Rebuilding a not-so-old rig for modding Skyrim SE further!

ElderlyJunior810 · September 21, 2019

PS: So this is another topic related to my other post, but this one is focused more into the technical side of my new rig..

First of all, the only reason why I am willing to spend so much money on a gaming pc was solely, I repeat, solely due to modding Skyrim to the pinnacle! While I do play many other games, modding Skyrim was like a compulsive behavior for me. I really want to see how far the game could go with the power of the modding community that is still alive and kicking even after 9 years of its release (today). In addition, all those high quality mods would be a waste if not enjoyed to the fullest of their potential!

Therefore, this arduous journey of saving money just to enjoy an ultra-modded Skyrim began.

By the way, this is the meaning behind the color coding below:

----------------

PC PARTS

----------------

Blue: Dirt cheap! (USD$49.00 below)

Green: Cheap! (USD$99.00 below)

Yellow: A little expensive! (USD$149.00 below)

Red: Expensive! (USD$199.00 below)

Purple: Very Expensive! (USD$200.00 above)

-------------

TOTAL COST

-------------

Blue: Dirt cheap! (USD$399.00 below)

Green: Cheap! (USD$699.00 below)

Yellow: A little expensive! (USD$999.00 below)

Red: Expensive! (USD$1,399.00 below)

Purple: Very Expensive! (USD$1,699.00 above)

==========

OLD SYSTEM SPECS

==========

Motherboard: ASUS P8B75 M/CSM (ATX) [LGA-1155] ^{= USD$58.00}

Case: COOLER MASTER - MASTERBOX PRO 5 RGB ^{= USD$82.00}

CPU: i7-3770 (non-K) turbo'd to 3.8Ghz all the time from the default 3.2Ghz. ^{= USD$105.00}

Cooler: ALSEYE ST-90 (6 Heat pipes with radiator, 2 fans at 90x90x25mm + RGB, max 2000RPM) ^{= USD$23.00}

RAM: 1600Mhz 8GB x 2 (16GB total) Atermiter brand from Aliexpress with CL 11\11\9 (so it says..) ^{= USD$53.00}

OS: Windows 8.1 installed on a 2TB SATA HDD (Seagate Baracuda) 7200RPM with 6Gb/s interface rate. ^{= USD$69.00}

GPU: ZOTAC GTX 1060 (6GB of VRAM)^{= USD$202.00}

PSU: EVGA 500W2 (non-modular) ^{= USD$38.00}

Total cost: USD$630

Current usage: about 5 months now (still new and in excellent condition, my first build too!)

==========

NEW SYSTEM SPECS

==========

Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z390 M (ATX) [LGA-1151] ^{= USD$145.00}

Case: Same as old specs (reused)

CPU: i7-8700 (non-K) {I planned to turbo it all the way to 4.6Ghz} ^{= USD$363.00}

Cooler: Same as old specs (reused)

RAM: 3200Mhx 8GB x 2 (16GB total) G.SKILL TRIDENT Z (RGB version) ^{= USD$116.00}

OS: Windows 8.1 on a new 480GB M.2 SSD (ADATA XPG SX8200) with 3200/1700MB/s Read/Write speed! ^{= USD$77.00}

GPU: Same as old specs (reused)

PSU: Same as old specs (reused)

Total cost1: USD$701 (new parts only)

Total cost2: USD$1,115 (if including the reused parts)

With all that in the way, next is that I game my modded Skyrim SE on a 1080P (Full HD) 60Hz monitor (because I don't really see the necessity to game an RPG like Skyrim above 60Hz..). Why didn't I get a 1440P monitor? That's because my GPU's VRAM will cry with a mixture of mostly 2K + some 4K mods on a resolution higher than 1080P.

Therefore, here is my current dilemma:

With my current rig, I could maintain about 40fps outdoor and 60fps indoor. Reading through the discussion around the net on how to be able to get beyond 40fps outdoor, is to use 1K texture and don't use ENB (which I will not compromise with, because the point here is to enjoy higher visual fidelity..). Thus, I chose the more painful way, which was to spend more money and rebuild my old rig (parts already purchased, no turning back now..).

