Have a question about my GPU mem usage + want to share my huge list of

[RavageTheEarth]

Hey guys, so after playing TESO beta I decided to play through Skyrim again. I have modded the game before, but this time I wanted to go BIG. I have a decently high end computer: Dual 7950's @ a conservative OC of 1050/1550 along wtih an Intel Core i7 3770k delidded @ another conservative overclock of 4.2Ghz. Everything is on water. Two MCP655 pumps pushing distilled through the 7950's and one MCP655 for the CPU. Anyways, I am running a huge list of mods. Here is an image showing all of them. Hopefully its readable.

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/7ccdd73a-2b4a-43ae-bf0b-3cbef3732bab_zps12bf75fa.jpg

 

Anyways, my question is this. These 7950's have 3Gb of memory. I thought that when you have more than one card there is still a total of 3Gb of memory available and that it doesn't double with two cards, but MSI afterburner shows that my memory usage is between 4800Mb and 5200Mb. How is that possible? My fps is almost always capped right at 60 and I rarely get any lag.

 

Here are a couple pics that I took of the results of all the mods. I don't use an enb because I'm not a huge fan of them, but if someone would like to suggest one, I would be happy to try it out!

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/TESV2013-11-2623-55-05-81_zps5852322c.png

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/TESV2013-11-2623-55-23-01_zps3b494a4f.png

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/TESV2013-11-2713-36-57-49_zps5aa27f60.png

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/TESV2013-11-2711-06-20-82_zpse056e2c5.png

 

Thanks for your time!

 

EDIT: HOLYYYY CRAP I just downloaded the ENB RealVision and I'm getting around 45fps, but the game is still very playable. LOOK AT THESE VISUALS!

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o711/RavageTheEarth/TESV2013-11-2717-07-15-55_zps733f0630.png

Edited November 27, 2013 by RavageTheEarth

[RavageTheEarth]

Anyone know the answer to this?

[simtam]

I may only guess the afterburner is right, and the whole "there is still a total of 3Gb of memory available" is wrong, for your gaming rig. If that's what you're asking.

[ArtMurder]

more =/= better. To be honest, the more mods you use for visuals, the worse it looks, the more conflicts you get, the more weirdness you get, and the more visual glitches you get. I can make the game look AMAZING visually with about 5 mods. ELFX, ULO, COT, 2k Textures/Tamriel Reloaded, and Realistic Water Two. (dynavision helps a lot too) These mods alone can make the game look stunning, and get 60FPS on ultra specs, and never hit that 3k ceiling(which always exists, even with mods that claim to remove it, or if you have some experimental NASA computer sitting in a walk in freezer. It's an engine limitation.) I only have an i5, (though my graphics card is pretty beast) which isn't near as strong as your computer, and I can get some pretty stunning screen shots with just the mods listed above.

 

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385348953.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385349095.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385348954.jpg

http://static2.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385678993.jpg

 

But, that is only for visuals. I started with a load order of about 230 mods, I kept doing new installs, first dropping to about 170, then 120, now I run about 80 mods, and I find that each time it gets better. The more mods you have, the more problems you have, the more glitches you have, and the less fun you have.

 

Just my personal opinion though. ^_^

 

EDIT; to answer your question, I believe skyrim has a way of 'doubling' the memory usage. it is actually using say, 2.5MB, but it may say it's using 5MB, because skyrims has some very weird, wonky ways of doing memory. I know it reflects VRAM, so that any VRAM it uses also uses the same amount of RAM. the 3GB limit is NOT something that can be gotten around in any way shape or form, anything saying otherwise is either just getting wonky readings, getting it's readings just flat our wrong, or like I said, skyrim is just SAYING it's using double the memory it really is, or it's taking up double the memory it's using. I am not really sure what is happening, I can just assure you that you are not actually getting past the 3GB ceiling like it says. XD It's an engine limitation, it simply can't be done. The mod that 'fixes' it that has become populor here lately just fixes skyrims memory leek and dumping problems, which is REALLY great, but still doesn't get around that ceiling.

