Skyrim Official System Requirements

[solidsnake32292]

and one more thing...

and also one more things.... i was really thinking about buying a macbook air (i7, 4gb ram, 256gb ssd) but now im really nervous that it may not be that good of an idea?

i mean i have 8gb of ram now and windows and skyrim is running this slow.... i dont even wanna know how bad the air will play it or am i wrong?

really appreciate some feed back bc im just so lost now... i know the i7 would make a HUGE difference but wiht only 4gb of ram and a terrible intel hd card... ugh i just dont know anymore.... and this whole 256gb ssd is killing me too(way to small) ugh =(

 

[deadwulfe]

Nvidia Geforce 9400M-256mb

Minimum system requirements state a card with 512MB of video ram. This might be your problem.

 

[Rodus]

^^ The GPU probably isnt the issue (the minimum required specs are garbage) , playing it in Parallels is, it sucks for modern gaming. Bootcamping should sort out the problem.

 

[solidsnake32292]

^^ The GPU probably isnt the issue (the minimum required specs are garbage) , playing it in Parallels is, it sucks for modern gaming. Bootcamping should sort out the problem.

wait seriously? but isint parallel 7 supposed to run really well and a lot better than bootcamp?

and one thing i hate about bootcamp is not being able to go back and forth ugh.... what if i dedicate both core's and 4gb of ram to windows when i play? idkkkkk =(

 

[Rodus]

^^the exact opposite. Bootcamp is just windows running direrctly on the Mac hardware with full access to all of it. Its just like using a Windows PC, Parallels is a virtualization layer that allows Windows to run on top of the Mac OS with more limited hardware access, for example Parallels can not access your graphics card directly so it has to emulate one which is very poor for 3D gaming. Giving Parallels more cores/RAM wont make much difference with high end games, seriously, just bootcamp, itll run soooo much better.

 

[Youngchild]

but isint parallel 7 supposed to run really well and a lot better than bootcamp?

No, not even close. Running two operating systems at once won't have the same performance as running one. Some applications can operate efficiently on the virtualization model, however - running a graphical intensive game like Skyrim would benefit from having as many system resources available. I tried the virtualization model a few years ago and decided it wasn't worth the performance hit. Bootcamp is the way to go if you want to play Skyrim on your mac.

 

[n8236]

Early 2011 MBP (top line). Game says I run at "high" settings.

 

[solidsnake32292]

No, not even close. Running two operating systems at once won't have the same performance as running one. Some applications can operate efficiently on the virtualization model, however - running a graphical intensive game like Skyrim would benefit from having as many system resources available. I tried the virtualization model a few years ago and decided it wasn't worth the performance hit. Bootcamp is the way to go if you want to play Skyrim on your mac.

WOW.... sooo im really appreciative of you guy's helping me out! so let me get this straight... if i run bootcamp it will run like how much better with the specs i gave u? is it really worth giving up the ability to have windows running right on my Lion os? and also about my post with the Air, if i get a macbook air i7 like i listed... it should run even better wiht bootcamp? thanks a lot!!!

 

[tak550]

WOW.... sooo im really appreciative of you guy's helping me out! so let me get this straight... if i run bootcamp it will run like how much better with the specs i gave u? is it really worth giving up the ability to have windows running right on my Lion os? and also about my post with the Air, if i get a macbook air i7 like i listed... it should run even better wiht bootcamp? thanks a lot!!!

If I were you I wouldn't go for MBA. According to below YouTube video, the game surely runs on the latest MBA but at middle settings with 20-30FPS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfQmPi9HmaE

If you want a rich experience with modern 3D games on Apple's notebooks, high end MacBook Pro is the only option.

 

[jlmcclellan]

I have a 2010 Mac Mini and when I'm in bootcamp I can play Skyrim just fine (of course, it's on lowest graphical settings)

2.4GHZ with a 256MB graphics card. Don't remember which one off the top of my head.

 

[Barnzee]

alright so, i have been reading you guys talk about what macbook will and wont work with skyrim but i havent seen my specs up here yet and i have been trying to really get it working well but it's just not going to well...

i have a late 2008 macbook (aluminum) with upgraded specs
8gb ram
500gb HD
parallel 7 with windows 7 home premium running
2.4ghz intel core 2 duo
Nvidia Geforce 9400M-256mb

so guys.... im really like dumfounded at why it's just not running well at all and i put it to the complete most low settings i could and its still just slow...

could it be parallels 7? cause other wise windows 7 works really great i dedicated 3gb of ram like it told me to for windows and idk im just really shocked its this bad...

any tips by anyone?? and settings i should tweek in parallels?? it dosent even say its using the nvidia graphics card in parallel it just said its using the parallels display adaptor card? idk what thats about but

should i just try bootcamp? i really love parallels so much better so any tips would really really be appreciated as i am LOVING the game but cant really play it at all bc its lagging this much!!!

