# Budget build for Skyrim



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

I'm going to build a budget build for my cousin who is going to play Skyrim on the highest settings. So, does these parts can play it on the highest settings? No overclocking will be involve. LMK what you guys recommend me to get the parts.. 

CPU: i5 3330 

Intel Core i5-3330 Ivy Bridge 3.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo...

MOBO: MSI Z77A-G41

MSI Z77A-G41 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s US...

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB

Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDR...

GPU: MSI N650TI 1GD5/OC

MSI N650TI 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit ...

PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 1...

HDD: Western Digital WD Blue 1TB, NOTE: No SSD will be involve, because he doesn't care how fast the game and OS load

Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB...



The case and other peripherals will be upon his request. Like I said LMK what is good and wrong.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

Looks fine to me. He should actually get a 2500k as Skyrim likes higher clock speeds more then more cores.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

Get a lower end motherboard and a better VGA card. There is no reason to spend money on the Z77 chipset when you will not be using raid nor will you be overclocking.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Get a lower end motherboard and a better VGA card. There is no reason to spend money on the Z77 chipset when you will not be using raid nor will you be overclocking.



What motherboard and chipset? Can you link it?


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Get a lower end motherboard and a better VGA card. There is no reason to spend money on the Z77 chipset when you will not be using raid nor will you be overclocking.



THe board is fine. Thats already pretty low end on the z77 scale.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Looks fine to me. He should actually get a 2500k as Skyrim likes higher clock speeds more then more cores.



Like I said, it will not be overclock because he doesn't know how. He just want to play the game. LOL.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> Like I said, it will not be overclock because he doesn't know how. He just want to play the game. LOL.



overclock for him haha. jk, nevermind then. Looks like a good setup.

What screen res is he going to be running because that GTX650 is his weakest link.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> What motherboard and chipset? Can you link it?



This Asrock board had good reviews and looks fine for a single VGA and i5.

ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel...

$5 more can get you 2x4GB of ram. 

GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM...



MxPhenom 216 said:


> THe board is fine. Thats already pretty low end on the z77 scale.



Yes but Z77 as a whole is a waste. With zero overclocking involved H61 supports every single thing he needs.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> overclock for him haha. jk, nevermind then. Looks like a good setup.



LOL. I wish I could but he doesn't know what it do and I don't want to mess around with his system. I just want to build it and install all the necessary software (like OS, drivers and etc).


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> LOL. I wish I could but he doesn't know what it do and I don't want to mess around with his system. I just want to build it and install all the necessary software (like OS, drivers and etc).



Fair enough. Maybe try and get this GPU instead.

SAPPHIRE 100355-1GOCL Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit G...

LOL yeah definitely go for a 7850 haha!


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Fair enough. Maybe try and get this GPU instead.
> 
> SAPPHIRE 100355-1GOCL Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit G...



Will this run in the highest settings?


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> Will this run in the highest settings?



They both will, the HD7850 is just about 20FPS higher haha!


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> This Asrock board had good reviews and looks fine for a single VGA and i5.
> 
> ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel...
> 
> ...



What about a H77?


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> They both will, the HD7850 is just about 20FPS higher haha!



Ok thanks.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> What about a H77?



ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6...


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6...



That board seems good enough for him, thanks


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6...



I would run the next model down and a 2x4GB kit of ram

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB...


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> I would run the next model down and a 2x4GB kit of ram
> 
> ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB...



ok thanks


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

If you don't mind waiting on a rebate there is also this powersupply for a couple bucks less.

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 P...

Obviously its a Corsair and a good reliable unit.

Between that and the cheaper board it pays for the ram/7870 price difference (just about )


----------



## exodusprime1337 (Nov 4, 2012)

For just skyrim... xbox360 done!!! cheap too lol.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Nov 4, 2012)

exodusprime1337 said:


> For just skyrim... xbox360 done!!! cheap too lol.



fail. Skyrim is ass on Xbox.


