Knowing Your Computer's HardwareEdit
It is essential to know what your hardware is before you can use this page. On Windows systems, the easiest way to identify your video hardware is to run DxDiag, which is short for DirectX diagnostic. To do this:
- On Windows XP, click the Start button on the lower left-hand side of the screen, select the 'Run' option and type in dxdiag, then hit enter.
- On Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, click the Start button and type in dxdiag directly in the search box at the bottom of the start menu that pops up, and hit enter.
- On Windows 8, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select "All Apps" in the lower-right. From there, type "dxdiag" (ignoring the "No apps match your search" message) to search for it. When you've typed the entire word, it'll show up as an app and you can click on it to launch it.
You may be asked if you want to check for digital signatures. You don't need to for this, so click "No". Once you're in DxDiag, on the first screen (System) there will be a box called System Information. Within this box will be your processor and memory information. Under the tab 'Display' will be the information about your video card, in the Device box.
If you are using a GNU/Linux operating system, use the command lshw to view hardware specifications for your machine.
You can also use an external program to find computer details and more accurately determine if your computer is able to run Skyrim. See the External Links section for some such programs.
Officially Recognized SpecificationsEdit
The following represents what Bethesda's officially released specifications for the original 2011 release of Skyrim are, according to BethBlog. It is also important to note that even if a system meets these, it may still have very low performance. According to Pete Hines on Twitter: "The Min specs get you playing. The recommended specs let you play on High, not on Ultra. You'll want [a] beefier rig for that."
RecommendedEdit
- Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
- Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU processor
- 2GB System RAM
- 6GB free HDD (Hard disk drive) space
- DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM: Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon HD 4890 or higher
- DirectX compatible sound card
- Internet access for Steam activation
Minimum System RequirementsEdit
- Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
- Processor: Intel Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor (AMD Sempron @ 2.4 GHz)
- 2GB System RAM
- 6GB free HDD space
- Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
- DirectX compatible sound card
- Internet access for Steam activation
Special Edition Official SpecificationsEdit
The Skyrim Special Edition runs on an updated engine with a host of graphical improvements, and as such requires higher specs. The following are the officially recognized specifications according to Bethesda.net. Notably, it does not run on 32-bit machines like the original release.
RecommendedEdit
- Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit Version)
- Intel i5-2400/AMD FX-8320
- 8GB RAM
- 12GB free HDD space
- NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD R9 290 4GB
Minimum System RequirementsEdit
- Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit Version)
- Intel i5-750/AMD Phenom II X4-945
- 8GB RAM
- 12GB free HDD space
- NVIDIA GTX 470 1GB/AMD HD 7870 2GB
While not officially reported, about 20GB of free HDD space, not 12GB, is required if the 74 Creations offered by the Anniversary Edition upgrade are to be installed.
Console Storage NeedsEdit
- PS4: 20GB (North America), 33GB (Europe)
- Xbox One: 17GB (North America), 25GB (Europe)
- Xbox 360: 8GB (North America), ?GB (Europe)
Unofficial Video Chipsets SpecificationsEdit
The video card market is flooded with cards with various clock speeds and architectures, so making a totally accurate list of all available cards is simply impractical. In order to make this list, several generalizations have been made, and several cards have been omitted for space. Also note that much of this list is user-reported; your experience may vary.
|
Personal ComputerEdit
| Very High / Extremely High | High / Very High | Medium / High | Low / Medium | Very Low / Low | Unplayable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATI / AMD Radeon | |||||
|
RX 480 8GB |
HD6790 1GB |
HD6750 1GB |
HD6450 1GB |
HD4250 512MB |
X700XT 256MB |
| Nvidia GeForce | |||||
|
GTX 1080 8GB |
GTX 550 Ti 1GB |
GT 630 2GB |
GT 520 1GB |
GT 210 512MB |
7300GS 256MB |
| Other | |||||
|
Intel Arc A770 16 GB |
Intel HD 4000 |
Chrome S27 256MB |
|||
Mobile/Laptop PCEdit
| Extreme[note 1] | High[note 2] | Medium / High[note 3] | Medium[note 4] | Medium / Low[note 5] | Low[note 6] | Unplayable[note 7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATI Radeon | ||||||
|
HD 6990M |
HD Mobility 4650 1gb (8GB Ram) HD 7670M |
HD 6850M |
HD 6670M |
HD 6490M DDR3 Version |
HD 6450M |
Xpress X1270 |
| Nvidia GeForce | ||||||
|
GTX 660M |
GT 650M |
GT 555M 2GB |
GT 540M |
GT 630M |
410M |
8200M G |
| Other | ||||||
|
Intel HD 3000 |
Intel HD (800x450) |
|||||
- ^ These cards should max the game at full 1080p without any problems.
- ^ These cards should run Skyrim at high settings, give or take a little depending on the resolution. They will definitely play Skyrim well.
- ^ These cards should be around medium/high settings give or take a little depending on the exact resolution. Some of these cards are showing their age but should still be more than sufficient for Skyrim.
- ^ These cards should be around solid medium settings give or take a little depending on the resolution. These cards should be on par with the console version graphically or even a bit higher.
- ^ These cards should run Skyrim, with the right tweaks you could probably get them to look as good as the console version. The farther you get down the list the closer you are to low end.
- ^ These cards will have trouble running the game, if they run it at all. The game probably won't be very enjoyable on any of these. Try setting the lowest resolution available (800x450 for 16:9) and desktop resolution 800x600 - playable on Celeron 847 and 807, (SandyBridge 1.1GHz dual core and 1,5GHz single core)
- ^ These cards will not run Skyrim, it's time for a new computer.
These are generalizations based on the entire series of cards, single cards can be quite different from the rest of the series.
Source: Unofficial "Will My PC Run Skyrim" Thread #63 w/ hardware guide (original thread may have more information for your specific card)
Operating SystemsEdit
It is recommended that you use Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 to play Skyrim, whether as your native operating system or through dual boot. Wine is a good method for running Skyrim on other operating systems. Because Skyrim is very CPU-intensive, using a virtual machine or emulation will give you drastically reduced performance, bringing an otherwise-powerful system to its knees. It is recommended that Mac OS X users use Boot Camp, as it will allow them to use Windows natively on their computer, or Wine; using Parallels or VMware Fusion will likely give you significantly reduced performance. Linux users may have luck with Wine, with potentially better performance; more information can be found here.
External LinksEdit
- CPUID — just click on "Download Latest Version" in the top-left corner of the page. Instructions are provided on the web page.
- Can You Run it? — A Java-based tool that will analyze your hardware to determine if you can run a wide variety of games, including Skyrim.
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