The Thread of Computers (aka will my computer run Skyrim)

[Blu02]

More a computer question than a Skyrim one:

 

I have an ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series video card. I was considering replacing them with a new 6970, but then I realised that I have 3.2GB of usable video RAM currently.

 

Should I buy a new one, or is there no point?

 

(This is because I want Skyrim to run nicely. I realise I probably won't get max settings, but I want to get at least mid-way to three quarters there. At the moment, I get max settings on modded Oblivion if that helps any)

 

At what resolution? I could play vanilla Oblivion @ 1080p back in the day on a single HD 4850, but with mods such as Quarl's Texture pack etc... I had to go Crossfire and I still ran out of VRAM in The Great Forest etc..

 

It sounds like you are running on a 32bit Operating System? You do not have 3.2 GB of VRAM, that's most likely the amount of useable RAM for your entire system. Anyhow, depending on your resolution and the rest of your system, a 6970 may either be bottlenecked or be overkill. We need your complete system specifications to be able to competently advise you in this situation. :)

 

Nope, I do have 3.2GB of VRAM (system says it is approximately 3318MB, but diagnostics show that I'm only using around the 3.2GB mark). I am on Windows 7 64bit OS with 6GB ram with Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 3GHz processor.

 

Resolution I play Oblivion at is 1280x720, and I have several graphics mods going, including Qarl's texture pack, Diverse Landscapes and Better Cities among many others without a framerate drop

 

A 4300 or 4500 series video card with 3+ GB of VRAM does not exist. You are confusing onboard video card memory with virtual memory, they are not the same at all. ;)

 

Hang on, you're assuming that I only have one

 

Please don't assume I don't know anything about computers, I am more than capable. I got this info from dxdiag, and as double proof, here is what I got from "Can youRun it":

 

Video Card

 

Required You Have

Video RAM 16 MB 3.2 GB

3D Yes Yes

 

My virtual memory is much more than 3GB.

 

What I am wondering is whether 3.2GB of 4300/4500 would be more than ok, or should I spend the $300 and upgrade

 

No, you're still wrong. Poor ATI-cards use something called Hyper Memory, which is a virtual video-memory used from your local RAM (Not to be mixed up with virtual memory from your harddrive). Your real VRAM is probably not more than 512mb, as the 4300/4500 series are quite old and low/mid-end from start. I would definitely recommend an upgrade.

 

And dont trust "Can you run it", or any other sites like it. They rarely get your system-info correct at all. Tried mine (For the lulz) and it shows very wrong speed of my CPU, wrong soundcard, and mixing up virtual memory with the actual amount available.

Edited October 8, 2011 by Mr. Bravo

[Mitch2129]

To the guy with the 4300/4500 series card. upgrade Edited October 8, 2011 by Mitch2129

[hejpadig]

Alright fellas, the time for the PC upgrade has come. My computer is at the moment at a computer service firm, they are currently installing my new graphics card, and I'm wondering if it should be able to play Skyrim on high settings. I'm no good with computers so that's why I'm asking.

 

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N560GTX-Ti-Twin-Frozr-II-OC.html#?div=Feature

[MizerD]

yes that will be more than enough :D good choice!

[Iv000]

Alright fellas, the time for the PC upgrade has come. My computer is at the moment at a computer service firm, they are currently installing my new graphics card, and I'm wondering if it should be able to play Skyrim on high settings. I'm no good with computers so that's why I'm asking.

 

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N560GTX-Ti-Twin-Frozr-II-OC.html#?div=Feature

More then enough! :thumbsup:

[hejpadig]

Hehey, Iv and Miz. Thanks for the replys, now I feel better. :)

[MizerD]

Hehey, Iv and Miz. Thanks for the replys, now I feel better. :)

 

No probz bud whats the rest of your rig like?

[hejpadig]

Hehey, Iv and Miz. Thanks for the replys, now I feel better. :)

 

No probz bud whats the rest of your rig like?

 

Well, it's nothing I'm proud of really. But when I check the requirements these days, the only big problem seems to be my old card.

 

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz

4.GB RAM

Vista (might upgrade to W7 before Skyrim release and add like 2 GB of RAM)

 

If you have any advice of what to get, please don't be shy ;)

Edited October 9, 2011 by hejpadig

[MizerD]

Well, it's nothing I'm proud of really. But when I check the requirements these days, the only big problem seems to be my old card.

 

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz

4.GB RAM

Vista (might upgrade to W7 before Skyrim release and add like 2 GB of RAM)

 

If you have any advice of what to get, please don't be shy ;)

 

My personal opinion is that your system as it is should be fine for Skyrim

(but we'll see when they release the official system requirements)

My advice would be that it isn't necessary to upgrade to win 7 unless you like I am sick to death with Vista lol

My other piece of advice would be about your RAM.

If you are going to upgrade that then i'll pass on some advice that a friend of mine gave me, and that is that before you choose the RAM you want you should first check what kind works best with your motherboard.

EDIT: (This is because not all Ram is compatable)

I have a Gigabyte motherboard so I checked their website and found that a brand called “Corsair” works best with my motherboard.

Edited October 9, 2011 by MizerD

[hejpadig]

Well, it's nothing I'm proud of really. But when I check the requirements these days, the only big problem seems to be my old card.

 

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz

4.GB RAM

Vista (might upgrade to W7 before Skyrim release and add like 2 GB of RAM)

 

If you have any advice of what to get, please don't be shy ;)

 

My personal opinion is that your system as it is should be fine for Skyrim

(but we'll see when they release the official system requirements)

My advice would be that it isn't necessary to upgrade to win 7 unless you like I am sick to death with Vista lol

My other piece of advice would be about your RAM.

If you are going to upgrade that then i'll pass on some advice that a friend of mine gave me, and that is that before you choose the RAM you want you should first check what kind works best with your motherboard.

EDIT: (This is because not all Ram is compatable)

I have a Gigabyte motherboard so I checked their website and found that a brand called “Corsair” works best with my motherboard.

 

Yeah man, thanks. The thing is, I have 32 bit operative system, which only recognizes like max 4GB of RAM, that's why I thought of Windows 7 64 bit operative system, because then I can upgrade my RAM easily.