Edited November 28, 2013 by ArtMurder

[RavageTheEarth]

I may only guess the afterburner is right, and the whole "there is still a total of 3Gb of memory available" is wrong, for your gaming rig. If that's what you're asking.

I'm sorry, just a little confused on what you are trying to say here. Care to elaborate?

[RavageTheEarth]

more =/= better. To be honest, the more mods you use for visuals, the worse it looks, the more conflicts you get, the more weirdness you get, and the more visual glitches you get. I can make the game look AMAZING visually with about 5 mods. ELFX, ULO, COT, 2k Textures/Tamriel Reloaded, and Realistic Water Two. (dynavision helps a lot too) These mods alone can make the game look stunning, and get 60FPS on ultra specs, and never hit that 3k ceiling(which always exists, even with mods that claim to remove it, or if you have some experimental NASA computer sitting in a walk in freezer. It's an engine limitation.) I only have an i5, (though my graphics card is pretty beast) which isn't near as strong as your computer, and I can get some pretty stunning screen shots with just the mods listed above.

 

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385348953.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385349095.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385348954.jpg

http://static2.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385678993.jpg

 

But, that is only for visuals. I started with a load order of about 230 mods, I kept doing new installs, first dropping to about 170, then 120, now I run about 80 mods, and I find that each time it gets better. The more mods you have, the more problems you have, the more glitches you have, and the less fun you have.

 

Just my personal opinion though. ^_^

 

EDIT; to answer your question, I believe skyrim has a way of 'doubling' the memory usage. it is actually using say, 2.5MB, but it may say it's using 5MB, because skyrims has some very weird, wonky ways of doing memory. I know it reflects VRAM, so that any VRAM it uses also uses the same amount of RAM. the 3GB limit is NOT something that can be gotten around in any way shape or form, anything saying otherwise is either just getting wonky readings, getting it's readings just flat our wrong, or like I said, skyrim is just SAYING it's using double the memory it really is, or it's taking up double the memory it's using. I am not really sure what is happening, I can just assure you that you are not actually getting past the 3GB ceiling like it says. XD It's an engine limitation, it simply can't be done. The mod that 'fixes' it that has become populor here lately just fixes skyrims memory leek and dumping problems, which is REALLY great, but still doesn't get around that ceiling.

 

Ahhh alright well that makes sense. I agree that skyrim does still look great with very little mods! Basically what I did was installed the small texture mods first for stuff like weapons, sacks, carpets, etc. and then slowly added more to fill in the textures that were missing from the other mods to fill in the empty spaces. It worked out pretty well and I encountered very few problems while compiling them which have since been fixed. Your screenshots look awesome though and I do appreciate your reply! I'm a mod junkie so I will definitly be messing with the current list. As you can see a lot of the mods I have are gameplay and sound mods so they aren't all visual :)

[ArtMurder]

 

more =/= better. To be honest, the more mods you use for visuals, the worse it looks, the more conflicts you get, the more weirdness you get, and the more visual glitches you get. I can make the game look AMAZING visually with about 5 mods. ELFX, ULO, COT, 2k Textures/Tamriel Reloaded, and Realistic Water Two. (dynavision helps a lot too) These mods alone can make the game look stunning, and get 60FPS on ultra specs, and never hit that 3k ceiling(which always exists, even with mods that claim to remove it, or if you have some experimental NASA computer sitting in a walk in freezer. It's an engine limitation.) I only have an i5, (though my graphics card is pretty beast) which isn't near as strong as your computer, and I can get some pretty stunning screen shots with just the mods listed above.

 

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385348953.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385349095.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385348954.jpg

http://static2.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385678993.jpg

 

But, that is only for visuals. I started with a load order of about 230 mods, I kept doing new installs, first dropping to about 170, then 120, now I run about 80 mods, and I find that each time it gets better. The more mods you have, the more problems you have, the more glitches you have, and the less fun you have.