You really need to use bootcamp. Parallels is not for modern gaming.

 

[doh123]

You really need to use bootcamp. Parallels is not for modern gaming.

for Skyrim? I can play near max settings using the hobbyist Cider port from Portingteam.com... I see no reason to use Windows, bootcamp or otherwise.

 

[chaosbunny]

is it really worth giving up the ability to have windows running right on my Lion os? and also about my post with the Air, if i get a macbook air i7 like i listed... it should run even better wiht bootcamp? thanks a lot!!!

Yes use bootcamp, virtualisation is not for gaming.

The air is already a weak machine to play modern games on, after all that's not what it is build for. Of course you can run the occasional game on it, but then you'll want every possible resource for the game.

Which current mba doesn't matter since the gpu is the bottleneck. Buying a mba with gaming in mind is a bad decision. Either buy a 15" mbp or a low end mba AND a gaming pc for the same money.

 

[oxfordguy]

WOW.... sooo im really appreciative of you guy's helping me out! so let me get this straight... if i run bootcamp it will run like how much better with the specs i gave u? is it really worth giving up the ability to have windows running right on my Lion os?

You don't have to "give up" the ability to run Windows within Lion, I'm pretty sure you can just point Parallels to your Bootcamp partition and you can then run that instance of Windows from within Mac OS X when you want to (e.g. when wanting to run Windows programs that aren't demanding games), but for running games you should boot into WIndows directly. This way you don't need to have more than one Windows installation present. You can certainly do this in VMWare Fusion.

 

[Huntn]

WOW.... sooo im really appreciative of you guy's helping me out! so let me get this straight... if i run bootcamp it will run like how much better with the specs i gave u? is it really worth giving up the ability to have windows running right on my Lion os? and also about my post with the Air, if i get a macbook air i7 like i listed... it should run even better wiht bootcamp? thanks a lot!!!

My understanding is that the Air, performance wise is along the lines of a MacBook which will play casual games just fine. It is the AAA games you need to worry about. Is Skyrim AAA? Maybe. My guess is you'll be able to play it on lower settings, but if I was in your shoes and had my heart set on Skyrim, I'd look a report from someone all ready doing this on an Air. Get a Frames report. Maybe someone will speak up here. I think it's all ready been established that the game does not need 512GB VRAM (Ram on the card) to run.

 

[solidsnake32292]

My understanding is that the Air, performance wise is along the lines of a MacBook which will play casual games just fine. It is the AAA games you need to worry about. Is Skyrim AAA? Maybe. My guess is you'll be able to play it on lower settings, but if I was in your shoes and had my heart set on Skyrim, I'd look a report from someone all ready doing this on an Air. Get a Frames report. Maybe someone will speak up here. I think it's all ready been established that the game does not need 512GB VRAM (Ram on the card) to run.

right but thats what im not understanding.... the air has an i7 proccessor and 4gb of ram i dont get it is it only the graphics card that matters in big games like skyrim? like why is the air that has such a great proccessor not capable of running it on medium settings or higher? i just dont get it

 

[mbraithwaite91]

Hi guys, I'm trying to run skyrim through bootcamp but it's unplayably slow.
I have the 2010 iMac 27" and running Lion. I don't know a whole lot about this area of computers, what can I do to make this game run smoothly?

Here's the specs I found online:
Display
Diagonal screen size 27 inch
Natural resolution (max) 2560 x 1440 pixels
Drives
Primary hard drive 1000 GB
Optical drive DVD-RW
General
Dimensions (H x W x D) 517 x 650 x 207 mm
Weight 13.8 kg
Memory
Amt of RAM 4GB
RAM type DDR3-1333
Processor
Processor Intel Core i5
Processor speed 2.8 GHz

 

[JackAxe]

Hi guys, I'm trying to run skyrim through bootcamp but it's unplayably slow.
I have the 2010 iMac 27" and running Lion. I don't know a whole lot about this area of computers, what can I do to make this game run smoothly?

