Video Card for Skyrim

[hoofhearted4]

The biggest problem is that you are running a pentium D, windows xp, and 1 gig of ram off of a bonestock 5 year old dell. Not your gpu.

 

With one gig of ram im suprised your able to play the game at all.

 

Its highly likley that your motherboard wont properly support any current generation graphics card out there.

 

As skyrim is a very cpu dependent game, getting a new(er) gpu will only see a nominal increase in performance.

 

Honestly, i would look up your motherboard specs, then you could probably find a gpu that is supported by your motherboard on craigslist for next to nothing. It'll be 4 years old but it'll work and be compadible.

 

*edit*

 

Further looking at your specs, your current gpu has 512megs of vram and is directx 9 compliant.

 

 

and even then, its not really going to give him a performance increase. adding an old cheap GPU to an old system will do next to nothing for a new game, esp one such as Skyrim

[Kenjatsu]

The biggest problem is that you are running a pentium D, windows xp, and 1 gig of ram off of a bonestock 5 year old dell. Not your gpu.

 

With one gig of ram im suprised your able to play the game at all.

 

Its highly likley that your motherboard wont properly support any current generation graphics card out there.

 

As skyrim is a very cpu dependent game, getting a new(er) gpu will only see a nominal increase in performance.

 

Honestly, i would look up your motherboard specs, then you could probably find a gpu that is supported by your motherboard on craigslist for next to nothing. It'll be 4 years old but it'll work and be compadible.

 

*edit*

 

Further looking at your specs, your current gpu has 512megs of vram and is directx 9 compliant.

 

 

Does that mean I have to spend more money on more things? :unsure: :confused:

 

I just want to enjoy a game that I've been waiting for for over a year and finally got for christmas.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Kenjatsu

[Dan3345]

The biggest problem is that you are running a pentium D, windows xp, and 1 gig of ram off of a bonestock 5 year old dell. Not your gpu.

 

With one gig of ram im suprised your able to play the game at all.

 

Its highly likley that your motherboard wont properly support any current generation graphics card out there.

 

As skyrim is a very cpu dependent game, getting a new(er) gpu will only see a nominal increase in performance.

 

Honestly, i would look up your motherboard specs, then you could probably find a gpu that is supported by your motherboard on craigslist for next to nothing. It'll be 4 years old but it'll work and be compadible.

 

*edit*

 

Further looking at your specs, your current gpu has 512megs of vram and is directx 9 compliant.

 

 

Does that mean I have to spend more money on more things? :unsure: :confused:

 

I just want to enjoy a game that I've been waiting for for over a year and finally got for christmas.

 

 

Well I didn't want to be the one to tell you this..But unless you want to spend around 6-$700 on a completely new PC (and even then only play on medium) you should stick to console. I'm sorry, but PC gaming is not cheap.

[hoofhearted4]

ya bud. you shoulda checked the minimum/required specs of Skyrim before you went out and bought it. :/

 

but ya, you need an overhaul of your PC before youll be playing Skyrim smoothly.

[DeadSpace]

under $600

 

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103903 processor AMD dual core 3.0GHz

61.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157176 motherboard read details

59.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148698 hard drive SATA II 160GB

74.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148420 memory 8GB (2x4GB) Crucial

39.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811164040 case you need one any box will do

26.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814134121 video card gt 430 1GB

57.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817152035 power supply Raidmax 630watt modular

46.00

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136240 optical drive meh, you need one, doesn't have to be special

16.99

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824254061 monitor read details

89.99

 

Total $474.92 add MS windows 7 home premium 64-bit $574.91

 

 

a quad would bring it up to a little over $600 with OS. Skyrim is not as intense as some would have you think, but it is cpu/ram intensive and that pent d even with an additional GB or 3 of ram (if the mobo could even support it) would probably still bog down no matter what vid card you got for it.

