Moving from Xbox for PC.

[dejay1788]

Hi all.

 

I have never really been into PC gaming, but I want to move from the Xbox 360 to PC to play Skyrim. I am looking at purchasing the following and just wondered how it would cope?

 

AMD FX 4170 AM3+ Quad Core 4.2Ghz CPU

Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard

1 TB Serial ATA Hard Drive

8 GB DDR3 1600 PC 12800 Memory

ATI 7850 2GB Windows

750W PSU

Vantage case

Windows 7.

 

All for £537 (around $860).

 

Do you think this will run Skyrim on ultra and cope well with mods, or would I need something beefier?

 

Thanks for looking and the advice.

[korun]

yes for all, the mobo is one of the best (perf/price), the GC too, with 2gb DDR5 it's one of the best for the price, you can take a 7870 but there is no real big difference except the price, would sayd a nice setup for OC :P

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[Beriallord]

Skyrim is more CPU heavy due to the shadows being rendered by the CPU and not the GPU. If you want to make the most of shadows, you are going to need a decently OC'd CPU and even then you still probably wont get consistent 60fps. And even then, you will have to find a balance between draw distance and quality that works for you. I honestly think the shadows are horribly done in this game, and haven't checked out any recent improvements that might have been made with mods.

 

You might want to invest in a CPU cooler, they aren't terribly expensive, and they could allow you to OC your CPU. Something like a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, they run about $25, and its vastly superior cooling compared to stock. And yes they do work on AM3+. Also you can put 2 fans and do a push-pull setup on the 212+ and get even more cooling than with a single fan. And fans are cheap. I use that on my I5 2500k, went from 3.8-4.5ghz, and my temps never go about 55C. 1.351v was the sweet spot for mine.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Beriallord

[FMod]

FX4170 is not a good CPU for Skyrim. Low single thread performance. Even i3-3220 will be faster. Or, from AMD, FX-4300. Or any LGA1155 i5.

 

You don't need a 750W PSU for a system that only uses 200W, like this one. What's more important is PSU make and exact model.

 

edit: On shadows, they are also poorly done, so there's little reason not to turn them off altogether.

Edited December 26, 2012 by FMod

[dejay1788]

Thanks for the advice guys, it's a pre built system so the psu comes standard at 750w. The site don't offer upgrade services either and I''ve never built a pc before. I will definitely consider the cpu cooler. I don't know what psu brand / model they use as it doesn't state so. It's probably something cheap..

[FMod]

You'd better try and build your own PC. Ask someone to help you, at least with advice. It's not difficult. The PC architecture was designed specifically to be put together by the end user.

 

Alternately look for a vendor that will offer you a choice of customizable components. I can't help with UK ones, but maybe someone else can. Overall it looks OK, but it's hardly a $860 configuration. Even by EU prices it's possible to build an i5+HD7950 for that amount of money.

[Dan3345]

I second what the others have said. Skyrim is CPU intensive and if you want to turn up the effects and get a higher frame rate you will need an intel CPU. an i5 2500k/3570k would suffice, or even some i3's.

 

Also I would really recommend you try and build it yourself. Its fun (IMO) and you save a lot money while learning a lot about computers.

 

Off topic: Anyone else noticed how many people leave consoles specifically to play Bethesda games? Fallout 3 is what got me to leave years ago, back then I only thought I would use my PC to play that, boy have things changed. :teehee: you watch dejay1788 it will happen to you too.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Dan3345

[FMod]

2500K and 3570K are comparatively expensive, and with i3 you only get two cores, which may be a problem later. So there's that.

An optimal variant can be an i5 in between. But it really depends on what options are available and how large the price difference is. Some vendors sell OEM/Tray CPU - basically without the box and the stock cooler. Since the stock cooler is junk anyway, that's a better choice.

 

But I don't know the UK market; if I have a list of prices, I can pick the optimum. At intel recommended prices, 3350P would cost $50 less than 3570K - and you still get about 4GHz overclocked out of it. Not 4.5, but the performance difference is smaller than the price difference. In practice, the prices may be closer together at some retailers and further apart at others.

[kalikka]

Usually the pc-hardware shops offer building services. In Finland the prices go from 30€ to 80€ depending on the shop.

 

H77 or B75 cheap mobo with non-K i5 is pretty good combination if you dont want to OC.

[dejay1788]

Thanks for all of the information and feedback guys. I don't really want to build my own PC right now, as I wouldn't know where to start, and don't know anybody who would either. I just get so confused when looking at the parts and figuring out which motherboard is compatible with the CPU I want.

 

However, I have found the same spec PC, but with a Intel I5 Ivy Bridge 3450 3.10ghz CPU + Gigabyte Z77-DS3H Motherboard for £40 more. I can't really go much higher than that either as £600 is my maximum limit.

Edited December 26, 2012 by dejay1788