----------



## drdeathx (Nov 4, 2012)

Just a shot in the dark, why not the Trinity platform with a 6670 that can be crossfired with the on doe 7650D. The overall system will be much better and cheaper.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

drdeathx said:


> Just a shot in the dark, why not the Trinity platform with a 6670 that can be crossfired with the on doe 7650D. The overall system will be much better and cheaper.



I was thinking the same thing, but found it easier to just not mention AMD in threads that started Intel.


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 4, 2012)

no its a good option heres the problem, Bethesda's patches and AMD drivers tends to mean Crossfire doesnt work half the time in Skryim, its one of the reasons i actually dropped 6950 xfire and got a 7970 it was just easier to deal with lol. 

simply put Bethesda's games are seldom multi gpu friendly.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> no its a good option heres the problem, Bethesda's patches and AMD drivers tends to mean Crossfire doesnt work half the time in Skryim, its one of the reasons i actually dropped 6950 xfire and got a 7970 it was just easier to deal with lol.
> 
> simply put Bethesda's games are seldom multi gpu friendly.



Good to know. Other thing would be to look at the APU anyway they are good cheap CPU's.

AMD A10-5700 Trinity 3.4GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket ...

ASRock FM2A55M-DGS FM2 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) Micro A...

That's $80's less. A 7950 is about $100 more and comes with 6 games instead of 1

XFX Double D FX-795A-TDFC Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-b...

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 P...

GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM...






$578 before $50 in rebates and lacking the HDD/case


----------



## exodusprime1337 (Nov 4, 2012)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> fail. Skyrim is ass on Xbox.



Fair enough but a "budget" system is going to be just as "ass" imho of course


----------



## dude12564 (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Good to know. Other thing would be to look at the APU anyway they are good cheap CPU's.
> 
> AMD A10-5700 Trinity 3.4GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket ...
> 
> ...



Yeah, APUs are good stuff. How about a Bulldozer/Piledriver CPU, up the GPU?

For sure - like everyone above said, go for the 8GB of RAM. It's worth it.


----------



## SaltyFish (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> play Skyrim on the highest settings.



There's no mention of what monitor (or more importantly, what resolution) the game will be played at. If it will be running at 1024x768 or 1280x720, then you can probably lower the budget a bit more.


----------



## dude12564 (Nov 4, 2012)

SaltyFish said:


> There's no mention of what monitor (or more importantly, what resolution) the game will be played at. If it will be running at 1024x768 or 1280x720, then you can probably lower the budget a bit more.



Probably - but might want to leave some headroom, just in case they upgrade their monitor.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

dude12564 said:


> Probably - but might want to leave some headroom, just in case they upgrade their monitor.



I am liking the 7950 add on with an APU. Would be one heck of a budget gamer.


----------



## dude12564 (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> I am liking the 7950 add on with an APU. Would be one heck of a budget gamer.



Yeah - for sure. And - 6 (that's amazing) free games!


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

dude12564 said:


> Yeah - for sure. And - 6 (that's amazing) free games!



Dirt 3, TwoWorlds, FarCry 3, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman, and MoH Warfighter. It really isn't that bad of a package.


----------



## drdeathx (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> I am liking the 7950 add on with an APU. Would be one heck of a budget gamer.





LOL Radeon 6670. I reviewed it and it is pretty damn good for a $600 rin and the CPU would be far better than the i3 they have listed. heck, if I were him, i would do a AMD A10-5800 with the 660Ti. That would be better  than that crap i3 they listed. I reviewed the A8-5800 against it and it is an all around better CPU.

here is my summary BTW:

As seen today, Trinity brings two worlds together with Fusion and Piledriver. AMD focused on the instruction set since Bulldozer’s release and suprisingly, they bring a much more rounded APU (Acccelerated Processing Unit) to the table. From performance to efficiency, AMD has manufactured a very good mainstream processing unit coupled with on-die 7660D graphics.

