this be the first hardware upgrade I have do for my computer , this and a 600w psu I pick up to run the card with . I have a phenom ii x6 CPU 2.6 GHz . I expect Skyrim to only run at about high and it run ultra with a average of 55-65fp outside . in building , usually 110fps !! dungeon be about 35-45fp . the lowest I get be in town at about 25fp , but only for a few seconds , it will bounce right back up to 60 and it do not make the game unplayable , its really great . I install 2k resolution and add a lot of additional graphic mod to Skyrim , as well as set aa and af to max . I have hear the 680 be not much better and the 690 be overkill . so this card be one of the best deal you can get as of 2012 . the only way I could make it better be improve my CPU and obviously if you be a high roller with multiple monitor and a need for speed , you can SLI -lrb- something I would not recommend since it would only give minimal improvement for $ 400 more . -rrb- its a great card ! sleek , its giant compare to my other one , but even after hour of play the card only reach 67c , I do not have it oc would and it run everything I have throw at it - even Minecraft .