Skyrim imposes fps cap

[templ4te]

Hi all,

I have an interesting issue in Skyrim. Everytime I am in wide areas (usualls with fog or fires nearby), my framerate drops to constant 29.9 fps. This especially applied to Markarth when standing with my back to the castle and lookig over the city (see screenshots on the bottom). Everywhere else I can play with constant 60fps with a few drops to the 40-50s in large combats. In normal areas, I use between 70-100% GPU load, 1900-2000MB VRAM and up to 50% CPU (2 Cores out of 4).

I am using MSI afterburner to monitor GPU usage: GPU load in the critical 29.9 fps areas is around 60% and VRAM is at 1900MB out of 2048MB. Therefore I can exclude a GPU bottleneck. CPU load is at ~25% which should be no bottleneck as well because Skyrim can use 2 Cores.

MSI on screen display is used for fps monitoring. For eliminating the skyrim micro stuttering I use windowed mode with simple borderless window (SBW.exe). SKSE is running as well.

My settings are all maxed out (except MSAA 4x instead of 8x) and I am using a bunch of graphics modifications and ini tweaks:

 

My number of mods is between 40-50:

-quality world map
-aof beliebable hair
-bellyaches hd dragon replacer
-better females
-better hand mesh
-better messagebox controls
-categorized fevorites menu
-complete crafting overhaul
-enhanced blood textures
-enhanced lights and fx
-footprints
-glorious daedric retexture
-glowing ore veins
-guard dialogue overhaul
-hd furniture and barrels
-hd high resolution books
-high quality eyes
-high quality foods and ingedients
-higher poly skyrim
-i wash
-improved npc clothing
-lanterns of skyrim (cities & bridges)
-lovely jessica
-moonpath to elsewyr
-no more blocky faces
-player headtracking
-project reality climates of tamriel
-quest and the realms of daedra
-quest no mercy
-quest sea of ghosts
-realistic lighting overhaul
-realistic lighting with customization
-realistic ragdolls and force
-ruins clutter improvement
-skyrim flora overhaul (+ diverse trees + optional trees + update)
-skyrim 2k textures lite (dungeons,landscape,misc,towns,riften)
-skyrim realistic overhaul
-skyui
-smithing perks overhaul
-sounds of skyrim
-static mesh improvement mod
-the asteria
-the grytewake legend (quest)
-the pines of whiterun
-treesHD
-tytanis farming mounts crafts spells items
-ultimate follower overhaul
-unofficial skyrim patch
-vilja in skyrim
-w.a.t.e.r.
-weapons and armor fixes
-wet and cold

All textures except the dragons have been reduced to 2048x2048 because I initially had VRAM issues

 

 

Here is my Skyrim.ini:

[General]
sLanguage=ENGLISH
uExterior Cell Buffer=64
uGridsToLoad=7
iPreloadSizeLimit=51380224
iPresentInterval=0
iNumHWThreads=5
bMultiThreadMovement=1
bUseThreadedMorpher=1
bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1
bUseThreadedTempEffects=1
bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1
bUseMultiThreadedFaceGen=1
bMultiThreadBoneUpdate=1
bDecalMultithreaded=1


[Display]
fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0
fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0
fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
bAllowScreenshot=1

[Audio]
fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0
fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0
fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0
fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

[Grass]
bAllowCreateGrass=1
bAllowLoadGrass=0

[GeneralWarnings]
SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.

[Archive]
sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa
sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

[Combat]
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

[Papyrus]
fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0
bEnableLogging=0
bEnableTrace=0
bLoadDebugInformation=0
[Water]
bReflectLODObjects=1
bReflectLODLand=1
bReflectSky=1
bReflectLODTrees=1

 

This is my SkyrimPrefs.ini:

[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=5
iMaxAnisotropy=16
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000
fGamma=1.0000
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
iWaterMultiSamples=4
iMultiSample=8
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bFull Screen=0
iSize H=1200
iSize W=1920
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000
iScreenShotIndex=2
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
sD3DDevice="AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series"
bFXAAEnabled=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=0
iShadowFilter=3
bShadowsOnGrass=1
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bDeferredShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=0
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=1
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=2
[interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=1
bGeneralSubtitles=1
fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=1
bMouseAcceleration=0
bUseKinect=0
[Particles]
iMaxDesired=750
[saveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000
[AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal7=1.0000
uID7=0
fVal6=1.0000
uID6=0
fVal5=1.0000
uID5=0
fVal4=1.0000
uID4=0
fVal3=1.0000
uID3=94881
fVal2=0.4000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=0.8000
uID0=1007612
[Clouds]
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000
[TerrainManager]
fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
bShowLODInEditor=0
[NavMesh]
fObstacleAlpha=0.5000
fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000
fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500
fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000
fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500
fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000
fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000
fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500
fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000
fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000
fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000
fEdgeThickness=10.0000
fPointSize=2.5000
[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20
[Decals]
uMaxDecals=1000
bDecals=1
bSkinnedDecals=1
uMaxSkinDecals=100
uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60
[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
bShowAllResolutions=1
uLastAspectRatio=4
[blurShaderHDR]
bDoHighDynamicRange=1
[blurShader]
bUseBlurShader=0
[Water]
iWaterReflectHeight=1024
iWaterReflectWidth=1024
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1

 

My hardware is the following:

Intel i5 2500k @ 4,5Ghz

Gigabyte Radeon hd7870 @ 1230/5800

16GB RAM

Win7 64bit

 

To my opinion, 29.9 fps looks very ugly and are almost implayable (input lag etc) so I would be very happy if there is someone who can help me with this problem. I have already searched in many forums but I have not been able to find someone with similiar problems.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

 

Edit: If anyone wants to reproduce my issue he is very welcome to do so. Please be aware that for reproducing the error setting ugridstoload to 7 and adjusting preloadsizelimit, uinteriorcellbuffer and uexteriorcellbuffer might be necessary!

