would three 3850's be enough?

Adam Vinski

Adam Vinski

Geek Trainee
I'm building a new rig for the first time in a few years to play Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when it comes out in November. Max settings is my goal :) (i know, i know, the system req. aren't even released but just picture a stunning game with an efficient, modern game engine. (takes advantage of Multi GPU)

Mobo - Gigabyte AM3+ 990FX (PCIe x16 slots 2, PCIe x16 slots running at x8 2)
CPU - AM3 Phenom x6 1100t
Memory - GSkill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) 1866Mhz**
SDD - OCZ SATA III 120GB (550MB/s read)
Video - 3xSapphire HD 3850 1GB GDDR3****
PSU - RAIDMAX 850Watt ATX12V v2.3

**someday get am3+ but its not in the budget now, and getting 16GB ram is an option if it will make the difference to get max settings.
****The reason for the kindof outdated Video cards is because my dad's work is getting all new cards for they're 8 rack servers and they have no need for the old 3850's.

My case has great air flow and i plan to overclock as much as itll go and still run stable. wish i had water-cooling but sold what i had on my old rig a year ago to a friend as a kit and again this is a budget build.ive heard the stock cooler on 3850's can handle overclocking to 3870 speeds. Also the 1GB model was almost overkill for its time but it does help with high resolutions.

*******Any Idea if these specs should be able to run it?? 1920x1080 max settings*******
Thanks everyone!!!

P.S. small chance i could get a fourth 3850 if you think that would make a difference, but my dad has a couple nerd coworkers that may snatch the rest of the leftovers haha
 
so i should get a fourth? hahaha didnt exactly make me confident. at lease it has a history of playing Elder Scrolls games well. I couldnt find any mention of the Sapphire 1GB card specifically though. kinda rare i guess. i own two 9800GT 512MB, should i shell out some more money and get another one or two of those for the new rig?
 
I have experience troubleshooting pc's and building them but I am new to sli/crossfire. Would it be possible to have two MSI 9800gt 512mb cards and as a third card for sli have an MSI 9800gx2 1gb? I could set them all to the same clock speed and it would be like quad sli right?
 
i'm not too sure about what will work best for you concerning the game played at max settings.
since you have access to many 3850's you might try it anyhow and see how the results come out.
just know that benchmarks don't necessarily tell you much that is until you play the games.
i have my doubts, but would be interesting to know if this works out for you.
 
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