(Part 2) Best products from r/skyrim

Alright, so I looked up your computer online. I was bored, and actually enjoy trying to squeeze as much as I can from old motherboards to extend their lives (tossing one of those sometimes feels like getting rid of an old friend...). Also, just to add some credibility to myself, I'm a Newegg Eggxpert reviewer under the alais Flynn

Here's the minimum requirements for Skyrim:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:System_Requirements

Here's the detailed specs of your motherboard (MB):

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01077676&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en#N116

If you've never toyed around inside a computer before, I recommend watching these before you commit to buying anything:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok

Working inside a computer is surprisingly easy, and I feel is a skill almost everyone should try to develop.

So. If you want to try to squeeze some more performance out of your computer, the first thing you'll need to upgrade is your power supply (PSU). Unfortunately, your computer came with only a 250W PSU. According to Newegg's Wattage Calculator, that PSU is actually just under what they recommend for your machine. If you add any additional parts to it, you're likely going to start running into problems of random shutdowns / blue screen crashes.

I'd recommend you get this PSU, priced at $26.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817494012

The next thing you should try to upgrade is your processor, or CPU. Unfortunately for you, the CPU socket on your motherboard is AM2, and manufacturers stopped making CPUs for that socket a long time ago. Fortunately for you, there's an upgrade you can try to get from Amazon, priced at $49.95:

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Dual-Core-Processor-Socket/dp/B000MNA082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394720538&sr=8-1&keywords=athlon+x2+5600

This is the absolute best CPU you can put in your MB. It's also a CPU that should be able to run most games these days (albeit at lowered settings). There seems to be only one left, so keep that in mind as you're trying to decide if you want to do this. When installing this, you'll also need to apply some thermal paste to it before putting the heat sink back on. Here's some that would serve your purposes nicely, priced at $2.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100301

The last vital component you'll need to pick up is a graphics card, or GPU. To be honest, if you don't have enough cash to drop at least $70 to upgrade your GPU, I wouldn't even bother; save up and buy all new components or a new computer. A GPU that would be complimented by and complement your CPU nicely is this, priced at $69.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161397

All of these should allow you to be able to play Skyrim, perhaps even with a little bit of the eye candy turned on. This would run you about $160ish, when taking shipping into account. But there's one more upgrade you may want to consider.

Your memory, or RAM. Your computer currently has 2Gb of PC2-5300 DDR2 667 RAM. Your MB has 4 slots for RAM sticks. If I had to venture a guess, I'm willing to bet all 4 of them are full with 512Mb sticks, which means the best bang-for-your-buck upgrade would be swapping out two of those with these, priced at $42.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

However, if only two slots are full, that means you should fill up the other two with these, priced at $37.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146524

But honestly, if you have 4 sticks of 512Mb RAM, my genuine recommendation would be to just get rid of all of them and replace them with these, priced at $59.99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146693

This is the absolute best RAM you can put in your MB. Also, you said your computer is 32bit, which means that 4Gb of RAM is the most amount you can use; anything more than 4Gb is wasted and unusable.

So, for about $160ish, you can get your computer to be able to play Skyrim, and there's some performance mods out there to help ensure that it's running smoothly. For about $210, you can max out your computer's performance and it should treat you pretty well for about the next year or two, being able to play new games at minimum settings.

But on the flip side, $210 is about halfway there to being able to buy a modern PC...

Well, I should have done my research a little better. I'm not very happy with my game pad. I did pay $15 but since then the price increased to $18. https://www.amazon.com/Matricom-Wireless-Rechargeable-Bluetooth-Compatible/dp/B015YF3YZ8

This game pad is probably better suited for Android. I had to use special software to use it in morrowind.. And even now, button presses do two different things. So I don't recommend it.

I have a 360 controller that works well but requires a receiver plugged in. The Xbox one controller works perfectly with Bluetooth and w10.. It costs a bit more. I also would love a $50 steam controller because it has mouse emulation and is specially suited and built for PC games. Xpadder and an Xbox controller can probably do mouse emulation also. If you need help with configuration let me know. I use some weird program for my cheap gamepad. And it's not enough, I need to fix it more.

I ordered my friend a $20 bluetooth keyboard with trackpad. He's going to use a w10 tablet as a htpc and I think this is perfect for it. Just waiting on micro HDMI cable.

A side use.. I want to practice and learn coding. I had a keyboard case that fits 7/8 inch tablets and plugs right in to micro USB. When I find it, I will have this tablet set up like a laptop to learn coding.