Here are screenshots of critical locations for me:

Dropbox link to my screenshots

2013-02-05_00009.jpg (27% COU load, 45% GPU load, 1900MB VRAM)

ScreenShot2.jpg (20% CPU, 40% GPU, 1900MB VRAM)

ScreenShot3.jpg (24% CPU, 63% GPU, 1950 MB VRAM)

(the other screenshots in the zip folder are just for fun. Although taken in wide areas I had not the 29.9 fps issue there. Making these, I had 50-60fps with 100% GPU load)

Edited February 5, 2013 by templ4te

[templ4te]

Hey guys,

maybe I wasnt clear enough about my problem. Let me try to explain it in short. Details are above

 

In some areas, Skyrim seems to impose an fps cap to the gameplay. I get constant 29.9 fps although my resources (GPU/CPU) are not maxed out. The fact that these fps are absolutely constant underlines my hypothesis that Skyrim itself is the reason for te fps drop. I think ~30 fps is unplayable and I would very much appreciate your help!

Best

[hylskrik]

Are you absolutely sure you haven't turned on V-sync in the Catalyst control panel? Having the framerate cut down to 30 fps sounds an awful lot like V-sync kicking in when it can no longer maintain a steady 60 fps.

[Belial666]

On quad core you should change iNumHWThreads=5 to iNumHWThreads=4 (or 2 if you only wanna use 2 cores).The 5 is probaly confusing the poor game a bit.

You're also overclocking,and Elder Scrolls(and quiete a few others) games don't like overclocking alot.

If you haven't,use BOSS for load order and compatibility check for the mods.

Also,no matter how awesome a PC,there's areas that just have issues and drop framerates alot with no reason at all.I tested that same area in Markarth and get the same 1/2 framerate drop.So it's possible it's jsut something that's not been fixed yet.

Also,30FPS should be no issue at all and cause almost no lag with mouse,I only get some mouse lagging with 20FPS or less.

As a test,backup your INIs,and let it make new ones on Ultra setting,do your tweaks,but only to ones that are already in the new INI,don't add new ones,then only add the uGridsToLoad=7 so it don't cause issues with your save.

 

hylskrik - vsync only limits FPS to monitor refresh and full screen cycles.Adaptive half rate vsync will drop it in 1/2 if the FPS isn't reaching the full refreshrate.I dunno if AMD cards have that,since I use an NVIDIA card.

[hylskrik]

Belial, please read this:

Quote

The problem with turning VSync on is that the framerate is locked to multiples of 60. If the framerate drops even just a little below 60 FPS VSync will drop all the way from 60 FPS to 30 FPS. This is a huge drop in framerate, and that large change in framerate becomes noticeable to the gamer. The result is called stuttering, and when you are playing a game that consistently changes between only 30 and 60 FPS, the game speeds up and slows down and you feel this difference and it distracts from the gameplay experience. What's worse is that if the framerate drops ever so slightly below 30 FPS the next step down for VSync is 20 FPS, and then the next step down is 15 FPS.

 

[..]

 

Adaptive VSync in essence dynamically changes between VSync on and off automatically to deliver no tearing above the refresh rate, yet no FPS drop. Quite simply, with Adaptive VSync VSync is turned on, capping the game to the refresh rate of your display. It will cap to 60 FPS on 60Hz displays, or 120 FPS on 120Hz displays. This eliminates tearing. Secondly, if the framerate drops below your refresh rate VSync shuts off and allows your framerate to run in real-time. Then, when the FPS gets back up to your refresh rate, VSync kicks on and keeps the image from tearing.

For a more thorough intro to V-sync I recommend this post.

 

Furthermore, adaptive half-rate V-sync lowers the synchronization to 30 hz rather than 60 hz (assuming a 60 hz monitor, of course).

Edited February 21, 2013 by hylskrik

[Belial666]

I mistakenly put it for the wrong type of adaptive vsync.I don't believe in practice what they are saying is true,but it's good that they are reading papers and telling what theoretically should happen.I don't get the results in realworld gameplay,though.My framerates are not locked to 60 or 30 with vsync on in drivers and in the game.I also disable triple buffering,since it does cause mouselag when on for me.Maybe my PC likes me and don't follow rules to get the best experience,lol.

[templ4te]

Hey guys thank you very much for your responses! I didn't expect that after more then 2 weeks!

I tried out your suggestions. Running BOSS has not improved the issue. Resetting the .ini files neither. Could it maybe be related to uGridsToLoad 7 which is the only option I didn't change back to default?

 

I totally do not understand the VSYNC stuff or whatever Skyrim does. VSYNC is disabled in CCC AND iPresentInterval is set to 0. Still, I never get more than 60fps (which is my monitor refresh rate). Strange. Also I see no point why Skyrim or whatever should enable half-rate Vsync...

Today again, the GPU was never at full load while getting low fps. Therefore it may be that there really is a CPU bottleneck (once again, ugridstoload related???). If that's the case I curse those developers who make no proper multi core support for their games!!

Do you have more ideas what could fix it?

[Belial666]

The uGrdiToLoad tweak shouldn't affect in a city.Backup oyur saves and try changing it back to 5,and see if it helps.Windows mode will be slower,even if it helps mouse smoothing.On another thread,FiftyTifty put a link to a dll/cfg that can possibly help,it helped some on another person's issue http://www.kegetys.fi/dl.php/d3d_antilag101.zip