Stuck at 20 FPS, need help please!

[xeowolf]

I just recently started seeing a big drop in FPS. My save game file size has not increased dramatically. I have tweaked my ini files a bit but I am reluctant to drastically lower settings. I have a pretty decent machine and shouldn't be getting stuck at 20fps. At least I don't think I should. If anyone could point out potential areas where I am having issues by all means. I am using an ENB, but I also have a 560ti x2 SLI.

I will post my system specs and load order below.

 

System Specs:

OS: Windows 8.1

GPU: Geforce GTX 560 TI x2 (SLI)

CPU: Intel Core i7 960 3.2GHz

Driver Version: 332.1

Memory 12 gigs

Motherboard: Asus Saberthooth x58

 

Load Order:

http://www.mystiquefx.com/load-order-01.jpg

 

http://www.mystiquefx.com/load-order-02.jpg

[xeowolf]

As a note, I do turn off background programs, including the firewall and anti-virus. I tried running FPS booster but it didn't help.

[xeowolf]

I am also seeing random drops to the desktop or the game will lock up. Any help would be appreciated.

[thomriis]

Your system should easily be capable of running it on ultra settings.

 

are you sure that your graphic cards are selected in the launcher menu and not your integrated HD ?

 

try opening Task manager and see how much ram is being used by your system (Skyrim uses about 3.1 gb of ram)

 

With 12 gigs you shouldnt have to use any boost utillity at all.

[Skateboards]

Perhaps you're capped to 20fps?
If you're using an ENB, make sure you have the frame limiter turned off.
The same goes for any SKSE plugins you might be using.

[jordan7890]

Sorry to disappoint, but you might not like my first answer...

While your system is certainly very powerful, especially your processor, your video card is sadly right on the edge of being able to handle an ENB + lighting mods. And your video card is what it's all about. Your CPU and RAM are only going to affect your load times.

 

You can do a couple of things to improve your fps though. As I see it, you can easily achieve 30+fps. First off, if you haven't already, open up your skyrim inis and under [Display] set:

bShadowsOnGrass=1

to

bShadowsOnGrass=0

This will massively increase performance in most outdoor areas for most machines.

While you're there, double check that you ADDED this line under [grass]:

iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7
Since you use Flora overhaul.

 

If you HAVE already done this, and use an ENB, you may have to switch to using a less performance-intensive one like RealVision. (It not only performs the best, but looks the best in my personal opinion)

 

If you DON'T use an ENB and are getting low frames regardless...

 

There is only one last thing I can think of...

And that is, you installed Skyrim HD - 2K Textures (full).

If you did, it would not show up on your load order. So I would not know from the picture you posted. If you DID install Skyrim HD - 2K Textures, I need to know if you installed the LITE or FULL version. Here's why...

I installed the Skyrim HD - 2K Textures a few months ago with the FULL version. these are 4K textures we're talking about... I have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti... a decently powerful card. Using it with a mid-high demand ENB I was getting 15-18 fps outdoors.

Then I switched to the LITE version of Skyrim HD - 2K Textures, and got 30+. That is a MASSIVE performance difference... and considering I could hardly tell the difference from FULL, it was worth the change. Keep in mind, the LITE version is still double the size of Bethesdas Hi-Res DLC.

 

If you Don't use Skyrim HD - 2K Textures, and all I said just went to waste, then all I can say is use the lighter versions of your other texture Mods. That's the only thing left that'll make a difference.

If you do install the ligher version of any texture mod, it's usually safe to just overwrite the old files with the light version. (in case you were wondering)

 

Also keep in mind that if you use multiple texture packs that cover the same textures, in some (rare) cases BOTH textures will load causing fps drop, and strange clips/flashing. Especially if you mess around with parallax mods. This can only be solved by downloading compatibility patches from the mod author(s), or by uninstalling a texture pack. Generally you should only use 2 large texture packs. If you use use any large texture packs, you are generally safe to install other packs for caves/forts/mines. I use Skyrim HD - 2K Textures with Vivid Landscapes - All in One, and it's safe as long as I install Skyrim HD - 2K Textures FIRST. (as is the case 90% of the time)

 

Good luck, let us know what happens!

Edited January 25, 2014 by jordan7890

[xeowolf]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

@Jordan 7890, I am using realvision ENB. I also have the 2k HD textures full. I realize my card is at the cusp of the recommended graphics card. But I have 2 of them running SLI instead of just 1 card. Also the TI 560 surpasses some of the 600 series cards. That said, the settings you recommended are set, well except the bShadowsOnGrass=1.