Here are a few books worthing looking at if you really want to get into this subject:

• Beowulf - The great Old English epic, I'm a particular fan of the translation I have linked as it is a bilingual edition that also contains solid modern English verse.
  
  
• The Heimskringla - Snorri Sturluson, one of the best known Norse chroniclers wrote this history of the Norse kings. An ok online translation can be found here.
  
  
• The Vinland Sagas - Less myth more history (in the sense that Heroditus or Livy is history, rather than a modern academic text), this book recounts the discovery of North America by Erik the Red and his son, Leif.
  
  In addition, there are some modern fictional works which have a good feel about them:
  
  
• For films, I'd recommend The Vikings for a good classic film and The Thirteenth Warrior as a modern one I liked. Additionally, you can look through the big list of viking films here.
  
  
• For an enjoyable light read, the manga Vinland Saga is well worth having a look at.

You use one of these (download the TIFF file) and a compass. There are better ones out there (this is a really good one of the same location), but the USGS map does the job just fine. See the Wikipedia page on topo maps. It allows you to determine location (by finding the direction of multiple known locations, like radio antennas, buildings, or mountains, and tracing them back to their intersection) and terrain (how steep inclines are, water, elevation, the easiest routes, etc), in addition to the usual roads, buildings, etc.

Topo maps are a ton of fun to use, especially if you have to figure out exactly where you are (perhaps this could be implemented in a game by only displaying the correct quadrangle (or an equivalent) and it requires you to figure it out for yourself. I really want to play an ES game with a mod that does this now, I might have to start learning how to do it (and figuring out how to make the required maps).

The 3D map (I haven't seen it in use) sounds like it's just a more user-friendly (though less directly informative) way of doing the same thing as a topo map. Topo maps are fun, and not too difficult to learn, but few people know how to read them, and fewer know how to use them properly; to be fair, it's no longer a required skill given the pervasiveness of GPS and turn-by-turn directions (which I have no problem using), but it's invaluable if you ever need it, and helpful even when you don't.

Granted, I've never made the mead in the official cookbook, but my husband and I make a batch of mead every fall. We start with apple cider and honey instead of the suggest water and honey. This is called a melomel, or apple mead, and it's not entirely necessary, we just like it more that way. And for your first tries, you don't have to get super fancy brewer's yeast. We just use baker's yeast from the grocery store to keep our costs down. It's not the best quality, but the first few batches are never going to be perfect, and it's better to make the early mistakes on less-expensive ingredients.

For the actual brewing, I highly recommend getting a bubble airlock for your carboy. It lets the carboy release gases, so you don't have to worry about potential explosions, but also doesn't let in flies and other pests that are attracted to the smell of said gases. Also! Once it's been fermented and strained, you can add extra spices and things to flavor it. We usually add a bit of brown sugar (I have a sweet tooth) and usually a tiny bit of extra cinnamon so that flavor stands out a bit more with the apple.

Last, when it's all finished, make sure you store your mead in the fridge or other likewise cold space. No matter how well you strained your mead, there will always be yeast left in it, and those little buggers can and will start being active again if left at room temperature. That can lead to a build-up of gas and a taste you may not enjoy.

Just giving a glance at the full playlist, I can see a couple of one-off filler episodes. I can also understand the need to expand to doing a genre episode, like MMO, instead of just sticking to a single company.

This kind of content in general is the stuff I love. The recent Game Informer has something like a 10 page article on Ubisoft that is absolutely great. One of my favorite books is still The Ultimate History of Video Games

I think I could literally watch 100 hours of content just like "All Your History".

Yeah, I remember playing the first time. For some reason, I'd completely forgotten that it was a curated gaming experience. I wandered off the track before I even got to the first set of standing stones, ran into bandits, ran away from bandits, fell in the river, got chased by a dragon, all before getting to the first town. It was glorious. I recommend drinking too much when you get to the first big city, if you really want a mind-fuck. :-) Lots of fun.

FWIW, the biggest thing you'll be tempted to look up is alchemy recipies. Let me assure you that the completely common flowers and mushrooms you come across are capable of making quite useful potions as well as very valuable potions. Feel free to experiment with the dozens of mountain flowers and mushrooms you'll pick up before you even meet someone who isn't trying to kill you. :-) The way alchemy works is this: You can mix 2 or three ingredients together. Each ingredient has four magical properties. If you mix two that have the same property, that potion will have that property. If you mix wheat and blisterwort, they both have healing (note: not a spoiler ;-), so you get a healing potion. If you mix a third thing, and it shares a property with wheat or with blisterwort, then the potion will have healing and that third property. So you can always make a healing potion and also see if a new ingredient matches something wheat or blisterwort does. So other than actually eating the stuff without mixing it, that's how you're supposed to discover new things without ever making a potion that doesn't work.