 

the system in the spoiler is from a post a few weeks back, i was lazy and just copied it, some notes, hdd prices were then and probably still are now rather high, there is currently a shortage due to flooding. i play skyrim on ultra with a gt 430, no issues except for occasional micro stutters tested at factory set clocks, oc'ed it has no probs.

 

but as others have said...time for a new PC. games especially pure pc games are just going to be beyond it's capabilities. if you do decide to get a new one, and build it yourself (i highly recommend that, it's cheaper) go with a quad.

[Kenjatsu]

Either buy or build myself a whole new computer!?

 

No. That is asking way too much.

 

The only reason I got it for christmas for the PC was because I lacked any other console(PS3, XBox-whateveryoucallit).

 

Thanks for the help, but... No... Just... No.

 

 

If there is anything out there that I can get without having to turn my computer into a frankenstein-monster(that is cheap), please, share. If not, then...

 

Sweet Vivec! Not even PC Games can be enjoyed anymore... :facepalm:

Edited January 3, 2012 by Kenjatsu

[Dan3345]

Either buy or build myself a whole new computer!?

 

No. That is asking way too much.

 

The only reason I got it for christmas for the PC was because I lacked any other console(PS3, XBox-whateveryoucallit).

 

Thanks for the help, but... No... Just... No.

 

 

If there is anything out there that I can get without having to turn my computer into a frankenstein-monster(that is cheap), please, share. If not, then...

 

Sweet Vivec! Not even PC Games can be enjoyed anymore... :facepalm:

 

I am not quite sure I follow you.. How would we be turning your computer into a frankenstein monster? And honestly it probably wasn't a good idea to buy skyrim on PC if you weren't sure you could run it in the first place. Console are fairly cheap now. Xbox 360 is $200 and I believe comes with two games.

[hoofhearted4]

yea, buying a console will be at least half or more the price of building a PC

 

 

even more, is building a cheap PC that can barely run Skyrim is just a waste. youll find yourself needing to upgrade for the next game that comes out.....its better to save up an be able to put $800-$1000 into your PC, and not have to worry about it for a while.

[Kenjatsu]

It turned out that my computer was infected with a nasty virus. While the game is laggy, slowdown lessened and the controls are no longer sluggish.

 

 

I'm sorry for seeming extremely cranky, and I do appreciate the help. But I can't afford any of the consoles/new computer, and I would not even know where to start when it comes to building a new computer. Getting Skyrim for the PC was my only choice because, as I mentioned, I don't have a PS3/Xbox and cannot afford one. I need the money for food, bills and a place to live.

 

 

Again, I am very sorry if I seemed like a spoiled brat. If it is possible for a (cheap)video card to help reduce lag, then I will keep it in mind. However, money is very tight for me, plus the removal of the virus has somewhat improved Skyrim.

 

Thank you for the help, and I apologize once again. :unsure:

[RitualBlack]

I am not sure if your current computer would support it but you could go for a 8000 or 9000 series of nVidia card. They are older but as longs as you get a nvidia 8800/8900 or a 9800/9900 you could run Skyrim pretty well. Even though the cards are older, a high end series of an older card is still pretty decent. You would have to get someone around here with a vast knowledge of part compatability to verify this, and than you have to go through the effort of finding one. You could probably get one on ebay as stores don't really carry older cards that often. I don't really like recommending a card from there because you don't get as much information about it like you would get from newegg/ncix/tigerdirect, but its probably the only place. If you are even able to go up to a 8800 gtx you could play probably play Skyrim medium-high on a good resolution and wouldn't likely have to spend even $150 (less than a console to upgrade your current computer, and it would look much better than a console). Its a bit much compared to modern cards, but its a 'specialty' item to acquire due to its age. Someone may be able to verify if any of these cards would work for you, and I hope this helps you out :happy: . You can also try the skse based performance mod which is supposed to help out. http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4387

 

*edit*

Sorry if my writing seems to loose focus and jump from place to place. Its nearly midnight tonight I am tired :laugh: .