a modded Minecraft setup, and be able to "run" most games that will be released in the next few years while also having room for upgrades. Depending on what you already have and can scavange from your current PC, you could probably knock down the price some.

 

I can't certify that this would be easily buildable and working, but it should give you a decent indicator about price and spec.

[Thandal]

Whenever someone says, "I need a decent gaming rig at a decent price." I point them to Digital Storm.

The Vanquish II starts at $699, and that gets you a totally serviceable machine.

 

Customize for your needs, or step-it-up as far as you want to go.

(The Aventum II starts at $4650. :laugh: )

[dodgerfan4eva]

^Doesn't that take the fun out of building a rig though ? I never build one, but i would like to to experience it. then again i had repair classes to do it so there's that.