Should I upgrade my computer to play modded skyrim se?

[DooDooBerry]

First parts:

i5 4670k @ 3.4GHz (think i oc to 3.8ghz according to cpuz)

MSI Z87-G45

8gb ddr3 (NB frequency says 3600 - 3800 MHz)

GTX 760 2gb

 

I was looking into buying skyrim se and modding it but was wondering if my aging computer could handle it. I'm going to be playing at 1080p. 60fps would be ideal.

 

Mods I'm would like so far:

better ragdoll

skyrim 2017 textures or SMIM (or both?)

total character makeover

bijin all in one

skyui

apocalypse magic

vivid weathers

re-engaged enb

skyrim flora

 

If I do need an upgrade, would a better gpu be enough? Like a gtx 1060 or 1070?

 

 

 

 

[DooDooBerry]

i guess this community is dead judging how some posts have 1000s of views and a few responses

[QuagaarWarrior]

I run a similar system but with a 1070 8gb and I can mod the game extensively.

Although I wouldnt encourage you to get into modding per se. If you cant wait 24 hours for a response to your post I suspect you wont have the patience to troubleshoot your set up

Edited April 27, 2018 by QuagaarWarrior

[Arneercool]

Your amount of v-ram and ram is a tad on the low side for extensive modding and 60fps, but you still have plenty of room for modding though. Cpu is fine.

 

Stay 2k or below, do the 'light' installs that comes with smim and noble.

 

Use the right tools and bugfixes. Tools like Beth-ini and a dll loader with a terrain fps fix, is top priority, and can tweak the very last juice out of your game.

 

Enb? I dunno,i have still to find one where the hit is worth the prettiness, and vivid weathers already comes with a non- intrusive shader, so i just use that, things can also get too fancy.

If you find yourself having to choose , drop the enb. And if you have spare ram in the end, use it on a proper lod from dyndolod.

 

If upgrading,go for ram and v-ram(gpu), maybe even a ssd for those speedy loads.

[thestigma]

Skyrim SE has a lot of structural changes that makes it far more effective at handling "problem areas" that used to be insane CPU bottlenecks - for example the top of the stairs in whiterun.

Now most of these areas run about as well as anywhere else.

 

So you can probably make due with that CPU if you don't go overboard on mods that add tons of new entities or super script-heavy stuff.

I think your main limiting factor will be your GPU, assuming that you want some decent visual mods.

I run an old system too, a 2500K @ 4,3Ghz + a GTX 970. I'm basically always GPU limited, even with few graphics-mods.

With fairly heavy (but economical) visual upgrades I can still hit 50 at lowest and 80-90 mostly (I cap it at 90 with havoc INI tweaks because you have to set a cap in this game).

Even though I'm hardly done with my visual mods yet, even my reasonably performance-concious build is a day and night difference from vanilla. Not all visual mods are performance heavy, just some.

 

You can probably make a very playable game with a 760 though, including some light mods. Just don't run an ENB (it's not really needed in SE nearly as much as in oldrim), run shadows at medium settings (they look way better in SE anyway), don't go overboard grass-mod settings ect. Also be careful about the size of your texture mods because 2GB is not a ton to work with.

 

I'd recommend you try with the gear you have and upgrade later if you decide it's not good enough.

And if you do upgrade then a better GPU and an SSD (if you don't already have one) is probably the stuff you should be looking at.

[sopmac45]

I guess you could but probably depending on how many mods and what type of mods you will use.

 

Even though my rig is : Nvidia 1070, 16gb RAM, i7-6700, Z170 and a 165Hz Monitor, I am only running 65 mods. I have never used more than 120 ( that was the amount I used my very first time ). For me, quality is much better than quantity and honestly, I do not need that many to play my game according to my play style.

[Jayombie]

Get a card with as much VRAM as possible... ie 1080ti with 11gb vram.

 

Use SSE ENGINE FIXES Mod.... (for stability)

 

 

and have fun !

[yzerman19]

All I can tell you is MODDED SKYRIM SE IS SUPER GREAT! DO WHATEVER THE FUNK IT TAKES!

Edited May 21, 2018 by yzerman19

[tomomi1922]

First parts:

i5 4670k @ 3.4GHz (think i oc to 3.8ghz according to cpuz)

MSI Z87-G45

8gb ddr3 (NB frequency says 3600 - 3800 MHz)

GTX 760 2gb

 

I was looking into buying skyrim se and modding it but was wondering if my aging computer could handle it. I'm going to be playing at 1080p. 60fps would be ideal.

 

Mods I'm would like so far:

better ragdoll

skyrim 2017 textures or SMIM (or both?)

total character makeover

bijin all in one

skyui

apocalypse magic

vivid weathers

re-engaged enb

skyrim flora

 

If I do need an upgrade, would a better gpu be enough? Like a gtx 1060 or 1070?

How about just play the game before considering upgrading? Upgrading a computer comes in different stages. If you decide to change CPU, RAM type, motherboard, you are looking at a brand new computer. DDR3 RAM is aging, but still viable. Upgrading RAM or graphic card are quick fix, almost plug and play.

 

All the mods you mentioned above are not CPU or GPU intensive at all, except 3: SIMM texture, ENB, and Flora Overhaul.

 

- Textures just add more workload for VRAM which you only have 2Gb. But selectively pick 4k/2k mixture will let you off very nicely.

 

- ENB has some demanding power hungry features that will tax your aging CPU and GPU. However, you can live without these features. Everything can be at high, just reduce the shadow details (you will get blurry shadow, but I prefer blurry shadow too). Reduce SSAO quality (you can't tell the difference most of the time). Reduce or turn off DOF (which can be taxing your GPU a lot for some out of focus background). Your game still looks great without or with low DOF. Most ENB offers performance version that still looks good. What sets ENB apart from Vanilla and Reshade is SSAO (which imo is much better than the game).

 

- Floral is nice. But if you want super dense grass (like a jungle out there) then it will tax even the fastest PC. Turn off grass shadow (recommended by a grass mod author) because it looks ugly. Turning off also saves you some good resources (your PC doesn't have to render so much the shadow of every grass cluster).

 

Everything else doesn't really add a lot to Skyrim's engine, like Lightning overhaul mods (they sometimes even make the game run faster). Certainly if you are to download a mod that puts 100+ NPC on the field to fight out an all out battle, expect slow down. But as others mentioned, Skyrim SE is more optimized, solid, and stable than before.

[hielkeskyrim]

Hi there,

 

Best value for your money right now would be the 1070ti. That card is like 5% worse than the 1080 and is way cheaper. GPU prices are coming down but are still very ridiculous. If you want to play modded skyrim @1080p 60fps with high res texture mods I would recommend getting at least the 1060 6GB variant. That card should hold up pretty nice.

 

If you want to play 1440p in the future I would recommend getting at least a 1070ti (also for other games). I recently upgraded my GPU to a 1080ti and that card can handle 1440p @60fps with 320 mods so far.

 

As for your CPU, yours is fine for Skyrim.