Absurd slowdowns on foggy days

[Qwaxalot]

I couldn't find it under dxdiag, but the menu that leads to it pops right up with Windows Key + Pause Break.

 

For dxdiag report

 

Press windows key, at the bottom, where it says "start search", type in "dxdiag" (without the quotes), then press enter.

[jemiari]

I couldn't find it under dxdiag, but the menu that leads to it pops right up with Windows Key + Pause Break.

 

For dxdiag report

 

Press windows key, at the bottom, where it says "start search", type in "dxdiag" (without the quotes), then press enter.

 

I could open dxdiag with no problem. I meant that I couldn't find the Used Page File option listed under dxdiag and had to instead find it by pressing Windows Key + Pause Break.

 

Anyhow, apparently Oblivion runs better on Vista than XP. I just got an extra 2 gigs of RAM, though, and still can't play it on maximum settings without experiencing significant lag. I'm starting to think I'm going to need 8 gigs of RAM or a Quad Core CPU or something crazier to play this game flawlessly.

[Qwaxalot]

I couldn't find it under dxdiag, but the menu that leads to it pops right up with Windows Key + Pause Break.

 

For dxdiag report

 

Press windows key, at the bottom, where it says "start search", type in "dxdiag" (without the quotes), then press enter.

 

I could open dxdiag with no problem. I meant that I couldn't find the Used Page File option listed under dxdiag and had to instead find it by pressing Windows Key + Pause Break.

 

Anyhow, apparently Oblivion runs better on Vista than XP. I just got an extra 2 gigs of RAM, though, and still can't play it on maximum settings without experiencing significant lag. I'm starting to think I'm going to need 8 gigs of RAM or a Quad Core CPU or something crazier to play this game flawlessly.

 

Apparently, I didn't explain myself well. At the bottom of the first page of the dxdiag report, you should see:

 

Memory: some number

Page File: some number "used", some number "available"

 

 

The amount "used" should be about 700-900 for best performance

 

The amount available should be about 1.5 x memory.

 

Point is, if the "used" page file number is too large, it means that there are too many background processes running, which eats up CPU cycles, and causes laggy, erratic performance and sometimes CTD's.

[jemiari]

Gotcha. I'm using 1886 MB. Would you say that's too much?

 

EDIT: Never mind. Apparently didn't quite read that properly. I have 2000 MB of memory available, so it ought to be fine..

[bben46]

Try the System tweak guide here: http://www.tweakguides.com/

 

Do the system tweaks for Vista first, then the tweaks for your video card, then last the Oblivion tweaks.

 

He shows how to fine tune for maximum game performance.

[Qwaxalot]

Gotcha. I'm using 1886 MB. Would you say that's too much?

 

EDIT: Never mind. Apparently didn't quite read that properly. I have 2000 MB of memory available, so it ought to be fine..

 

If your "used" page file is actually 1866MB, you have too many background processes running.

 

A Clean boot (a totally reversible process) can help by clearing all unneeded processes, then test the game.

 

If the game now runs better, you can use task manager to locate offending processes.

[jemiari]

With the extra RAM and Qwaxalot's advice, the weather is no longer an issue. However, I've hit upon something new - the reason behind the slowdown in the Imperial City. Turns out it's this excellent mod. A pity I have to turn it off, because it makes the IC so much better-looking. But it almost halves my FPS.