 

Just my personal opinion though. ^_^

 

EDIT; to answer your question, I believe skyrim has a way of 'doubling' the memory usage. it is actually using say, 2.5MB, but it may say it's using 5MB, because skyrims has some very weird, wonky ways of doing memory. I know it reflects VRAM, so that any VRAM it uses also uses the same amount of RAM. the 3GB limit is NOT something that can be gotten around in any way shape or form, anything saying otherwise is either just getting wonky readings, getting it's readings just flat our wrong, or like I said, skyrim is just SAYING it's using double the memory it really is, or it's taking up double the memory it's using. I am not really sure what is happening, I can just assure you that you are not actually getting past the 3GB ceiling like it says. XD It's an engine limitation, it simply can't be done. The mod that 'fixes' it that has become populor here lately just fixes skyrims memory leek and dumping problems, which is REALLY great, but still doesn't get around that ceiling.

 

Ahhh alright well that makes sense. I agree that skyrim does still look great with very little mods! Basically what I did was installed the small texture mods first for stuff like weapons, sacks, carpets, etc. and then slowly added more to fill in the textures that were missing from the other mods to fill in the empty spaces. It worked out pretty well and I encountered very few problems while compiling them which have since been fixed. Your screenshots look awesome though and I do appreciate your reply! I'm a mod junkie so I will definitly be messing with the current list. As you can see a lot of the mods I have are gameplay and sound mods so they aren't all visual :smile:

 

I personally use AMB for my armor textures. I really do wish someone would put together an all-around texture mod that hits everything in the game, hat doesn't cause insane lag and CTDs. I think there is one, but as it replaces so much stuff with 4k texture (when I normally avoid anything over 1k) it makes it basically unusable. D= The only real gameplay mod I use is requiem, and mods that compliment it, like locational damage, and immersive creatures/weapons/armors. I find that having to many gameplay mods or armor/weapons mods is unbalancing, but I have to basically stop myself from exploiting my game, without even thinking about it I will make the most broken characters imaginable if I can! XD Sound mods are great, as well, I use a couple, the most subtle sounds can have a very strong effect on your game.

 

and modding skyrim can be funner then playing it! =3

[RavageTheEarth]

 

 

more =/= better. To be honest, the more mods you use for visuals, the worse it looks, the more conflicts you get, the more weirdness you get, and the more visual glitches you get. I can make the game look AMAZING visually with about 5 mods. ELFX, ULO, COT, 2k Textures/Tamriel Reloaded, and Realistic Water Two. (dynavision helps a lot too) These mods alone can make the game look stunning, and get 60FPS on ultra specs, and never hit that 3k ceiling(which always exists, even with mods that claim to remove it, or if you have some experimental NASA computer sitting in a walk in freezer. It's an engine limitation.) I only have an i5, (though my graphics card is pretty beast) which isn't near as strong as your computer, and I can get some pretty stunning screen shots with just the mods listed above.

 

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385348953.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385349095.jpg

http://static1.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-3-1385348954.jpg

http://static2.nexusmods.com/110/mods/110/images/48000-1-1385678993.jpg

 

But, that is only for visuals. I started with a load order of about 230 mods, I kept doing new installs, first dropping to about 170, then 120, now I run about 80 mods, and I find that each time it gets better. The more mods you have, the more problems you have, the more glitches you have, and the less fun you have.