Ask anyone here, and they'll tell you they played it a bunch of times, with different styles and personalities and races and goals. Even if you're disappointed you fucked up your character to no end, you can replay it as someone entirely different. There are people on youtube who have played it for 8000 hours still finding fun and innovative challenges without any mods at all. (My favorite is "Major Slack." Once you kill your first dragon, it's safe to watch the first video of each of his playlists to see his challenges for pure mage, pure warrior, pure archer, pure thief, etc etc etc. Lots of fun ideas.)

As for mods, simple graphical improvements (SMIM, Realistic Overhaul, Night Skies, extra road signs, road lanterns, better world map, etc) won't change the experience but will make it better. You can also add entirely new areas (Forgotten City) or entirely new characters (Lucien, Inigo) to spice it up. But try a game with none of that until you feel like you're missing something, before you bother starting to add stuff.

Also, there are some things where you simply can't experience the entire thing on the first play through. For example, as you already know, there are storm cloaks and imperials. Well, you can't be both, so if you want to see how it goes, you need to do that at least twice. And there are several more things like that. Save them, or kill them? Join them, or fight them?

But looking up the answers? Bah! Don't spoil the glory for yourself.

But do keep notes. :-) One thing I'll say is that some character will ask you to go fetch for him his X that got stolen and taken to Y. And your quest journal will say "Return his X." And you'll have no idea wtf you're supposed to do. So when you get a quest like that, jot a note in your diary.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006T92BTO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B075VNFZN2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00

It would be passable. Low graphics is pretty bad, but medium is alright. High is ideal. Ultra is perfect.

If you want Ultra settings for $150, read below. If you don't, then just skip all of this.

If you open up the side of your PC (the panel should come off via a screw in the back or some such, very easy), you can see that you should have a PCI-E x16 slot available or with a card already in it. You should be seeing something similar to this.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/765/c03348809.jpg

The long black slot above the three smaller black slots in the bottom left section of the motherboard is the one you want.

Now, if you buy this card...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZGIUK/sr=1-1/qid=1372818656/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1372818656&seller=&sr=1-1

It will plug into that long black slot. Connect your monitors to the new ports that will now be at the back of your computer and start your computer back up (since it will be off when plugging in the new card). It's all pretty self explanatory. After that, you're going to want to use the CD that came with it to install the drivers to make it work right.

You can now play Skyrim on the highest settings possible, with room to spare.

Well i found some "gold" if you wanted to do that.

Can't find VERY cheap goblets, but these are pretty nice. You always have the option of decorating them yourselves, but i think something like that would do.

EDIT: Found some cheaper and better looking ones.

Also you could make up signs for when people come into the store. Just like the signs in Oblivion. Just get a bit of old wood, or even cardboard really. And write/chisel Skyrim on it, with the arrow pointing to the store.

Boy am I glad you asked.

install the following mods

--requiem

--no gps //works-ish

--frostfall

--hunterborn

--immersiveFP

--realistic needs and diseases

--wet and cold

--animations

--better quest objectives

--enhanced character edit

--climates of tamriel

--hothtropper's armor pack

--Better Fast Travel

Then disable
compass -- bShowCompass=0
crosshairs -- bCrosshairEnabled=0
floating quest objectives -- bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=0

in your SkyrimPrefs.init (typically in documents/my games/skyrim)

Turn off all in game music. (in game->esc->settings->audio)

Download this image
Go to office depot or somewhere and have it printed. On a giant piece of paper.
Get a quill
Get an other weathered looking journal




Start a new game.

AS SOON AS YOU LEAVE THE CAVE, you'll be told to go to river wood/dragons reach. DONT GO!

Open your journal and disable the main story quest. Instead of turning right and traveling downstream, turn left.

Requiem makes things super friggin hard, mostly because enemies are NOT set to your level. A werewolf is a werewolf, even at level 1, so you can definitely find yourself in an un-winnable fight. Setting the difficulty to easy doesn't do anything.

So if you want a more relaxing experience, try this.

