Skyrim - Graphics Card

[certo]

FYI, I am not too savvy with computers.

I just wanted to know if my computer will run Skyrim or if I should get it on the ps3/360.

My setup is as follows

i5 650 dell 3.2 gh
8G ram
geforce gt 220 1g video card
1t space.
300 watts.

I would like to get it on the pc if it can run it. If you think I can run this at high settings please let me know. If not, please let me know what I need to upgrade and if it's worth it to do so or just buy it on the 360/ps3. Also, I only have a 720p hd tv now so Please keep that in mind in your decision.

Finally, what do the 360/ps3 graphics equate to in pc settings, i.e. medium/high/max settings?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[certo]

So, after all of your kind responses, I went to Fry's yesterday to purchase the gtx 560 ti and a new power supply to support the card. However, the person helping me said that with a dual core, that even if I purchased the new card I would still have a bottleneck because it's not a quad core, as recommended for the game. He also said that he did not believe I would be able to run it at high settings, but maybe medium. Well, I did not want to spend $350 only to get it at medium settings and so I left without buying the card (and I am more confused and frustrated)....

Was this guy right or would the card and power supply allow me to get it to high settings or even max it out? Thank you very much in advance.

 

[certo]

Anyone?

 

[scorchedskulls41]

"The recommended specs let you play on High, not on Ultra," he said. "You'll want a beefier rig for that." He later said that Bethesda doesn't plan on releasing a spec list for the "Ultra" setting.

To meet the recommended PC specification, you'll need the following:

Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
4 GB System RAM
6 GB free HDD space
DirectX 9 compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).
DirectX compatible sound card
Internet access for Steam activation


And here's the minimum requirements to get the game up and running:

Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Dual Core 2.0 GHz or equivalent processor
2 GB System RAM
6 GB free HDD Space
Direct X 9 compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
DirectX compatible sound card
Internet access for Steam activation


So based on your specs I would say you can play it fine on medium and even if you upgrade your videocard you may still have your CPU hold you back on high.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

It is tough to say for sure how ones system will run without the game actually being out.

Yet, I'm confident that your cpu is more than capable of running skyrim at higher than high details.

Take for example these benches of battlefield 3, which recommended system requires quad cores.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-13.html

Performance is not hindered by a dual core CPU (the i3s, and the I7 with only 2 cores enabled). Even though recommend system requirements are quad cores the game runs fine with a dual. It is important to note that BF3 is a GPU intensive game, unlike Skyrim.

Another example, for the game Witcher 2, another quad core recommended game.

http://benchmark3d.com/the-witcher-2-benchmark/2

Same conclusion here. The games recommends quads but runs perfectly fine with dual cores.

I still think you should be fine with the gpu upgrade, and you will see great performance increases with a new gpu, and should be able to run skyrim at high or better.

I really don't think skyrim will be too demanding of a game for both the cpu and the gpu. I am trying my best to assure you, but keep in mind that this of course is educated speculation.

If you really wanted to be sure, wait until the game releases and then benches will be released. You said you were going to make the purchase from a local store, so the purchase and installation of the card is just a trip to the store and a 30 minute install. This is the safest course of action.