Will The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim System Requirements Melt Your PC?

Bethesda Softworks revealed the system requirements for the PC version of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim today. The good news is that many gamers should have a system capable of slaying dragons in the frozen north.

Minimum Specs

  • Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
  • Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
  • 2GB System RAM
  • 6GB free HDD Space
  • Direct X 9 compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
  • DirectX compatible sound card
  • Internet access for Steam activation

Recommended Specs

  • Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
  • Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
  • 4GB System RAM
  • 6GB free HDD space
  • DirectX 9 compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).
  • DirectX compatible sound card
  • Internet access for Steam activation

"The Min specs get you playing,. The recommended specs let you play on High, not on Ultra. You'll want beefier rig for that," explained Bethesda vice prez of PR and marketing Pete Hines via Twitter.

For what it's worth, the minimum specs for Skyrim are actually gentler than the specs for Battlefield 3 or Batman: Arkham City. For starters, Skyrim takes up less than half as much hard drive space. It doesn't require as beefy of a processor, either.

Skyrim will debut on November 11th on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Pete Haas

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.