By the grace of miracle however, the money I saved was not enough to buy the i7-8700 CPU yet.

Yes, you guys read that right.

And, so I got more time to think things through now. Skyrim SE is fairly an old game despite being somehow remastered for 64bit usage. Accordingly, while evidence of it using more than 1 core are pretty much documented already, the game still relies heavily on the first core for most of the time. Hence, I am now doubting my decision to buy an i7-8700 and go for the i7-9700k instead. The former have a monster hyper-threading capabilities with its 12 threads, while the latter has 2 more cores at a 9% faster single core speed. With how the game works, by logic, the latter should be a better choice. At the same time however, I do usually, stream my gameplay to twitch, which requires hyper-threading to work with only 1fps loss (my current CPU does..).

So to everyone out there with either of these CPUs (or even both..), what is your take on this? (even better if you mod Skyrim as well..)

Secondly, yes the CPU is not the only driving factor for more fps. Faster GPU with more VRAM would definitely increase the fps (possibly even more than a new CPU does..). Back then, my first choice was the GTX 1080Ti because not only was it faster than my current GPU, it also has 11GB of VRAM, insane I must say. However, with the diminishing stocks around the world, I couldn't get a new one easily, thus I decided to just bought my current GPU, which I am happy with, but was entirely mind-blowned that even a 6GB of VRAM was not enough for this game in its fully modded state (this was my first build though, so my underestimation of this game was to blame..). Thus, I would save even more money to buy perhaps, an RTX 2080Ti in the near future, but these current parts that I just bought are my current priority, the GPU will be a headache for next time.

So in the end.. What do you guys think, should I go with the i7-8700 (K or non-K does not matter to me much..) or aim for the i7-9700K instead?

Froody129 · September 21, 2019

I don't have experience modding Skyrim but I would imagine if you're only targeting 60hz your current CPU should be fine. A graphics card upgrade will likely serve the purpose better, would it not?

ElderlyJunior810 · September 22, 2019

8 hours ago, Froody129 said:

I don't have experience modding Skyrim but I would imagine if you're only targeting 60hz your current CPU should be fine. A graphics card upgrade will likely serve the purpose better, would it not?

That's what I thought so at first, however due to ENB, the fps immediately dropped from 50ish fps outdoor to 40fps and sometimes even lower than that. Checking my CPU usage at that moment, it was high but not reaching the max capacity and thats when I realized the computing speed is not fast enough for ENB.

Taking a step forward, I also planned to purchase the VR version of the game in the future, and is also the reason why I planned to completely overhaul my current rig :)

Aravind Raja · October 20, 2019

On 9/21/2019 at 11:05 PM, ElderlyJunior810 said:

PS: So this is another topic related to my other post, but this one is focused more into the technical side of my new rig..

First of all, the only reason why I am willing to spend so much money on a gaming pc was solely, I repeat, solely due to modding Skyrim to the pinnacle! While I do play many other games, modding Skyrim was like a compulsive behavior for me. I really want to see how far the game could go with the power of the modding community that is still alive and kicking even after 9 years of its release (today). In addition, all those high quality mods would be a waste if not enjoyed to the fullest of their potential!

Therefore, this arduous journey of saving money just to enjoy an ultra-modded Skyrim began.

By the way, this is the meaning behind the color coding below:

----------------

PC PARTS

----------------

Blue: Dirt cheap! (USD$49.00 below)

Green: Cheap! (USD$99.00 below)

Yellow: A little expensive! (USD$149.00 below)

Red: Expensive! (USD$199.00 below)

Purple: Very Expensive! (USD$200.00 above)

-------------

TOTAL COST

-------------

Blue: Dirt cheap! (USD$399.00 below)

Green: Cheap! (USD$699.00 below)

Yellow: A little expensive! (USD$999.00 below)

Red: Expensive! (USD$1,399.00 below)

Purple: Very Expensive! (USD$1,699.00 above)

==========

OLD SYSTEM SPECS

==========

Motherboard: ASUS P8B75 M/CSM (ATX) [LGA-1155] ^{= USD$58.00}

Case: COOLER MASTER - MASTERBOX PRO 5 RGB ^{= USD$82.00}

CPU: i7-3770 (non-K) turbo'd to 3.8Ghz all the time from the default 3.2Ghz. ^{= USD$105.00}

