ENBoost + vanilla. Can't get 60FPS with a 980ti...

[wellspokenman]

Any other Nvidia users on Win10 x64 got this working? I have a 980ti with 32GB@3200 ram and a 6700k running on an M.2 PCIe disk. Somehow this is not enough to get ENBoost to give me a solid 60@1080 on vanilla skyrim.

 

My motivation here is stability, although of course it would be nice to enable a pretty ENB preset if I could keep it at 60. Some areas of the game are not stable for me, even with Sheson (notplacebo) memory option, LOOT and TES5-cleaning. CTD seems to be less frequent with ENB, but the FPS is so erratic that I haven't been able to use it much.

 

My ENBoost method:

• disable every mod
• delete skyrim.ini and skyrimprefs.ini. Leave AA and filtering turned off (here and in enblocal)
• download .303 from enbdev
• copy d3d9.dll, enbhost.exe, enblocal.ini and enbseries.ini into the game folder
• edit enblocal.ini according to docs to enable ENBoost. Open game to confirm I get red text saying ENBoost is turned on and further graphical enhancements will be disabled.
• Set videomemorysize to the value I get from Boris' vram tool - 350 (3714). Have tried 28000 too.
• Supply enbhelper.dll and put it in the enbseries folder.
• Confirm that the dll has chosen my 980 as the GPU (initial text as game boots states this)
• enablecompression=false
• Watch game hitch, stutter, shudder and cough at somewhere between 40 and 60 FPS (Vsync turned on).
• Load times also go up from 1-3 seconds to 10-15 seconds.
• Have tried windowed and full screen modes.

Rename d3d9.dll and watch my FPS and load times return. Haven't tried inject method yet - just wrapper.

 

I just wondered if other win10 nvidia users had got this working? Advice is very much welcome, but

detailed instructions not expected given the lack of detail above.

[BinaryMessiah]

That's ENB for you. Even in interiors on a 970 I won't go above 45 FPS. ENB is EXTREMELY GPU heavy. For CTD issues you can try raising your memory ceiling by watching Gopher's video. Watch the whole to figure out how to do this and what's causing it. In enblocal.ini try setting DisableDriverMemoryManager to true. Boris stated that Windows 10 64-bit can't use more than 4096MB for VRAM. There's no way around it. Your rig is also powerful enough to not need Sheson memory option. That's mainly for low to mid-range PCs. You might want to also download Wrye Bash and make sure everything is green. You don't want any orange files or red.

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by Ivory_Soul

[Kriiks]

If its not laptop, it's usually no reason to run injector version. You system should handle most reasonable enb presets (graphical enhancements) at 60fps no problem.

If you're trying newest 303 version, maybe you turned on enboost new experimental lines, what are still under testing and can cause performance problems for some users. New values are under [Threads] section: DataSyncMode and PriorityMode. If this is the case, turn those values to zero and maybe it makes some difference.

 

@ivory_Soul. SKSE.ini memory tweak is required basically for all modded games. It doesn't matter how powerful and how much ram, if your game first memory block fills up, your game crashes. Memory tweak helps here. Gopher is talking about exactly same thing, just SSME is older version of SKSE.ini tweak = Sheson memory patch merged into skse.

Also unless you're trying to use some heavy enb preset or super ultra settings, you shouln't have so bad performance with enb's. 970 can run many of them at 60 fps. Currently using Vividian standard settings (turned off DoF) and have 60fps everywhere except bigger settlements, where it drops around 40-50.

[wellspokenman]

@ivory Thank you for a good video - I'd read about the block allocation problem but must admit I understand it much better now.

 

@kriiks I set the two Thread options to 0 - you were correct, datasync defaults to 1 even though it is experimental. That, ssme and even that nvidia optimus thing (which shouldn't apply) seem to have reduced the stuttering, but not enough to use ENB. Also tried 2 and 3 under Threaded - no noticeable difference.

 

Hmm... Switching to .292 (plus ssme, optimus and disabling datasync) seems to help. ... Even with RealVision and HD textures I'm only hitching down to 55 in busy areas. This seems like the compromise I was looking for. I wonder why it performed so badly before. :geek:

[Kriiks]

If you use new enb binary, you have to set both thread options to 0 (if you don't want to play around with new settings). Older enb binaries doesn't have new experimental lines, so they can run better for you.

ssme isnt really required anymore, because you can just add SKSE.ini tweak (http://wiki.step-project.com/Skyrim_Script_Extender ) as you're using script extender anyway. Gopher video was made before skse officially merged that fix.

[Novem99]

Your rig is also powerful enough to not need Sheson memory option. That's mainly for low to mid-range PCs.

 

Please remain silent if you have no idea what you are actually talking about. Your misleading infos only cause harm.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Novem99

[wellspokenman]

ssme isnt really required anymore, because you can just add SKSE.ini tweak (http://wiki.step-project.com/Skyrim_Script_Extender ) as you're using script extender anyway. Gopher video was made before skse officially merged that fix.

Duly noted - thanks.

