Not to beat a dead horse, I know I've seen a few threads already for a new PC build for playing a well modded Skyrim, but after reading the expertise of the replies here, I'm hoping I can start a thread here as my budget is a bit bigger and I could use some clarification from other posts. Here is a link to the same basic thing I posted on Eggxpert yesterday: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/877526.aspx if it helps, though it's really long at only 8 posts so far...
I'm going to try and follow FinneousPJ's template to make things easier on everyone.
Right now I've only gotten pricing info off of newegg, though I know I can likely get some better prices from other posts I've seen. I'm ultimately trying to keep this build around 1k.
Approximate Purchase Date: likely mid to end of April (just starting my research early)
Budget Range: 1k to 1,500 MAX, would REALLY like to keep it to the lower end though as much as possible, before rebates and shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: This is two fold...
1) gaming, building to handle a heavily modded Skyrim with textures, etc, and run at highest setting within reason-e.g., ultra settings, 1920*1080, reasonable AA, AF, MSAA settings (NOT fully maxed). I want it to look great, be able to handle the texture, lighting, flora mods and the like with playable fps while understanding that my budget will only get me so far
2) just as important as number 1, I'd like this to be a system I can use to upgrade in the future as I need to without having to replace more parts than needed. I'll be enjoying other titles besides Skyrim as well, that's just the game that's prompting to use my tax return to finally do this.
Are you buying a monitor: monitor is taken care of already
Parts to Upgrade: the whole enchilada, minus mouse, KB, and monitor
Do you need to buy OS: yes, I hear Win 7 Home Pro is better than Win * for gaming still
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I love newegg's service, but with this many parts, I will be shopping around for competitive pricing as well (ncix, microcenter are two I've learned about in reading through posts here)
Location: Amarillo, TX
Parts Preferences: would prefer to stick to intel i5-3570K CPU, and possibly Nvidia GPU as I seem to hear AMD GPUs crash more in Skyrim Not sure how accurate that is though.
Overclocking: not at first, but I definitely want the option ready in this first build for when I've learned how to and I'm comfortable trying it
SLI or Crossfire: If not in this first build, I definitely want this first build ready to do so when that time comes.
Your Monitor Resolution: will likely keep it at 1920x1080 and will likely opt for my SONY Bravia 32" (24Hz, 1080p) for primary monitor (unless this is a bad idea)
Additional Comments: Airflow is crucial to me, might try Liquid cooling down the road, but not on this first build. I haven't had a capable gaming rig in 10+ years, Skyrim and the ability to mod games in general are what's making me do this. I still want to play other titles, and be able to use this first build as a springboard for future upgrades into a more powerful rig.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: see above
Parts I'm considering currently are as follows:
CASE: CM HAF 922
PSU: Corsair HX750
(Only considering a 750W for future SLI/XFire configs, If I can safely go lower, I would definitely consider it)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 or Extreme4-M
(I'm told this is good for OC'ing, not sure about the Extreme4 vs. the 4-M, though, or how this would work for SLI/XFire set-ups... also should I be looking for PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots? This has been the most difficult part for me to consider)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
(I'm told this will fit under the AM CPU fan)
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III
(unsure about this as well, I've heard that it does/doesn't help with gaming performance-yes, in that it has faster access... no, in that this only applies to boots and OS operations, not gaming)
SAMSUNG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-224BB - OEM
EVGA 04G-P4-3687-KR GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
(This is alo very confusing to me and a HUGE issue: I've read that >2Gb of VRAM is a must for a well modded Skyrim to keep frames playable, and then I'm also told that only a triple monitor set up would need that much RAM, but again, I've read stuff that seems to strongly suggest otherwise when it comes to playing a modded out Skyrim... HELP!!! this is my most expensive peice of hardware and I DEF want to get this one right... Who's correct in this matter? Would and SLI config be better?)
You guys are awesome, and thanks so much in advance for your help
I'm going to try and follow FinneousPJ's template to make things easier on everyone.
Right now I've only gotten pricing info off of newegg, though I know I can likely get some better prices from other posts I've seen. I'm ultimately trying to keep this build around 1k.
Approximate Purchase Date: likely mid to end of April (just starting my research early)
Budget Range: 1k to 1,500 MAX, would REALLY like to keep it to the lower end though as much as possible, before rebates and shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: This is two fold...
1) gaming, building to handle a heavily modded Skyrim with textures, etc, and run at highest setting within reason-e.g., ultra settings, 1920*1080, reasonable AA, AF, MSAA settings (NOT fully maxed). I want it to look great, be able to handle the texture, lighting, flora mods and the like with playable fps while understanding that my budget will only get me so far
2) just as important as number 1, I'd like this to be a system I can use to upgrade in the future as I need to without having to replace more parts than needed. I'll be enjoying other titles besides Skyrim as well, that's just the game that's prompting to use my tax return to finally do this.
Are you buying a monitor: monitor is taken care of already
Parts to Upgrade: the whole enchilada, minus mouse, KB, and monitor
Do you need to buy OS: yes, I hear Win 7 Home Pro is better than Win * for gaming still
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I love newegg's service, but with this many parts, I will be shopping around for competitive pricing as well (ncix, microcenter are two I've learned about in reading through posts here)
Location: Amarillo, TX
Parts Preferences: would prefer to stick to intel i5-3570K CPU, and possibly Nvidia GPU as I seem to hear AMD GPUs crash more in Skyrim Not sure how accurate that is though.
Overclocking: not at first, but I definitely want the option ready in this first build for when I've learned how to and I'm comfortable trying it
SLI or Crossfire: If not in this first build, I definitely want this first build ready to do so when that time comes.
Your Monitor Resolution: will likely keep it at 1920x1080 and will likely opt for my SONY Bravia 32" (24Hz, 1080p) for primary monitor (unless this is a bad idea)
Additional Comments: Airflow is crucial to me, might try Liquid cooling down the road, but not on this first build. I haven't had a capable gaming rig in 10+ years, Skyrim and the ability to mod games in general are what's making me do this. I still want to play other titles, and be able to use this first build as a springboard for future upgrades into a more powerful rig.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: see above
Parts I'm considering currently are as follows:
CASE: CM HAF 922
PSU: Corsair HX750
(Only considering a 750W for future SLI/XFire configs, If I can safely go lower, I would definitely consider it)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 or Extreme4-M
(I'm told this is good for OC'ing, not sure about the Extreme4 vs. the 4-M, though, or how this would work for SLI/XFire set-ups... also should I be looking for PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots? This has been the most difficult part for me to consider)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
(I'm told this will fit under the AM CPU fan)
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III
(unsure about this as well, I've heard that it does/doesn't help with gaming performance-yes, in that it has faster access... no, in that this only applies to boots and OS operations, not gaming)
SAMSUNG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-224BB - OEM
EVGA 04G-P4-3687-KR GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
(This is alo very confusing to me and a HUGE issue: I've read that >2Gb of VRAM is a must for a well modded Skyrim to keep frames playable, and then I'm also told that only a triple monitor set up would need that much RAM, but again, I've read stuff that seems to strongly suggest otherwise when it comes to playing a modded out Skyrim... HELP!!! this is my most expensive peice of hardware and I DEF want to get this one right... Who's correct in this matter? Would and SLI config be better?)
You guys are awesome, and thanks so much in advance for your help