Pick three skills, say one-handed, illusion, and speech craft. (Try to pick three or four unrelated skills to make things interesting. Weapons, magic, non-combat is usually pretty fun). Open the console and type

"Player.advskill illusion 1000"

"Player.advskill speech craft 1000"

"Player.advskill one-handed 1000"


Until you've reached say level 15. Level up and pick your perks. Regardless of what you picked, get the first perk in the lock-picking and speech craft skill tree. Without them, you'll get really raw deals at shop AND you won't be able to pick locks. Like, any lock. Ever.



And here are your game play rules.

--Don't use your quest log (j), write things down IRL.

--Don't look at your in-game world or local map. Use your printed map.

--Take notes. Potion recipes, ingredient locations, enemy weaknesses.


You can get surprisingly far without being told where to go and what to do. Quest dialogue and journals are usually descriptive enough, but you have to pay actual attention. If you see a dead adventurer and find a journal or book on him, read it. 100% of it. Even if it's not a quest starter, take notes. You'd be surprised how big and connected the skyrim world is. If you play to win, you'll glance over the depth of the world. Sure, you can beat the game is like, 6 hours if you fast travel and glitch your way through fights on easy. But why would you want to?

That CPU doesn't look very good honestly, even a new cheap dual-core Intel Pentium seems to be around 25% better http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-G4560-vs-AMD-FX-6300/3892vs1555

The 1050 Ti is quite similar to the GTX 960, maybe even a bit slower. But it has 4GB VRAM which isn't bad but there's also a 4GB version of the 960. I believe 1050 Ti is a bit cheaper than 960 though.

I think this one (found in similar items) would offer a thousand times more value for money and it's only a bit more expensive. The i5-7400 is much better than the FX-6300 and RX 480 4GB is pretty much equivalent to the GTX 1060 3GB.

edit: In other words the last one has much better GPU than the 960 or 1050 Ti and the CPU looks pretty decent too (although not as good as my i5-6600) and it's quite new (seems to be 2017).

r/buildapc and r/buildapcforme will help you out a ton. There are tons of redditors whose hobby is to help people in exactly your situation. If you're willing to put in the time to read a bit and maybe watch a youtube tutorial, you can end up with a machine that you can run virtually any game on for years.

If you need a laptop for other reasons (or just prefer the ability to game outside of your room), that's another story. If you're sure you want a laptop, you can get one with very good specs for ~$1000. This one, this one, and this one are all good options: they offer a current-gen CPU, a GTX 1060, 16GB RAM, and numerous other desirable features.

I know it is expensive, but I splurged on one of these to keep my switch running for many hours consecutively.

Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD with 30W Power Delivery Charger, Portable Charger Bundle for iPhone X / 8, Nexus 5X 6P, LG G5 & USB Type-C Laptops (e.g. 2016 MacBook) Power Delivery Support https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZ61PRW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1u.MAbY8S3M8Q

It works great and fits perfectly into my little travel Switch case.

Depends on your home network tbh. If you're on WiFi it'll have more latency (input delay) than wired, but if you wanted to get kind of wired without rewiring your house you could use a solution like Powerline. Here's a fairly decent overview and review of the Steam Link.

If you were interested in switching to PC btw, you can check out subreddits like /r/buildapc for help, and AMD have a new graphics card coming out at the end of the month which looks to be a beast at a $199 price point.

Ah you mean TV & Movie AI :) I'm not sure if we'll ever get there, but superintelligent AI is reckoned to be only a short hop away from General Purpose AI. There are a series of blog posts on waitbutwhy.com which are the most cogent I've ever seen or read on the subject. A long read, but a must read if you're at all interested in the state of the art.

However, in one of the posts you'll find the results of a survey of domain experts, about when AI will happen, probabilistically. From Nick Bostrom an autodidact that wrote Superintelligence Also a leading thinker about AI at Oxford university. The earliest estimate of true AI is 2025, (25%) then 2040, (50%) and 2060, (75%) now those percentages are from memory but the years should be right. Go check the post. But that's allegedly what AI experts thought when asked at an AI conference.

Google's deepmind are essentially running "an Apollo program for AI" Their words, and have about 600 academics on staff full time working on the issues. They already beat the best human player at Go, and until they did that it was an event thought to be 10 years away. This is coming, it's just a matter of when.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004HYK8Y8/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

There's some that are $25ish bucks here. You can also sign up for whats called Amazon Prime, it's free and it gives you free shipping for some items

You can get the PS3 version from amazon.co.jp here.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-%E8%BC%B8%E5%85%A5%E7%89%88/dp/B004HYK8Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320115345&sr=8-1

It's through a third party vendor (Games Oasis). It says "sold in the US on 11/11/11", but no guarantee of the delivery date. I need the PC version,though...