[jones177]

If your screen resolution is 1440 your frame rate is about right. If you are at 1080 you have problems.

 

First. Mods will not slow your computer down. If you have a weak CPU or GPU then mods will & you don't. Adding textures will not slow you down either.

 

Memory patches have nothing to do with frame rate. Just stability with high mod counts. My game runs only 30 seconds without it & for days with it.

 

When I was testing my old 970 with 2 & 4k texture packs the frame rate was the same. The game lasted longer with the 2k pack. With the 4k texture pack I only managed 3.4 vram usage.

 

With this game more than 4gb vram is a waist. You will run out of ram(32 bit limit) before you run out of vram.

 

Your problem is the 980 ti.

 

The 980 ti is hard to configure with ENB. It either runs like a dream or a piece of crap. It took 3 weeks of testing to get mine running right. It was a nightmare.

For setting up your 980 ti, use the STEP guide & try just about everything in the enblocal & enbseries inis.

Make sure that your game will run with enboost first. This is important because settings that are ok for GPUs like the 970 & 980 will make the 980ti stutter. At 1080 your frame rate should be silly fps vanilla & in the 70s with ENB. Mine is around 120 at 4k & 60 at 1440 with ENB.

 

My setup is a bit extreme & would probably crash your game on startup, basically because it uses EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=true. This works for me but for most people it is a none starter. I also went back to using .262 from .279.

 

The 980 ti is finicky when it comes to textures as well. With the 970/980 I used the populate 2k texture pack with no problem. The 980 ti did not like them(stutter, mini freezes). I now install textures manually & test to keep it happy. While testing your ENB it is best to turn textures off & deal with them as a separate issue.

 

Once you get your ENB straightened out, if you haven't already get a 1440 or 4k monitor. Your rig is only good for fist person shooting at 1080 & that is with a 144hz monitor. This game & fallout 4 look absolutely fantastic at 4k &1440. It is not as expensive as you mite think & you already have the most expensive parts. My Samsung 4k monitor cost $499 this time last year. It & the 980 ti was worth every penny.

 

Later

[wellspokenman]

If your screen resolution is 1440 your frame rate is about right. If you are at 1080 you have problems.

 

First. Mods will not slow your computer down. If you have a weak CPU or GPU then mods will & you don't. Adding textures will not slow you down either.

 

Memory patches have nothing to do with frame rate. Just stability with high mod counts. My game runs only 30 seconds without it & for days with it.

 

When I was testing my old 970 with 2 & 4k texture packs the frame rate was the same. The game lasted longer with the 2k pack. With the 4k texture pack I only managed 3.4 vram usage.

 

With this game more than 4gb vram is a waist. You will run out of ram(32 bit limit) before you run out of vram.

 

Your problem is the 980 ti.

 

The 980 ti is hard to configure with ENB. It either runs like a dream or a piece of crap. It took 3 weeks of testing to get mine running right. It was a nightmare.

For setting up your 980 ti, use the STEP guide & try just about everything in the enblocal & enbseries inis.

Make sure that your game will run with enboost first. This is important because settings that are ok for GPUs like the 970 & 980 will make the 980ti stutter. At 1080 your frame rate should be silly fps vanilla & in the 70s with ENB. Mine is around 120 at 4k & 60 at 1440 with ENB.

 

My setup is a bit extreme & would probably crash your game on startup, basically because it uses EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=true. This works for me but for most people it is a none starter. I also went back to using .262 from .279.

 

The 980 ti is finicky when it comes to textures as well. With the 970/980 I used the populate 2k texture pack with no problem. The 980 ti did not like them(stutter, mini freezes). I now install textures manually & test to keep it happy. While testing your ENB it is best to turn textures off & deal with them as a separate issue.

 

Once you get your ENB straightened out, if you haven't already get a 1440 or 4k monitor. Your rig is only good for fist person shooting at 1080 & that is with a 144hz monitor. This game & fallout 4 look absolutely fantastic at 4k &1440. It is not as expensive as you mite think & you already have the most expensive parts. My Samsung 4k monitor cost $499 this time last year. It & the 980 ti was worth every penny.

 

Later

Yes - running at 1080 - sorry, definitely should have said that in OP. Will fix.

Had an entertaining and stable session last night using .292. I disabled vsync out of curiosity - with realvision, ELFX, water etc I was getting 75 FPS. Still hitches down to 50-55 occasionally - something not quite right, but certainly acceptable.

 

Ah yes, 4k. I'm a bit of a couch potato is the thing, so it would cost me a lot more than $500 for a replacement 60 inch panel. It is on a to-buy list, but oculus took priority :)

 

I see that you're quite the guardian angel for all things ENB and 980ti. I shall try your unsafe memory hack sir, and report back in the morrow.

 

Curious, what value do you have for VideoMemorySizeMb, and is this based on the Boris vram tool? I've seen other posts saying that win10 + dx9 = 4gb cap.

[jones177]

My VideoMemorySizeMb is what the RealVision installer put there. I think it is over the Max.

 

Max = 10240

 

Later