Comparing the A10-5800K with Intel’s IvyBridge i3 3220K shows AMD with a solid win over their rival. We compared out of box performance between the A10-5800K and the i3 3220 and AMD dominated, primarily in graphics. AMD’s 7660D on-die GPU is far superior to Intel’s 4000 graphics. In every benchmark, the 7660D crushes Intel. In proocessor performance, the A10-8150 trades blows with Intel’s 3220. With AMD’s hard work, they figured how to improve on Bulldozer with their newPiledriver cores. If the trend continues, Steamroller should improve on Piledriver, and although it may not beat IvyBridge’s top tier processors, it brings AMD into this decade. Although we were skeptical, Trinity lived up to it’s billing in our opinion.

AMD’s strategy continues to pursue the mainstream market and the mobile sector which some thought, did not make sense. Let’s face it, margins are just not the same as the high end arena but then again, AMD has a product that may surprise the skeptics. Dissecting target customers, we see excellent potential for OEM manufacturers. Looking at our viewers (who usually build their own systems), we see the A10-5800K going into second systems more often and for some, a primary system for family members or folks on a budget. The APU can be laid out three ways: stand alone 7660D, crossfire 7660D + add on 6670, or a higher end discrete graphics card add-on. This gives our viewers a system priced as low as $400, or a step up system in crossfire at the $500-$600 range, or a respectable all around build at approximately $700. Any way you cut it, the A10-5800K will not break the bank and gives you options. Either way, looking on the cheap or spending a bit more, the A10-5800K shows that it will handle eveyday home computing and will be excelllent for what mainstreme users seek. For You Tube, videos and movies, and even some light gaming Trinity has what it takes. Can you say HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer)? This could be the perfect fit.

In conclusion, the AMD A10-5800K may not be the juggernaut performance junkies look for, but it provides an excellent all around computing solution for many. At just $122, it is less than the $140 price tag of its predecessor, the A8-3870K, while performing better. If you’re looking for an inexpensive solution for home computing, the AMD A10-5800K should be a serious consideration


----------



## Widjaja (Nov 4, 2012)

The rig looks fine to me for Skyrim.
If you are coaxed enough into buying an AMD GPU, be aware that you may encounter flickers and black polys on occasion with the current drivers.
None the less Skyrm should run like butter on either the GTX650 or the HD7850.


----------



## dude12564 (Nov 4, 2012)

Widjaja said:


> The rig looks fine to me for Skyrim.
> If you are coaxed enough into buying an AMD GPU, be aware that you may encounter flickers and black polys on occasion with the current drivers.
> None the less Skyrm should run like butter on either the GTX650 or the HD7850.



Dont worry cdawall put in a 7950, for those extra frames.


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 4, 2012)

the Intel CPU also helps in Skryim if you push mods to the limit, Shadow rendering is handled by the CPU in Skyrim and its single threaded, so the intel chips have a severe advantage when pushing IQ to the LIMIT, for the every day regular mods such as textures armors blah blah the APU cpu will do the job fine. 

Skyrim hell any game from Bethesda using their rebranded Gamebryo engine etc tends to favor Intel CPUs and fast GPUs, aka it prefers the brute force approach.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> If you don't mind waiting on a rebate there is also this powersupply for a couple bucks less.
> 
> CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 P...
> 
> ...



ok


dude12564 said:


> Yeah, APUs are good stuff. How about a Bulldozer/Piledriver CPU, up the GPU?
> 
> For sure - like everyone above said, go for the 8GB of RAM. It's worth it.



Ok


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

So basically, go with AMD or Intel? Because both builds seem nice.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

I would go AMD the game should appreciate more video card.


----------



## drdeathx (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> I would go AMD the game should appreciate more video card.



Either would be a good choice but my theory is AMD is a great all around solution and I don't think you should base the decision totally on Skyrim but Crazyeyes is right, intel will do a little better in singlethreaded apps and AMD better in Multi-Threaded and I would say look down the line when making the decision. I will say it is nice to have AMD somewhat back in the game.