Here's the specs I found online:
Display
Diagonal screen size 27 inch
Natural resolution (max) 2560 x 1440 pixels
Drives
Primary hard drive 1000 GB
Optical drive DVD-RW
General
Dimensions (H x W x D) 517 x 650 x 207 mm
Weight 13.8 kg
Memory
Amt of RAM 4GB
RAM type DDR3-1333
Processor
Processor Intel Core i5
Processor speed 2.8 GHz

Try the low option under settings and give that a go. If it's good, then you can try bumping up the settings. If that doesn't cut it, you're going to have to lower your resolution below native.

 

[Rodus]

Hi guys, I'm trying to run skyrim through bootcamp but it's unplayably slow.
I have the 2010 iMac 27" and running Lion. I don't know a whole lot about this area of computers, what can I do to make this game run smoothly?

Here's the specs I found online:
Display
Diagonal screen size 27 inch
Natural resolution (max) 2560 x 1440 pixels
Drives
Primary hard drive 1000 GB
Optical drive DVD-RW
General
Dimensions (H x W x D) 517 x 650 x 207 mm
Weight 13.8 kg
Memory
Amt of RAM 4GB
RAM type DDR3-1333
Processor
Processor Intel Core i5
Processor speed 2.8 GHz

Make sure you are running the latest ATI drivers, Catalyst ver 11.11

 

[Akack]

Try the low option under settings and give that a go. If it's good, then you can try bumping up the settings. If that doesn't cut it, you're going to have to lower your resolution below native.

This. Either lower the settings or not play in native resolution.

 

[doh123]

Natural resolution (max) 2560 x 1440 pixels

Thats insanely tough on the computer... and a major cause of slow down. try lowering it to something easier to handle... at least try 1920x1200, which is still higher than 1080p... if not lower. I like all the graphic details turned up at lower resolutions over high resolution with all the graphics details turned down.

 

[Huntn]

right but thats what im not understanding.... the air has an i7 proccessor and 4gb of ram i dont get it is it only the graphics card that matters in big games like skyrim? like why is the air that has such a great proccessor not capable of running it on medium settings or higher? i just dont get it

I think the Air will run Skyrim. I just don't know what kind of performance you'll get or what kind of graphic settings it can handle. Maybe it will run on medium settings, I would not guess about this though. A Skyrim demo would be wonderful for someone in your situation, but I don't know if one exists.

I'm not an expert, far from it. My crude explanation is you have to have something to push all the pixels through that the game is demanding. I do know that a dedicated graphic card, with it's own VRAM is much better than an integrated card, integrated into the mother board, which usually shares system RAM, and has less capabilities than a dedicated card. There could also be shader issue support. Shaders are a graphic standard. My understanding is that on integrated cards, shader support lags.

 

[ujupanti]

what should i go for

hi guys,

I really hope to run Skyrim on my 27" iMac. Here's the specs:
Processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB

What kind of settings can I play with, for smooth gameplay.
I also have a PS3 but I really dislike playing FPS with a controller..

I kinda regret getting Witcher 2 because I can only play in my iMac smoothly with 1280*800 with low settings and it's really pixelated

 

[Rodus]

hi guys,

I really hope to run Skyrim on my 27" iMac. Here's the specs:
Processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB

What kind of settings can I play with, for smooth gameplay.
I also have a PS3 but I really dislike playing FPS with a controller..

I kinda regret getting Witcher 2 because I can only play in my iMac smoothly with 1280*800 with low settings and it's really pixelated

2560x1440 with medium/high settings, read the whole thread for more info.

right but thats what im not understanding.... the air has an i7 proccessor and 4gb of ram i dont get it is it only the graphics card that matters in big games like skyrim? like why is the air that has such a great proccessor not capable of running it on medium settings or higher? i just dont get it

Skyrim is heavily CPU bound, you need a high clockspeed dual core or a quad coupled with a reasonable graphics card to get decent frame rates with reasonable settings. The i7 in the Air is a low clockspeed dual core processor coupled with a graphics card that is pretty crap. Skyrim may run but it won't run well.
If you mainly use your machine for gaming then build a Windows gaming rig or buy a console but certainly not an Air.

 

[MRU]

Running at Ultra, with 1920x1080 FXAA, water reflections all turned on.
Smooth as butter and oh so pretty...

2008 MacPro 8core 2.8ghz, 16gb ram, GTX285...