 

@Thomriis I am seeing skyrim using 605 MB and ENB using ~860 MB of memory in Task Manager. Im not sure if my card is set, I am hesitant to reopen the skyrim launcher as that will auto change all the settings I set for ENB in the my ini files. However, I do see that Realvision ENB lists my card when Skyrim starts. Although it doesn't list that 2 of them are running.

 

Is there a way to make sure both cards are working together as they should? As far as I can see the are set to SLI and the system is seeing that.

 

I don't think my FPS is capped, when I went into a cave earlier, my fps went up to ~30. If anything it is capped at 60 according to these settings:

 

[LIMITER]

WaitBusyRenderer=false

EnableFPSLimit=false

FPSLimit=60.0

Here are a few more of my enb ini settings:

[MEMORY]

ExpandSystemMemoryX64=true

ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true

DisableDriverMemoryManager=false

DisablePreloadToVRAM=false

EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false

ReservedMemorySizeMb=512

VideoMemorySizeMb=8192

EnableCompression=false

AutodetectVideoMemorySize=true

Skyrimprefs.ini

[imagespace]

bDoDepthOfField=1

iRadialBlurLevel=2

[Display]

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

iShadowSplitCount=2

iMaxAnisotropy=0

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000

fGamma=1.0000

fDecalLOD2=1500.0000

fDecalLOD1=1000.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=1910.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=0

iTexMipMapSkip=0

iWaterMultiSamples=0

iMultiSample=0

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bFull Screen=0

iSize H=1080

iSize W=1920

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000

iScreenShotIndex=4

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

bMainZPrepass=0

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100

bFloatPointRenderTarget=1

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti"

bFXAAEnabled=0

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iAdapter=0

iPresentInterval=1

iShadowFilter=3

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bTransparencyMultisampling=0

bDeferredShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=1

fGrassStartFadeDistance=6000.0000

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000

Finally skyrim.ini

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

uExterior Cell Buffer=36

uGridsToLoad=5

[Actor]

fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=12288.0000

[Display]

fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0

fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0

fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

bAllowScreenshot=1

[Grass]

bAllowCreateGrass=1

bAllowLoadGrass=0

iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7

iMinGrassSize=70

Edited January 25, 2014 by xeowolf

[jordan7890]

Sorry, didn't notice you had duel cards.

 

Try disabling shadows on grass like I recommended, but not before switching to 2k LITE. I can't stress enough how much it increases performance.

Outdoors you will always have a performance drop, the fact that you're getting normal fps in caves, signals that it mostly has to do with foliage. Or rather, the foliage AND the shadows they're putting out.

 

Now, are you saying it will NEVER go beyond 20 fps outdoors? Like there is something blocking it from going beyond? If this is the case, it might have to do with you having multiple video cards... My knowledge comes to an end here, due to the fact I've never owned multiple cards given the difficulties it causes for poorly optimized games.

 

Try installing the 2k LITE and, if possible, running the game on only 1 card.

Since I know next to nothing about having duel cards, I would also recommend double checking that your video card settings have been properly set up for BOTH cards for your ENB. (If that's even a something that happens in your settings)

Examples:

http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/nvidia1cr4pav712n.jpg

http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/nvidia2wn2uqvk83d.jpg

[xeowolf]

Hah! Thanks Jordan that did the trick. And by that I mean, going back into my Nvidia settings and poking about. It turns out SLI got DISABLED when I recently updated the latest drivers. Which was about the time I saw the sudden drop. What a difference that makes. So where I was getting 20-21 FPS I now see 38-45 FPS. This is outside specifically. Inside I have jumped anywhere from 40-60 FPS.

 

See I knew I didn't need to start turning things off, I just couldn't figure out why suddenly the system started choking.

[jordan7890]

Hah! Thanks Jordan that did the trick. And by that I mean, going back into my Nvidia settings and poking about. It turns out SLI got DISABLED when I recently updated the latest drivers. Which was about the time I saw the sudden drop. What a difference that makes. So where I was getting 20-21 FPS I now see 38-45 FPS. This is outside specifically. Inside I have jumped anywhere from 40-60 FPS.

 

See I knew I didn't need to start turning things off, I just couldn't figure out why suddenly the system started choking.

 

Huzzah! Have fun friend, good job! :D