How much RAM needed to play Skyrim?

[jester0608]

Not sure if anyone here runs Skyrim on their PC but As the title says, How much RAM would I need to have in order to play The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with NO lag, freezing, lag spikes, etc ?

Updated my System Specs for reference. And I am planning to add more RAM, I don't know how much I should get though.

 

[DustSailor]

Jester, welcome to Sevenforums!

4GB would be plenty, but 3 should be fine also. The game will concentrate mostly on your GPU's capability

 

[jester0608]

Thanks! How do I check GPU?
Not sure if you're referring to my graphics card or not but mine is an ASUS GeForce GT220 1GB
is it good enough to run the game?

 

[Legaia]

Sounds like the graphic card will be an issue for you. A GT220 is not much power at all compared to the middle preformance cards of todays standards.

 

[jester0608]

Sounds like the graphic card will be an issue for you. A GT220 is not much power at all compared to the middle preformance cards of todays standards.

Oh I see. Hmm, another thing I wanted to point out was that my VGA Driver came with a program called GamerOSD. I haven't tried it yet but apparently it does instant overclocking to adjust the GPU Clock while the game is running. Would this help my cause in any way?

 

[Gromit1710]

Sounds like the graphic card will be an issue for you. A GT220 is not much power at all compared to the middle preformance cards of todays standards.

Oh I see. Hmm, another thing I wanted to point out was that my VGA Driver came with a program called GamerOSD. I haven't tried it yet but apparently it does instant overclocking to adjust the GPU Clock while the game is running. Would this help my cause in any way?

Hi Jester0608,

I wouldn't recommend using the GamerOSD with the Graphics card (GPU) that you have. Your card isn't designed for overclocking and might overheat.

A GT220 is an older card that was released for budget consumers. It doesn't mean that it is a bad card, it just means that you should run games carefully. Do this by starting out with all of the graphics settings turned down as low as they can go. If you have a decent frame rate and it doesn't stutter or crash, try turning things up slowly to find out just how much your card can handle.

Don't push a card like yours too hard for too long. You might overheat it and cause problems.

 

[Wishmaster]

The GPU is a bit weak, but also your CPU may be a issue for Skyrim as well. Its rather CPU intensive for shadows.
Thats not saying it will not run it, but do not expect to have shadows or other settings very high.
You may only be able to run the game at low settings.

Even at that with 1GB RAM, Im afraid to say Skyrim may be too much game for the current PC.


For reference, heres the required specs:




Minimum:

• OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
• Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
• Memory: 2GB System RAM

Recommended:

• Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
• Memory: 4GB System RAM
• Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher, ATI 4890 or higher)

As with any game, the closer to recommended you are the better.