Getting the most out of Skyrim on a lower end machine

[shreduhsoreus]

I'm sure something like this has been posted at some point, but I'm going to talk more specifically about what I did to keep me from raeging at my computer and spending a lot of money on a new one. If this thread helps even just one person get their game running better, I'll be satisfied. Or if it just dies quickly, that's fine too.

 

 

 

Ultimately, the BEST way to get your game running smoother and prettier is to upgrade your hardware. Obviously, not everyone can afford to go out and blow $300 on a video card or build a new machine. Some of us also can't justify spending loads of money on hardware just to get one or two games running better. This little guide of tips and mods is aimed towards anybody with a super low budget or even no budget at all. No, you won't be able to play on Ultra settings with a solid 60 FPS and 74328947 mods, but improvement is improvement, especially when it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get it.

 

 

 

First, I'll give a list of my current hardware, followed by what I had when the game first released, then some tweaks and mods to help you improve performance.

 

 

 

Current PC specs:

Intel Pentium 4 670. Single core 3.6 GHz 2MB cache with Hyper Threading enabled(This is an UPGRADE from what I had. Ebay, 8 bucks!)

3GB DDR2-533. 2x1GB and 2x512MB dual channel interleaved

Radeon HD 6450 1GB. Overclocked to the max(save the lectures!) with fan speed at a consistent 100%(only got this because, rebates.)

320GB SATA I HDD(150 mbps)

Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit

 

PC specs upon initial release:

Intel Pentium 4 540. Single core 3.2 GHz 1MB cache with HT enabled

2GB DDR2-533 4x512MB dual channel interleaved

Radeon HD 4350 1GB, standard settings, heat sink only.

SATA 1 HDD

Windows XP Professional 32 bit

 

I used Skyboost with my previous setup with good results, but now that it's obsolete, I have a different method to my madness.

 

 

I HIGHLY suggest doing some extensive research on your system to see what upgrades it can take. Depending on the age and brand of your machine, there's a good chance that you can upgrade your CPU to something at least a LITTLE better for not too much money(such as in my case, $8 for double the cache and 400MHz faster). This isn't guaranteed though, as some older processors, while no longer manufactured, STILL cost a good chunk of cash, even used. Most DDR2 however, is dirt cheap. Ebay is your friend!

 

 

 

 

Now, let's talk about some mods you can install to help you get better performance, without having to make your game look like FF7 :P

 

Not only do these help your game run smoother, you'll experience less CTDs, texture drops/failures, and it puts less stress on your CPU and GPU.

 

 

NOTE: I DID NOT MAKE ANY OF THESE MODS, I JUST USE THEM AND THINK THEY'RE AMAZING. Credit goes to whoever made these. If you use them, endorse them, they deserve it.

 

 

 

Optimizer Textures

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12801

 

This first mod I would recommend running once you are content with the texture packs you have installed, and again if you install new textures. To put it simply, this mod lowers the size of your files(so there's less for Skyrim to load) with a minimal loss of texture quality(I can't even tell the difference honestly). To put it not so simply, here's some copy pasta.

 

Features:

 

- Compress BMP, TGA, DDS (unoptimized) to DXT5 and DXT1

- Remove unused mask in DXT5/DXT3 to DXT1c without losing quality, reducing 50%

- Make mipmaps to improve performance

- Delete unnecessary files (identical BMP=TGA=DDS, thumbs.db, pspbrwse.jbf, ...)

- Resize fills to 4x4 or 16x16

- Fix Wrong Size - Example: 100x30 => 128x32

- Fix when the alpha channel is hiding an image

- Optionally resize textures

- Optimizer BSA (Compress, Merge internal files)

- Backup changed files

 

Consequently:

- decreases some stuttering

- fixes crash/CTD caused by bursting of VRAM

- freedom hard disk space / reduces the size of the MOD

 

What I did was leave the bsa files untouched and used it to compress the standard texture files. That cleared up 200MB of space, most being from textures that are loaded frequently, making it so Skyrim had less data to load. Compressing the bsa files leaves you with a smaller footprint, but it also means there's more decompression to be done when they're accessed. I'd recommend leaving those alone. More info can be found on that mod's page.

 

 

 

Fix for CTDs and Missing Textures

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/4192

 

This next "mod" only applies to those using 32 bit systems. You don't actually have to download anything, it shows you how to configure your OS to allow more than 2GB of memory to be used by programs. Windows XP/Vista/7 doesn't care that Skyrim knows how to address 4GB of memory if it's configured to only allow 2GB of your memory to be allocated to programs. Use this to take full advantage of the fact that Skyrim is Large Address Aware.

