Skyrim essential mod suggestions (for low performance machine)

[EverythingOnRed]

Hi guys,

 

i already have the Nexus Mod Manager in place for Fallout NV.

I just got Skyrim from Steam, and i wondered which essential mods you guys would recommend.

 

I already know have the Game Companion for the fake fullscreen mode.

 

I am especially interested in performance enhancing mods and mods that enhance immersion (like weather and skies) but keep performance demands low.

 

Cheers !

[chanchan05]

Realistic Lighting Overhaul has a low performance hit. Tamriel reloaded also claims to have low performance hit.

[Jeir]

Grass on Steroids and Project Optimisation are good for performance.

[EverythingOnRed]

Thank you guys for the tipps, i will try as many as i can.

[ArtMurder]

Ha, lucky! Steam's sells this weekend are crazy, congratz on the great deal. I payed around $110.00 for Skyrim and all it's DLC, but I bought each the day they were released. I have no regrets at all about it, and I promise you won't have any regrets for spending just $20 on it! =3

 

For Visuals I use/suggest

 

2k textures (use lite option) - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/607//? - as long as you use the light option, has very minimal performance hit, and looks fantastic.

Tamriel Relaoded - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/46925//? - No performance hit at all, thous some textures look really crappy, I suggest installing all of 2k textures ACCEPT landscapes, then this, THEN 2k textures landscapes! Also, avoid the denser grass options if you want maximize performance! The hit is rather low if you do go with them though.

Climate of Tamriel - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17802//? - Basically no performance hit, and dramatically changes the outside world, though you need to use it with a mod like ELFX to make insides look better again, as it does weird stuff to light sources like lanterns, torches, and fires.

Enhanced Lighting and FX - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27043//? - Like RLO, but I personally like it better. It's actually a bit more realistic, which is weird since the other has realistic in it's name. I also believe RLO doesn't work with COT. ELFX also has this amazing smoke effect it adds in to candles and fire, which is just stunning.

Ultimate Lighting Overhaul - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/37846//? - Very performance friendly SweetFX mod, like ENBs, but not glitchy and basically no performance hit! If you like darker nights, look for the optional preset I uploaded for it "Dramatic Cinematic" I use that preset in the screenshots below.

Realistic Water Two - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/41076//? - Use the low res options if you want to maximizes performance, but the medium shouldn't be a problem. There are a lot of water mods, this one simply looks the most 'real and natural' instead of 'stunning and shiny'.

Static Mesh Improvement Mod http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8655//? - Edits a lot of simple meshes to make them game look WAY better. Has basically no performance hit. if you use with Tamreil Reloaded, make sure to install the SMIM optional folder!

 

Here are some screen shots of what my game looks like, using these performance friendly visual mods. NOTE; I get about 50FPS on average, but I sacrifice some FPS to Denser Grass and the more resource consuming grass options of TR, I suggest avoiding this if you want to maximize your performance and more grass isn't important to you.

 

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

 

Alright, for none visual mods, I will only list the ones I simply can not play without. You will have to find for yourself what you like, but all of the following mods are so amazingly well done and add so much tot he game without dramatically changing it I simply can not suggest them enough.

 

 

First, the "must have" mods. There is really no reason at all to not install any of these few mods.

Race Menu - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/29624//? - Makes it so you can do soooo much more with character creation

SkyUI - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3863//? - Basically a must if you use mods, adds in the MCM Menu which lets you edit mod options in game from a menu. Also changes around the look of the menu a LOT, as well as the favorites menu. If you don't like the new menus added by this mod, use SkyUI Away - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/29440//? - This lets you keep the MCM Menu, but avoid the new Menu design!

The Unofficial Patches - They fix countless things, I cant even describe. Download and install each one for each DLC you have active and the main game.

Skyrim - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19//?

DawnGuard - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23491//?

DragonBorn - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/31083//?

HeathFire - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25127//?

 

 

I suggest; Immersive Armors, immersive Creatures, Immersive Weapons, and Interesting NPCs

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27644//?

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19733//?

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/24913//?

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8429//?

These four add in tons of armor, weapons, NPCs and enemies, none of which should have ANY performance hit, and all of which are VERY well made and fit seamlessly into the game.

 

 

Alternate Start - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9557//? - only use this if you make new characters often and want to skip, the intro, or want to have more roleplay friendly starts for your characters. Let you pick from dozens of starts for your characters, including race specific ones!

 

FrostFall - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11163//? - Makes Skyrim itself an enemy! You now have to survive the cold, build camps, and more!

Realistic Needs and Diseases - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/26228//? - You now have to eat, drink, and sleep! goes great with frostfall!

Edited November 29, 2013 by ArtMurder

[EverythingOnRed]

Hey ArtMurder !

I already owned Skriym on the Xbox360 (but sold it and all games) :D so i bought it a second time, no regrets wahtsoever !

 

Thanks for the comprehenisve guide, i already use a few of them, like RLO, and i use the Game Companions for Fake Fullscreen Mode.

I also have the cool map with roads mod..brilliant!

The latestet vanilla patches are quite good for performance compared to what we all got when Skyrim came out on 11.11.11.

Like the optimized compilers for the games exe.

Thats why Sky Boost isnt really necesary any more, at least as far as i know, i am just getting familiar with all the mods :)

 

I tried the HIRes Texture Pack thats available directly from Bethesda on Steam, it made the loading times unbearable.. so no hi res textures for me i guess.

 

I am running Skyrim on Win7 on a 2011 iMac using Bootcamp. This mac got such a crappy graphics card and i am able to run it on medium with 1080p (no AA though) !

And i am more then happy with this.

 

Thanks again !