----------



## dude12564 (Nov 4, 2012)

drdeathx said:


> Either would be a good choice but my theory is AMD is a great all around solution and I don't think you should base the decision totally on Skyrim but Crazyeyes is right, intel will do a little better in singlethreaded apps and AMD better in Multi-Threaded and I would say look down the line when making the decision. I will say it is nice to have AMD somewhat back in the game.



Hear hear.


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 4, 2012)

yea AMD is fine,

for games like

Shogun 2
Skyrim / Fallout / etc etc Bethesda / Gamebryo games
Civilization V
Blizzard Titles

Intel rules the roost and i dont mean by small margins

just about everything else however it just doesnt matter much what you go with  sadly for me personally most of the games i play above fall on that short list that intel tends to dominate in. 

but in this case going with a cheaper AMD system and pushing the GPU up a notch will give you better overall game performance.


----------



## Jack1n (Nov 4, 2012)

Low end i5+low end mobo+8gb kit+7870/50=profit


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> Low end i5+low end mobo+8gb kit+7870/50=profit



Thanks for reading the rest of the thread?


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

I have one more option for you since you don't really need an APU you could go with a higher clocked better performing FX series chip along with a better motherboard.

Take another $15 off of this using promo code EMCJNGN27

AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz

ASRock 970 PRO3 AM3+ AMD 970

XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600

GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 4, 2012)

wow i would sell all those games...

$15 Dirt 3
$10 Two Worlds II 
$35 Far Cry 3
$30 Sleeping Dogs
$35 Hitman Absolution

so $125 if games are sold give or take

that means $665 (rounding it off here)
665 - 125 = 540 -50 MIR = $490 - $15 promo code = $475 in the end give or take if you do all the leg work


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> wow i would sell all those games...
> 
> $15 Dirt 3
> $10 Two Worlds II
> ...



-$15=460 for the promo code that's not included


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Nov 4, 2012)

added in the promo ^ lol its $475 give or take a dollar unless you have 2x promo codes your talking about and their both $15?


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

crazyeyesreaper said:


> added in the promo ^ lol its $475 give or take a dollar unless you have 2x promo codes your talking about and their both $15?



Nope must of mis-skimmed


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, AMD it is.

Edited: 

His case will be an Antec Gaming Series One


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> Thanks for the advice, AMD it is.



Which one the APU build of FX build?


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Which one the APU build of FX build?



Maybe the FX


----------



## cdawall (Nov 4, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> Maybe the FX



Its a good build to start with from an upgrading sense. That 970 board will support steamroller and such from what previous experience from Asrock says.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 4, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Its a good build to start with from an upgrading sense. That 970 board will support steamroller and such from what previous experience from Asrock says.



Ok, thanks for all your help.


----------



## Jack1n (Nov 5, 2012)

Still think the i5 is the better choice.


----------



## 3870x2 (Nov 5, 2012)

cdawall said:


> Good to know. Other thing would be to look at the APU anyway they are good cheap CPU's.
> 
> AMD A10-5700 Trinity 3.4GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket ...
> 
> ...



lol, and 4.5 free games.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 5, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> Still think the i5 is the better choice.



Why? Better benchmarks because the better gpu will make up for the weaker cpu in actual games.



3870x2 said:


> lol, and 4.5 free games.



Still a good deal.


----------



## EasyTomatoe (Nov 5, 2012)

so did he take the apu and the games? if i read it right that they get free 6 games or something.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 6, 2012)

He said the FX, because the CPU has a high clock and he doesn't know and what is overclocking, so the FX.


----------



## cdawall (Nov 6, 2012)

camoxiong said:


> He said the FX, because the CPU has a high clock and he doesn't know and what is overclocking, so the FX.



I figured as much make sure to turn him to this site we can always give him a bit of help with overclocking if he ever has the want.


----------



## camoxiong (Nov 6, 2012)

cdawall said:


> I figured as much make sure to turn him to this site we can always give him a bit of help with overclocking if he ever has the want.



Yeah sure


----------