 

 

 

HiAlgoBoost FPS Performance Accelerator 2

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/15123

 

This mod makes a HUGE difference if you're running a lower(or even mid-high) end machine! What it basically does is give you what's called a "dynamic resolution" based on your current FPS. It steps in between your CPU and GPU, taking the visual commands that Skyrim outputs, then deciding whether to scale down the image and by how much, then sends the command to your GPU, which then goes to your monitor. This happens super fast so there's no added lag, it runs off your CPU. So instead of seeing a big drop in FPS during combat/more graphically intense areas, the resolution is scaled down and your frame rate is maintained(you set the resolution floor, what FPS rate for it to kick in at, and the ceiling if you want to scale down a little bit at all times). TECHNICALLY, you see a lower resolution(blur), but it mostly kicks in when you are turning, which makes it so you don't really tell much of a difference other than a higher frame rate. It can also be enabled/disabled mid game via the F10 key. For more info, see the mod page.

 

 

 

"Gigantic Skyrim FPS Performance Patch"

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/5641

 

I don't know how, or why, this mod does what it does, but it does...what it does...that it says it does.....What?

Or at least for me it does. It doesn't for everyone(according to the comments).

 

It's just a d3d9.dll file that you put in your Skyrim folder. It's said to "make Skyrim run like Oblivion"...whatever that means, but it works for me. If you decide to use this in conjunction with HiAlgoBoost, do NOT replace the d3d9.dll that HiAlgoBoost provides, otherwise you won't be able to enable HAB. Instead do the following:

 

-Change the name of the .dll in THIS mod(NOT the one that came with HiAlgoBoost) to d3d9_other.dll

-Copy into Skyrim install directory(NOT the Data folder, the one with the launcher)

-Open HiAlgoBoost.ini

-Under [PROXY] (found at the top of the file), change "EnableProxy_d3d9 = false" to true

-Save

-Run Skyrim Launcher

-Readjust your settings

-Close launcher

-Launch Skyrim with whatever you use to normally play(SKSE/whatever)

 

When used with HiAlgoBoost, the insane FPS increase that's promised is only a few FPS, HOWEVER, HAB lowers the resolution less often, which is just as good to me!

 

 

 

ATTK Skyrim Power Loader

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27959

 

Last, and most certainly not least, we have a gift from the divines(or Daedra if you prefer) themselves! This mod has a number of tools that can help boost your performance and can allow you to let Skyrim completely "take control" of your system. With the added options of lowering background program priority, increasing or decreasing Skyrim's priority, cleaning your ram before launch, temporarily closing Windows Explorer, and others, this tool can not only boost your systems performance, but take some of the stress off of your hardware. The program is also designed to not cause harm to your system, so if you have it set too high it will just close instead of potentially damaging your hardware(how thoughtful!). See the mod page for a full explanation of tools, how they work, and how to make it work for you.

 

 

 

 

Now for some closing statements:

 

I want to make it clear that I do NOT recommend you download and install all of these mods at once! What works for me may not work as well for you, or it may work better, or the same, or even not at all. Your best bet is to take it slow and find out what works best for your system and your preferences. I would suggest starting with the first two, then make your way down the list until you find a setup that you like. Or you can skip everything and try ATTK first. Just do a little bit of research on each mod before you go mod-happy and install everything.

 

I'm currently using all 5 of these mods, along with some texture mods, mesh replacers, mods that involve scripts, item mods, and others. I get 40+ FPS with no crashes, no texture drops/failures, and my own custom settings that I would consider medium. My CPU fans also don't spin anywhere near as fast as they did before I started using these mods, which means it's not getting as hot or being overworked. If you'd like a list of the specific mods I use or my settings for my mods, just ask. If you have any other questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability or at least point you in the right direction for an answer.

 

 

 

 

If you found this "guide" helpful, amusing, annoying, stupid, amazing, or anything at all, feel free to leave a comment :D

Edited January 6, 2013 by shreduhsoreus

[LadyCat]

A good list. Personally, I have tried most of these and am using some of them already. I think I've gotten mine somewhat playable again, but I need to do another play test run to find out for sure. :P

[FiftyTifty]

I'll throw this in as well. For AMD/ATI cards only, though.

 

RadeonPro

 

Think of this as a merging of Ati Tray Tools, Catalyst Control Center and various (optional) graphical injectors.

 

Once installed, navigate to the "Mipmap" setting. Default will be High Quality. Change it to anything lower for a performance boost. I recommend either Quality or Performance. High Performance causes distant textures to lose their transparency.

 

You WILL notice a significant boost in FPS, with little visual impact (Supposing you don't go too crazy on the settings.)