Wanting to build a pc for playing the Elder Scrolls Anthology and older games on ultra settings with a lot of mods

Maddog18

Reputable
Jun 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
I'm getting ready to build my first pc with a friend who recently just built his first pc. I want to play the Elder Scrolls games and some older games on the highest settings with multiple mods running. I plan on getting 16gb of ram, and beyond that I'm not sure of what to get. My friend has his own ideas for what I should get, but I wanted some other opinions. My budget is $1000 and I already have Windows 7, and I plan to use my tv instead of a monitor and purchase a wireless mouse and keyboard separate from the budget. I also would like a dedicated sound card, but that would be if some money was left over after everything else. Sorry for the wall of text and thank you in advance.
 
8 GB of RAM should be enough for games today. The included CPU should be more future-proof and will allow for future upgrades to top-end video cards without any bottlenecks. You can also install more RAM later as needed. But if you wait a couple of weeks, the Devil's Canyon 4790k will be released and appears to be a killer CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($253.98 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($46.93 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($21.74 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1023.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-10 19:58 EDT-0400)
 


depends on what you use your machine for.................. the Crysis guys gave the xbox guys grief for only adding 8gigs.............. I run 16, most people I know do. workloads and future proofing...............

this game.............. 3gig or 4gig graphics card.............. none of this 2gig stuff.
 

combine1237

Honorable
Jul 19, 2012
808
0
11,360
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.81 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1008.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-10 20:08 EDT-0400)

This is a well rounded micro atx build that should be fairly silent and look nice next to a tv in the living room. I chose micro atx for size, but did not go with mini itx for future possible sound card. This build does not have an overclockable processor for budget's sake. You have 4gb of vram for those good skyrim textures, and a solid (reliable) 128gb boot drive to have speedy os interactions as well a single game for quick loading.
 


Build looks fine, but I don't agree with using a meager 650w PSU for an R9-290. A GTX 780 uses less power and does not require a huge PSU.
 

combine1237

Honorable
Jul 19, 2012
808
0
11,360
I have my 290x on a 650w gold and rarely go above 420w when gaming, a good 650 gold psu should easily be able to handle a single r9 290. As for a gtx 780, yes they use less power, but also cost at least 70 usd more and have a gig less vram, and unless one is willing to pay ~160 usd more for the 6gb vram for extreme skyrim modding, the r9 290 is the best deal for a decently modded skyrim right now. If op is willing to sacrifice on the case, ssd, and mobo, then he could get a 6gb 780 for about the same overall price, but he would also be dropping some other features.
 

Maddog18

Reputable
Jun 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
This is 2 builds that me and my friend put together based off of his pc and the suggested builds. One is AMD and the other is Intel.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Vd74Bm
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Vd74Bm/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Vd74Bm/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($114.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 4GB Dual-X Video Card ($225.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Xion XON-980-BK (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ TigerDirect)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $840.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-10 23:31 EDT-0400)

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HDckgs) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HDckgs/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HDckgs/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k) | $239.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaming5) | $149.99 @ Mwave
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32133c11d8gao) | $79.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $55.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn760oc4gdrev20) | $295.91 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-redboneu3) | $49.98 @ OutletPC
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10600kr) | $44.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lite-on-optical-drive-ihas12414) | $14.99 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $931.82
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-11 09:56 EDT-0400 |

The Intel build only has 8gb of ram just to show the difference in price.
Any comments or suggested would be appreciated.