Will Skyrim run on my Gateway FX7020?

[bradlington]

As the title states, I am running a Gateway FX7020, and I'm wondering if my system can run Skyrim. It can easily run Oblivion on very high settings, if this means anything. I don't care much about how much I can tweak my graphics to look great, I simply want it to run at a playable framerate, whether it's on very low or anything else. www.canirunit.com tells me my PC slightly surpasses minimum requirements, but websites like it sometimes give varied results, and I thought I could trust a forum more.

Processor: AMD Phenom 9600 Quad-Core 2.3GHz

Native screen resolution: 1680 x 1050

RAM: 3GB

Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Thanks for your time! I know my system isn't the best, but if you don't think it will run, please tell me which parts I should replace or improve. If any more details about my PC are needed let me know.

 

[DM186]

Your GPU is going to keep you from enjoying the game. And that is being postive about it. Depending on your power supply(PSU) what the wattage is and how many amps are on the 12v rail.

Then that will tell us what card you can use. Also your CPU could use a little up grade as well but not very important at the moment. Is your OS XP or Vista? Also are using a 32bit or a 64bit system?

 

[bradlington]

Your GPU is going to keep you from enjoying the game. And that is being postive about it. Depending on your power supply(PSU) what the wattage is and how many amps are on the 12v rail.

Then that will tell us what card you can use. Also your CPU could use a little up grade as well but not very important at the moment. Is your OS XP or Vista? Also are using a 32bit or a 64bit system?

Thanks for the reply! I hate to say that I'm not sure about the power supply, wattage or amps, sorry

What I can tell you is I'm on a 32bit Vista system. By saying "Your GPU is going to keep you from enjoying the game", do you mean I will have to play on low graphics settings to play with a decent framerate, or that a decent framerate will be rare even with low settings? I'm perfectly fine with running on lower settings if the gameplay remains smooth.

What GPU would you recommend I upgrade to? Any that are sub-200$ that will not be outdated again in a year? And should I even bother with getting new parts for this machine, or upgrade to a new one altogether?

 

[DM186]

Thanks for the reply! I hate to say that I'm not sure about the power supply, wattage or amps, sorry

What I can tell you is I'm on a 32bit Vista system. By saying "Your GPU is going to keep you from enjoying the game", do you mean I will have to play on low graphics settings to play with a decent framerate, or that a decent framerate will be rare even with low settings? I'm perfectly fine with running on lower settings if the gameplay remains smooth.

What GPU would you recommend I upgrade to? Any that are sub-200$ that will not be outdated again in a year? And should I even bother with getting new parts for this machine, or upgrade to a new one altogether?

What I mean about your GPU now will not play at decent framerates. I ask about the your OS because I saw that you have 3GB of ram. Your CPU is 4 cores but on the low side but it is not a problem at this time.

On your PSU, if it is a 300w then we could use a 6670 for starters and if the PSU is bigger then you can go up to 6850 or even a 6870 before you start having problems with the CPU keeping up.

To find the Info on your PSU you will have to open up your case and look for the sticker on it that shows you your input voltage and your output voltage in DC. And some of the numbers that look like 3.3v = 16a + 5v = 14a + 12v = 17a etc.

I would appreciate if you could find out. I have found your PC but it is not giving me the PSU info. I would hate for you to go out and buy the card and it not work because not enough power.

 

[bradlington]

What I mean about your GPU now will not play at decent framerates. I ask about the your OS because I saw that you have 3GB of ram. Your CPU is 4 cores but on the low side but it is not a problem at this time.

On your PSU, if it is a 300w then we could use a 6670 for starters and if the PSU is bigger then you can go up to 6850 or even a 6870 before you start having problems with the CPU keeping up.

To find the Info on your PSU you will have to open up your case and look for the sticker on it that shows you your input voltage and your output voltage in DC. And some of the numbers that look like 3.3v = 16a + 5v = 14a + 12v = 17a etc.

I would appreciate if you could find out. I have found your PC but it is not giving me the PSU info. I would hate for you to go out and buy the card and it not work because not enough power.

Thank you for the advice! I'll look into the cards you suggested, but I won't have time to see in the case until this Friday (March 30th.) I have a question though - for such a relatively inexpensive GPU, what is the max setting I'd be able to play Skyrim on with decent FPS (like 40+ at least)? And how long will this card be expected to last in the evolving PC game market before it's outdated like my current one? Thanks for your time!

 

[DM186]

Ok I found your PSU it is a 400w PSU which now brings us to two cards the one for sure is the 6670. Depending on the 12v rail amps the 6770 could be the card. AMD shows it has to be a 450w PSU.

Then there is the new AMD cards out the 7770 uses a lot less power than the 6770. So you should be able to use the 7770 and it is around $160.00 and you should be able to play on low to med settings with out any problems.

I will link you to your PC specs and you should keep them for fucture references. The other links are the cards. A good gaming rig is about $1000.00. You can go cheaper or more. It depends on what is on sale or what you want.

So I would start saving for it in the fucture but for now up grade the GPU and you should get by for a year however at the rate things are advancing. I don't know if even a year would do it. I hope this helps you.

http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1015005R/1015005Rsp3.shtml

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150577

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150599

Here is a bench mark for the difference between the 7770 and the 6770 but I have to use the 5770 because they don't give you that option and the 5770 and the 6770 are so close to gether. The link under is the 5570 and the 6770 so you can see how close they are to being the same.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/538?vs=536

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4296/amds-radeon-hd-6770-radeon-hd-6750-the-retail-radeon-5700-rebadge

 

[bradlington]

Thanks a lot! This saves me the hassle of taking out my computer and looking for that sticker. Using the benchmark website you've provided I see the $170 investment will more than double my FPS in most games (in theory).You've been great help. Have a great day -- I know I will

 

[DM186]

You are most welcome and I am glad to help and good to know your day is better. Like I always say "Better than most and not as good as some"

 

[bradlington]

Best answer selected by bradlington.