Shadows and Response Lag Problem

[aprilius20]

Hi all. This is a continuation of a previous thread I started- would have edited that one instead of starting a new thread (if the editor would have let me save the edits), but anyway:

 

 

I had this problem since upgrading to Win7 32bit (on a com with 4gb ram- long story). Previously I had patch 1.5, running on vista, with no problem.

 

Apparently this shadow problem isn't just about visuals, it also causes some sort of delay. I had to hammer Printscreen several times before I could take a screenshot (something I just found out, out of frustration).

 

Would patch 1.6 fix this problem? Anyone else have the same issue?

 

p.s. Sorry if the Image is flowing out of the column- no idea how to fix that.

Edited June 20, 2012 by aprilius20

[aprilius20]

Just did a fresh install, and updated to 1.6. It's still the same.

Perhaps it's because I screwed up by installing win7 32bit on a 64bit capable com?

 

I'm at a loss. Can anyone help me out here?

[Georgiegril]

It looks like a graphics card issue, maybe spiking. What are your graphics specs? HAve you checked your temps while playing? Turned down your clocks (if overclocking) or played at lower graphics settings?

[aprilius20]

It looks like a graphics card issue, maybe spiking. What are your graphics specs? HAve you checked your temps while playing? Turned down your clocks (if overclocking) or played at lower graphics settings?

 

I'm not too sure what you mean (spiking, temps, clocks), but my video card is a modest ATI HD3470, 256MB. PC has 4g of RAM. I've always played at low settings, albeit with actor fade set to around 50%. AA off, no FXAA.

 

p.s. aspect ratio 16:10, resolution 1280 x800. Texture quality medium, radial blur, shadow detail low, decal quantity, none... water set only to reflect sky, if that helps.

Edited June 21, 2012 by aprilius20

[Georgiegril]

Spiking is caused by bad VRAM see this link for graphics error examples.

Your 256 is definitely low..it could be that you are experiencing a game that is too much for your specs. If this happened just after 1.6, I would first look at all of your settings to make sure that they weren't changed by the update.

Your GPU could be overheating, which causes all kinds of problems. I am not familiar with radeon, but something like CPU-Z should show you what your running temps are during the game (both GPU and CPU. Overheating can kill cards, and CPU heating can kill your computer. It's good to rule that out. Your drivers interface may have temperature monitoring as well.

 

If you haven't recently updated your drivers, you may benefit by doing that. Again, I am unfamiliar with ATI so check their site and maybe do a thread search here to see what people suggest for the best drivers.

 

If you haven't blown out your computer with compressed air, it is possible that dust is causing problems. Dust can raide temps, but it can also create electrical charges that can cause all kinds of havoc. To blow out your computer, if you are unfamiliar with that, you might want to look here.

 

It might be that your card is dying, :-( but I hope not. You could try turning your graphics down even more. See this website for ideas for low level cards:

 

Also, if you are using any texture mods, you may want to see if playing without them helps. Or lowering your resolution.

 

Oh, and if you haven't already, close out all other programs. Additional screens take VRAM.

 

EDIT: another thought, since you have recently moved over to Windows 7...are you using the correct updated DirectX drivers? YOu can just google DirectX driver update....

 

Hope some of this helps!

[aprilius20]

@Georgiegril:

- Hmm, I don't think any of the screenshots on that page match. I just played Saints Row Third- a little slow in full screen, but ran fine when windowed at a lower resolution with low settings. My sister played Resident Evil V- fullscreen, without issue. Previously (when on Vista with 1.5) Skyrim was fine on fullscreen, and low settings. The problem started after I switched to Win7-32, using 1.5. Thought 1.6 would solve the problem, but it didn't...

- I did upgrade my drivers, but it didn't help.

- Cleaning is something I've never done... I think I'll give it a try.

-Texture mods? I'm using CBBEv3 and Ashen. I didn't have any trouble with it before, but I'll try disabling them first and see what happens.

-Yup, all programs closed, though I leave one light program open just to make it easier to alt-tab.

-DirectX should be up to date, seeing as I just installed Sants Row Third recently- I'll have to check and see.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, by the way!

[Georgiegril]

You are welcome. Have you gotten it working properly? I forgot to suggest the verify your cache thing on steam. This can do miracles, sometimes, but it also resets your pref.ini and graphics settings to default.(which may or amy not be a good thing)

 

If not, I'm wondering if the problem may be with your new setup. Have you tried a complete uninstall of all mods and your game (manually going through to make sure every last file is deleted) and then beginning with a fresh install of Skyrim? If the problem occurs still, it would be a good indication that the problem is related to your computer and/or graphics card, rather than a mod. It is painful but it may save you a lot of time in the long run. If it does not appear in that circumstance, you could slowly add your mods back one by one until /if the problem appears.

[aprilius20]

Not yet, unfortunately, and I probably won't be able to try for the next few days (going on a trip). Nope, I'm using the retail version, heh. I don't trust my internet connection to download large files over the net.

 

I did try a fresh install, as well as a new save game, but it didn't help. I'd rather not completely delete the mods since DLing them was a pain too, due to frequent disconnections on nexus' side, but I guess I have no choice but to give it a go (though I'll leave it till after updating/checking DirectX).

 

I'll report back once I get back and get it done. Thanks again, I really appreciate your suggestions, even if nothing's fixed yet:)

[aprilius20]

Well, I'm back, and here's what I've done so far:

-Tried to update DirectX (up to date, program wouldn't let me).

-Uninstalled all mods.

-Uninstalled game, deleted all related files.

-Cleaned registry.

-Reinstalled,

and sadly it still won't work :ohdear:

[Georgiegril]

Well, that suggests it is a problem with your graphics card rather than the game. (asssuming you didn't do all that and then try to load an old save game) I don't know much about Radeon, but did you update the drivers at the Radeon site? Or, if so, maybe try an older river? If Radeon is anything like NVidia, there will be a thread on their forums that discusses the best update for your card, maybe even specifically for Skyrim.

 

Have you tried stress testing your card to see if it is working properly? (not sure what Radeon users use for that, there are things like MSI afterburner I know people use without having MSI cards...)

 

Not sure why you would install 32-bit if you could use 64-bit...but did you check to make sure your card drivers are also 32-bit? That could cause issues....

 

You might try posting the picture here on the Radeon forum (I'm assuming there is one)...there could be someone on that forum who knows exactly the cause and the solution.

 

Sorry you are having problems, hope something here helps!