Cooler: ALSEYE ST-90 (6 Heat pipes with radiator, 2 fans at 90x90x25mm + RGB, max 2000RPM) ^{= USD$23.00}

RAM: 1600Mhz 8GB x 2 (16GB total) Atermiter brand from Aliexpress with CL 11\11\9 (so it says..) ^{= USD$53.00}

OS: Windows 8.1 installed on a 2TB SATA HDD (Seagate Baracuda) 7200RPM with 6Gb/s interface rate. ^{= USD$69.00}

GPU: ZOTAC GTX 1060 (6GB of VRAM)^{= USD$202.00}

PSU: EVGA 500W2 (non-modular) ^{= USD$38.00}

Total cost: USD$630

Current usage: about 5 months now (still new and in excellent condition, my first build too!)

==========

NEW SYSTEM SPECS

==========

Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z390 M (ATX) [LGA-1151] ^{= USD$145.00}

Case: Same as old specs (reused)

CPU: i7-8700 (non-K) {I planned to turbo it all the way to 4.6Ghz} ^{= USD$363.00}

Cooler: Same as old specs (reused)

RAM: 3200Mhx 8GB x 2 (16GB total) G.SKILL TRIDENT Z (RGB version) ^{= USD$116.00}

OS: Windows 8.1 on a new 480GB M.2 SSD (ADATA XPG SX8200) with 3200/1700MB/s Read/Write speed! ^{= USD$77.00}

GPU: Same as old specs (reused)

PSU: Same as old specs (reused)

Total cost1: USD$701 (new parts only)

Total cost2: USD$1,115 (if including the reused parts)

With all that in the way, next is that I game my modded Skyrim SE on a 1080P (Full HD) 60Hz monitor (because I don't really see the necessity to game an RPG like Skyrim above 60Hz..). Why didn't I get a 1440P monitor? That's because my GPU's VRAM will cry with a mixture of mostly 2K + some 4K mods on a resolution higher than 1080P.

Therefore, here is my current dilemma:

With my current rig, I could maintain about 40fps outdoor and 60fps indoor. Reading through the discussion around the net on how to be able to get beyond 40fps outdoor, is to use 1K texture and don't use ENB (which I will not compromise with, because the point here is to enjoy higher visual fidelity..). Thus, I chose the more painful way, which was to spend more money and rebuild my old rig (parts already purchased, no turning back now..).

By the grace of miracle however, the money I saved was not enough to buy the i7-8700 CPU yet.

Yes, you guys read that right.

And, so I got more time to think things through now. Skyrim SE is fairly an old game despite being somehow remastered for 64bit usage. Accordingly, while evidence of it using more than 1 core are pretty much documented already, the game still relies heavily on the first core for most of the time. Hence, I am now doubting my decision to buy an i7-8700 and go for the i7-9700k instead. The former have a monster hyper-threading capabilities with its 12 threads, while the latter has 2 more cores at a 9% faster single core speed. With how the game works, by logic, the latter should be a better choice. At the same time however, I do usually, stream my gameplay to twitch, which requires hyper-threading to work with only 1fps loss (my current CPU does..).

So to everyone out there with either of these CPUs (or even both..), what is your take on this? (even better if you mod Skyrim as well..)

Secondly, yes the CPU is not the only driving factor for more fps. Faster GPU with more VRAM would definitely increase the fps (possibly even more than a new CPU does..). Back then, my first choice was the GTX 1080Ti because not only was it faster than my current GPU, it also has 11GB of VRAM, insane I must say. However, with the diminishing stocks around the world, I couldn't get a new one easily, thus I decided to just bought my current GPU, which I am happy with, but was entirely mind-blowned that even a 6GB of VRAM was not enough for this game in its fully modded state (this was my first build though, so my underestimation of this game was to blame..). Thus, I would save even more money to buy perhaps, an RTX 2080Ti in the near future, but these current parts that I just bought are my current priority, the GPU will be a headache for next time.

So in the end.. What do you guys think, should I go with the i7-8700 (K or non-K does not matter to me much..) or aim for the i7-9700K instead?