My introduction and a spec question.

[Sito59]

Hello all, I'm new to this site and just wanted to introduce myself and ask a question.

 

My name is Nelson and I'm very much looking forward to being a part of this community. I recently made the switch from console(360) to pc, mainly for the unofficial patches, and I am enjoying the switch. (Mainly because it is impossible to get far in the game without having at least a few constant and annoying bugs). I wanted to try the site out before deciding to go premium, and judging from other topics and posts, everyone here seems cool.

 

I am interested in putting in some mods on my game, and from what I understand, you need the recommended system settings for it. I meet all of the system requirements except for the processor. It says the recommended is 2.4 quad core but I have an intel core i5-2320 CPU @3.0. I don't quite understand the whole thing but I see that my output seems high enough but since it doesn't specify quad/dual core, I'm assuming that it doesn't have it. Will I need an upgrade to run the mods?

[krisjay]

Your i5 is fully able to run pretty much every mod there is. You'll have no problems at all.

 

Just so you know, your i5 processor has 4 cores, so it is a quad core that has higher specs than what is needed.

[Sito59]

Thank you for the quick reply, I thought since it didnt specify on the my computer properties page that it didn't have it. Well, I'm off to mod! Very exited.

[krisjay]

No problem at all. Welcome to the site, and good luck with your mods!

[None1980]

Hi, the i5 is indeed a quad core CPU. Intel's naming system for the new Core series CPUs is a bit confusing (Unlike the old Core2 series which was fairly straight forward, such as Core2Solo, Core2Duo, Core2Quad and Core2Extreme), but in the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge generation CPUs it goes something like this:

 

Core i3, dual cores with Hyperthreading (which means 2 physical cores and 2 virtual cores).

 

Core i5, quad cores without Hyperthreading (which means 4 physical cores).

 

Core i7, quad cores with Hyperthreading (which means 4 physical cores and 4 virtual cores).

 

And to further confuse you, Intel make all kinds of variations, such as i3s without Hyperthreading and i7s with 6 physical cores and 6 virtual cores.

 

But basically, your CPU is fairly modern (Sandy Bridge, released in 2011) and quite capable for gaming. It will run Skyrim very well. What you should be more worried about is your GPU, because games (and especially mods) put more stress on that component than they do the CPU (again, with some exceptions, but Skyrim is not one of them). But even with a poor GPU, your specs seem modern enough that Skyrim should at least run, albeit on Low. And if you have a decent GPU, it should run nicely on High/Ultra.

Edited April 17, 2013 by None1980

[Sito59]

Thank you for the reply None, it was very informative. I payed a bit extra for my 1gb radeon hd 6450 and 6 Gig ram and I thought it was kind of strange that my processor wasn't dual/quad core. I'm very glad that I was wrong. When I get home I'm going to play with the settings with a graphics mod I found. I am much more confident in trying thanks to you guys. Much appreciated.

[None1980]

Thank you for the reply None, it was very informative. I payed a bit extra for my 1gb radeon hd 6450 and 6 Gig ram and I thought it was kind of strange that my processor wasn't dual/quad core. I'm very glad that I was wrong. When I get home I'm going to play with the settings with a graphics mod I found. I am much more confident in trying thanks to you guys. Much appreciated.

Yes, you actually got a very good CPU! I myself have an i5 3570k, it's pretty much the best gaming CPU you can get right now, unless you want to spend like $300-$500 on an i7 or Xeon (neither of which are much better for gaming alone). And your CPU is only a few tiers below mine.

 

However, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I do see a weak link in your graphics card... It's not a bad card, but it's designed for consumer usage (watching videos, etc.), not really gaming, so it fits into the low end card range. Now, I'm sure Skyrim will run of course, but you might find yourself disappointed trying to run too many, or perhaps any, graphics mods.

 

That being said, the rest of your PC seems up to par, so if you could just upgrade that graphics card a bit, you'd have a pretty good gaming rig. Even on the low end of the gaming card spectrum, you could get a 7750 for around $80. That would run Skyrim ok, much better than the 6450. Or, bump that up to say $150 and get a 7850, that would be much better. Or, if you really want to get into PC gaming, a $200 7870 will play mostly anything out today on Ultra without issue. OR, if you really want to go crazy, you could go all the way with a 7970 or GTX680 for around $400 and pretty much kill any game you throw at it. :-P Just some ideas and options.

[Sito59]

I read online, months after I bought the computer, that my v card was low end. Also, it got many bad reviews by other, more knowledgeable computer geeks than I. It is really too bad that it was the only option on the website. I always wanted to upgrade it at some point but I don't quite understand motherboard/power supply/v card compatability. Your post has re-inspired me to upgrade. I did some research and I think I'm going to go for the 7850. Would I have to upgrade my power supply to ~500 watts also or do you know if it will run on my measly 250 watt?

[Sito59]

I don't know how to edit. It does require a 500 watt power supply. I'm still doing it, to hell with it. It's worth it for the best game ever and it's future children.

[None1980]

I read online, months after I bought the computer, that my v card was low end. Also, it got many bad reviews by other, more knowledgeable computer geeks than I. It is really too bad that it was the only option on the website. I always wanted to upgrade it at some point but I don't quite understand motherboard/power supply/v card compatability. Your post has re-inspired me to upgrade. I did some research and I think I'm going to go for the 7850. Would I have to upgrade my power supply to ~500 watts also or do you know if it will run on my measly 250 watt?

 

 

Hmm, do you know what chipset your motherboard is? Such as H61, P67, Z68, etc? Most modern motherboards should support a single 7850, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I would make sure that your case has enough room for it (an incredibly simple thing that people often overlook). And yes, you'll need a good 500 watt PSU (keep in mind that GPU manufacturers usually overestimate power requirements to compensate for people with poor quality PSUs, the 7850 has been shown to run on smaller high quality PSUs, but regardless, 250 watts is not enough). The ones that come stock in most computers are very cheap and generic, they won't run a good GPU well. I would recommend SeaSonic (my PSU manufacturer), Corsair, Antec or XFX. Those are the best companies out there right now, they all make mostly very high quality (and efficient) PSUs.

 

Oh, and while it's a little bit more expensive, I'd recommend getting a 2GB 7870. Skyrim with mods likes a lot of VRAM and new games are just starting to push over the 1GB VRAM usage mark, so you'll start seeing games bottlenecking a card with only 1GB soon (Battlefield 3 on Ultra in 1080P uses over 1GB, Crysis 3 uses over 1GB, modded Skyrim with hi-res textures and ENBs uses over 1GB). Right now it's not a big deal as you can see, but since the only way to increase VRAM is by buying a whole new card, I'd say it's better to just spend the extra $20 now.

 

I don't know how to edit. It does require a 500 watt power supply. I'm still doing it, to hell with it. It's worth it for the best game ever and it's future children.

 

For roughly the price of a new console, you'll be gaming happily for several years, so yes, I'd say it's definitely worth it. And, on the upside, you'll be able to play new games that will likely be next-gen only without having to buy a next-gen console, so right now it's fairly balanced.