I too have this same issue. Skyrim runs fine for about 10 minutes, then I notice lag, looking around the FPS drops, stutters, and sometimes goes away when I look in another direction, then lags and stutters. On an AMD "Bulldozer" rig it shouldn't lag like this, this rig far exceeds the recommended requirements. Skyrim lags at every setting other than low, something I would expect from my old laptop, but not this rig. System specifications: Skyrim version 1.8, (Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn) AMD FX-8150 8 core processor @ 3.61ghz (7.7 score in Windows 7) 16gb G.Skill Sniper DDR32133/PC3-17000 RAM (7.7 score in Windows 7) nVidia geForce GTX 560TI (True nVidia card) (7.8 score in Windows 7) Windows 7 Ultimate X64 ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard Corsair H100 water cooling system (processor runs at 40-43 degrees celsius, motherboard runs at 43-45 degrees celsius while playing Skyrim) nVidia/Realtek High Definition on board audio OS and game hard disks run at 7200rpm (5.9 score in Windows 7) Additional components: Logitech G19 keyboard Logitech G9 (Generation 1) mouse HP 22" LCD panel ROG Connect RC TweakIt (USB motherboard remote control/monitoring) avast! Antivirus The only other game that has issues with sudden laggy performance and a 95% FPS drop is Second Life when facing East and South on the grid. Also happening at the same time as Skyrim's performance issues.