Not that I'd ever trust ZDNet with games (Most ZDNet articles center around Angry Birds if they mention games at all), but looks like a decent setup for the price.
When it comes to drives, though - a game loads into memory; it doesn't stick around on the drive. You'll get shorter loading screens with SSD, but it won't run any faster once loaded. Especially not with 16 GB of memory, as you are suggesting.
I don't know what loading system Skyrim has, but in nearly all cases games will pre-load the level before you play it, so gameplay and framerate aren't affected at all by the speed (or lack thereof) of the drive.
If Skyrim has loading screens, then having an SSD will make the loading sections shorter, but still won't affect your framerate once the level has loaded.
The only game I know of that will truly get a better framerate with an SSD drive is Minecraft, because it is constantly loading/unloading the world as you move around in it. Very few games work this way, however.
‘Your mission, should you decided to accept it, is to build a PC capable of running the new ’Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘ game at ‘High Quality’ graphics setting or better for under $1,000.’
Seems my readers love the new ’Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ game a lot. I’ve had more questions about building new PCs and upgrading old ones to run this game than I have had for Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 combined. It seems like it’s a popular game, and one that I suspect will be the game of the year.
Note: This PC would work just as well for Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 too!
OK then, here goes …
Note: As usual, I won’t be recommending a case or peripherals … there are too many possibilities, and personal choice/tastes are far too varied.
Looking for a review of ’Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘? There’s a good one over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Processor
There’s a temptation here to go for top-end, but it’s unnecessary. There’s also a temptation to go with the latest release over the tried-and-tested, which I think is a mistake.
Related: How to: Stress test your new PC to shake out any faults
With that in mind I’d going for the AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition. Not the latest or greatest, but it’s a tried-and-tested piece of silicon that;ll give you 3.5GHz out of the box and up to 4.0 to 4.2GHz if you’re happy overclocking it.
Note: If you’re planning to overclock, you’ll need to replace the stock cooler with something better.
The video below is of the AMD Phenom II X4 955 being overclocked to 7GHz. Don’t try this at home!
Price: $140
Motherboard
I don’t believe is spending too much on a motherboard, but i do think that it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the future. This is why I’ve gone for the ASUS M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990X board featuring a UEFI BIOS and 2 x USB 3.0 ports.
Nice, solid, reliable board with lots of features.
Price: $150
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