 

Just my personal opinion though. ^_^

 

EDIT; to answer your question, I believe skyrim has a way of 'doubling' the memory usage. it is actually using say, 2.5MB, but it may say it's using 5MB, because skyrims has some very weird, wonky ways of doing memory. I know it reflects VRAM, so that any VRAM it uses also uses the same amount of RAM. the 3GB limit is NOT something that can be gotten around in any way shape or form, anything saying otherwise is either just getting wonky readings, getting it's readings just flat our wrong, or like I said, skyrim is just SAYING it's using double the memory it really is, or it's taking up double the memory it's using. I am not really sure what is happening, I can just assure you that you are not actually getting past the 3GB ceiling like it says. XD It's an engine limitation, it simply can't be done. The mod that 'fixes' it that has become populor here lately just fixes skyrims memory leek and dumping problems, which is REALLY great, but still doesn't get around that ceiling.

 

Ahhh alright well that makes sense. I agree that skyrim does still look great with very little mods! Basically what I did was installed the small texture mods first for stuff like weapons, sacks, carpets, etc. and then slowly added more to fill in the textures that were missing from the other mods to fill in the empty spaces. It worked out pretty well and I encountered very few problems while compiling them which have since been fixed. Your screenshots look awesome though and I do appreciate your reply! I'm a mod junkie so I will definitly be messing with the current list. As you can see a lot of the mods I have are gameplay and sound mods so they aren't all visual :smile:

 

I personally use AMB for my armor textures. I really do wish someone would put together an all-around texture mod that hits everything in the game, hat doesn't cause insane lag and CTDs. I think there is one, but as it replaces so much stuff with 4k texture (when I normally avoid anything over 1k) it makes it basically unusable. D= The only real gameplay mod I use is requiem, and mods that compliment it, like locational damage, and immersive creatures/weapons/armors. I find that having to many gameplay mods or armor/weapons mods is unbalancing, but I have to basically stop myself from exploiting my game, without even thinking about it I will make the most broken characters imaginable if I can! XD Sound mods are great, as well, I use a couple, the most subtle sounds can have a very strong effect on your game.

 

and modding skyrim can be funner then playing it! =3

 

I'm thinking about uninstalling all of my texture mods and just installing the ones that you llisted along with the RealVision ENB to see how that looks. I'm getting some stuttering now along with some wierd mod conflictions.. So all you are using for texutres are Tamriel Reloaded, 2k Textures, and Realistic Water 2? and in what order did you install them? Also are you using AmidianBorn Weapons AND Armor? I'm mixing and matching about 6 different weapon mods, Serious HD, 2k Textures, Sexy Villages and Towns, all Sexy Cities, along with a bunch of misc mods, 4k textures. I do really like my Pure Waters so I'm defintly going to stick with that. My favorite water mod yet!

 

EDIT: I was just looking at Realistic Waters Two and it looks pretty amazing. Might have to check it out especially since it was tested with an ENB. what is ULO?

 

One more thing: Do you use SMIM?

Edited November 29, 2013 by RavageTheEarth

[ArtMurder]

I don't think realistic waters matters when it's installed, but I installed 2k textures EXCEPT for the landscapes, then TR, then 2k textures landscapes, then I installed the roads from TR over 2k textures roads lol Mostly because TR has some pretty nasty looking rock and dirt textures.

 

and as far as I know I have every AMB armor/weapon texture installed, other then that I don't use any other texture packs, except SFO. I do use my mod More Alien Skyrim for the night sky textures, that's about it. The less texture mods you have, the less chance you will get seems. I do still get some seems around some piles of snow that I can not manage to fix for anything, but other then that I'm pretty seem free.

[RavageTheEarth]

I don't think realistic waters matters when it's installed, but I installed 2k textures EXCEPT for the landscapes, then TR, then 2k textures landscapes, then I installed the roads from TR over 2k textures roads lol Mostly because TR has some pretty nasty looking rock and dirt textures.

 

and as far as I know I have every AMB armor/weapon texture installed, other then that I don't use any other texture packs, except SFO. I do use my mod More Alien Skyrim for the night sky textures, that's about it. The less texture mods you have, the less chance you will get seems. I do still get some seems around some piles of snow that I can not manage to fix for anything, but other then that I'm pretty seem free.

What is SFO? I'm horrible with these abreviations haha