PC specs and best mods: an help for a newbie?

[greyman085]

Dear lovely friends of Nexus Forums,

I'm back on TES: Skyrim Special Edition after years of stop with gaming; after started the game without a single mod, I had the occasion to check some of yours last works and damn... I cannot play the Vanilla Edition anymore. By going back at the thread title, I'm quite newbie with modding world. I haven't any difficulty on downloading/installing them, or with game crashes, but I cannot play properly due to my extreme ignorance related to wich mods are supported from my old PC.

I would like to improve the graphic in general, but I always end with a stunning game... except for the fact that If I try to move my character, FPS drops to 5-10.

As I already said, I cannot figure out what can I install and what I cannot; I'm interested in every aspect of modding (characters, faces, meshes, lights, texture and weather).

If you have to time to help me, could you please suggest me which mods I have to pick with the following system specs? I really thank you all in advance, I would really like to enjoy a more "modern" Skyrim.

--- System Specs ---

Processor: Intel® Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.4GHz;

RAM: 8GB (Corsair DDR3 if I remember well);

DirectX Version: DirectX 12 (it is useful to know?;

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 with 2GB dedicated (again, if I remember well, it should be from Gygabite series);

Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G43 (MS-7758).

[WastelandAssassin]

with such a spec , I wouldn't recommend trying to go overboard

I personally have a better spec (but not a top of the line one , just marginally better) , and even without really using graphical mods I still see some issues (stutters from time to time , sometimes even massive stutters , like the game freezes for a second or two) , so I really wouldn't recommend trying to use the heaviest graphic improving mods out there

 

I recommend using the optimization project , to improve the way the game runs (Bethesda are pretty terrible with optimizing their assets) , maybe choose a lighting mod , a weather mod (if your lighting mod doesn't include it , or if they are compatible) , a water mod , and at this point SMIM and Ruins Clutter Improved are always in my game , no matter what

there are plenty of smaller mods that improve specific things (statues , rugs , flags etc) that you may consider using

but I'll generally recommend not using anything over 2K , and considering 1K versions of things that are loaded often (like environments , trees , walls etc)

there are still beautiful textures that you can get in 1K or 2K versions , and it would be much easier for your PC to run

 

as a side note , there are several guides for making a beautiful Skyrim SE . so I would recommend that you find one that you like , and follow it with discretion (as these are usually created by people with better rigs , so they are usually using bigger textures and more mods)

[tomomi1922]

Wow that spec is very low. i3 CPU are fit for web browsing and movie watching mostly.

But fear not, you can still run Skyrim SE. Ontop of what WastelandAssassin noted, he made very valid points about textures. But here is my bullet points list:

 

- Most Skyrim SE textures are 2k. You should still seek texture replacer, find the performance/2k option, or even 1k. Some mods redo texture to look very good even at vanilla resolution. Or 1k is a downscale, but you may not notice a huge loss of quality.

- You still should download body replacer mods like CBBE and Tempered Male skin. Just try to avoid 4k texture.

- Not all weather mods kill your performance, in fact, most of them may even make your game run faster. Seek out the performance package.

 

- Lighting mods like ELFX or ELE will enhance your look a lot, without sacrifice performace, do read what they say though, get the performance option. Or this mod Luminosity - Lightweight Lighting
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/16830

- Most armors, and outfits do not affect your performance. Just avoid ones with 4k texture and high polygon (they do warn users about it).

- ENB? ENB, get the performance option. ENB gives you a lot of control over how your game looks, add color? darker? lighter? etc... many options.

- Grass mod? You need grass mod. Pick the lesser density setup. Your grass will still look nicer than Vanilla and ... better performance. Verdant or Vedosebrom. Pay attention not to set the wrong density, or it will lag the heck out of you.

- Combat overhaul, magic overhaul, perk overhaul (like Ordinator), Vampire overhaul,etc.... should not affect you at all, but still read before download.

 

What to turn off or cut out?

- Turn off Ambient Occlusion. It looks nice, but tax your computer too much.

- Turn off Ambient Occlusion in ENB as well.

- Turn off Depth of Field in ENB. But dont turn off in Skyrim or you may have clear underwater.

- Shadow quality to medium or low. I run a super high end computer (comparing to yours) and I turn shadow to medium. Clearer shadow just reveal how bad the game handles shadow anyway, blurry shadow is fine.

Yep, the big 3: AO, DOF, Shadow are killers. Keep them low or turn them off, you play with it.

- Avoid mods that you know will bring out big battles or a lot of NPCs ... like Populated Skyrim. My population in town is literately doubled. I have to shove through people to get to the barmaid in the inn. It's really not that important (and sometimes annoying).

The more mods = more load time. But It's not too bad. Skyrim SE is very stable. If you CTD, something must go wrong.

Edited June 24, 2018 by tomomi1922

[tomomi1922]

Insignificant Object Remover

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3354

[SirTwist]

You have a decent base of a system. The only thing I see hampering your game play a whole lot is the graphics card. And even then it's not a big hamper. I have played Fallout 4 and SSE on a slightly better video card. A GTX 750, and then a GTX 750ti. what I mean by slightly better is speed. Otherwise, virtually the same card. Now, I'm running a 980ti. More speed and memory. Before I get away from the topic too much, as I stated previously, you have a good system to run SSE. It's up to you if you want to improve things, or not. The first thing I recommend is maybe another 4 to 8 gig of memory, depending on memory slots, and what your motherboard can handle. A better video card would be worth it. However, if you don't want to do all that, then you are okay.

 

I am going to recommend watching a few youtube videos at first, and read the description to get a list of mods used. The name is Gopher, watch his SSE let's play. He does change mods at some point, but typically the changes are for us viewing, but they are worth a watch.

 

What other people have missed that will help with game play, is the Unofficial Skyrim SE patch. That should be first thing. Next, SkyUI. From here is where you would get one or two graphics enhancing mods. I would. however, wait on using an ENB. Weapons mods, armor mods, etc. are a good way to go, as well. You want to kind of limit the 4k versions, and use mainly 2k. Also, any mods that remove fog that don't hamper performance is good. Watch, though, the ones that will hamper performance. You may want to do some experimenting with mods, a little. Some mods you want to start with. A few you can install as you play. However, don't remove mods mid way through. Unless they are hampering your performance. Otherwise, enjoy, and have fun.