What bottlenecks Skyrim?

[legionofpwn]

I am playing Skyrim at 4k with OrganicENB+Vivid Weathers+ELFX, as well as tons of sexlab mods/DD mods (slaverun, sexlab survival, spank that ass, cursed loot, milk mod), essentially assume my game is as bogged down with scripts as a game possibly could be.

 

My PC Specs are as follows:

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 4.2Ghz OC

CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo Black Edition

Mobo: Asus B450-F Gaming

RAM: 32gb (4x8gb) 3200Mhz Corsair Vengeance

GPU: Gigabyte RTX2080 Gaming OC

Drive running Skyrim: 500gb Samsung 860 Evo

 

I would've thought that an RTX2080 would've been enough to run such an old game at 4k60fps, but I'm only getting 60fps in interiors, inconsistently. Generally in cities my performance tanks the highest, I don't have JK's Skyrim or anything like that but I do have Populated Cities (the new devious one by Corsec), getting around 20fps when standing in the middle of Whiterun. Turning off the ENB does not seem to improve fps, which seems to indicate I'm CPU-bound, but what I've left out is I've just upgraded from an old i7-4790(non-k), and my fps was virtually the same! Please someone tell me what I can throw money at to get 60fps

[markTheLustOne]

Any area with too many npcs will tank the game period. 

[H3xx]

Also if you're playing Skyrim, and not Skyrim SE then you're limited to 4gb of ram because it's a 32bit executable. SE is 64bit and you can't install enough ram to hit the limit.

[legionofpwn]

11 minutes ago, markTheLustOne said:

Any area with too many npcs will tank the game period. 

Do you happen to know if CPU upgrades would fix/alleviate it? I'm considering the R9 3900xt rumored to come out soon, just scared I'll spend $500 for marginal improvements

4 minutes ago, H3xx said:

Also if you're playing Skyrim, and not Skyrim SE then you're limited to 4gb of ram because it's a 32bit executable. SE is 64bit and you can't install enough ram to hit the limit.

Well yea, the 32gb of ram wasn't meant for just Skyrim I play other games too, just strange that Oldrim is the only game I can't hit 4k60fps on. Also I'd love to play Skyrim SE, but at the time I was setting up my skyrim game there were some mods I considered must have that weren't as up to date as Skyrim ones, the big one was Cursed Loot I rmb it being on something like v6.2 on SE and v8.4 on oldrim. As I'm typing this I realise Cursed Loot SE has been updated to v8.4 but I've already set up my entire oldrim and I don't really want to do it all over again

[Shotdie]

7 minutes ago, legionofpwn said:

Do you happen to know if CPU upgrades would fix/alleviate it? I'm considering the R9 3900xt rumored to come out soon, just scared I'll spend $500 for marginal improvements

Well yea, the 32gb of ram wasn't meant for just Skyrim I play other games too, just strange that Oldrim is the only game I can't hit 4k60fps on. Also I'd love to play Skyrim SE, but at the time I was setting up my skyrim game there were some mods I considered must have that weren't as up to date as Skyrim ones, the big one was Cursed Loot I rmb it being on something like v6.2 on SE and v8.4 on oldrim. As I'm typing this I realise Cursed Loot SE has been updated to v8.4 but I've already set up my entire oldrim and I don't really want to do it all over again

No, It´s an engine limitation, if you want to have more FPS with scripts and graphics you need to Switch to SE

[legionofpwn]

4 minutes ago, Shotdie said:

No, It´s an engine limitation, if you want to have more FPS with scripts and graphics you need to Switch to SE

Oof. Well, I'll consider making the switch maybe one day when I've got time. On the brighht side, you just saved me about $500 so thanks.

[RedMonika]

12 hours ago, legionofpwn said:

I am playing Skyrim at 4k with OrganicENB+Vivid Weathers+ELFX, as well as tons of sexlab mods/DD mods (slaverun, sexlab survival, spank that ass, cursed loot, milk mod), essentially assume my game is as bogged down with scripts as a game possibly could be.

 

My PC Specs are as follows:

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 4.2Ghz OC

CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo Black Edition

Mobo: Asus B450-F Gaming

RAM: 32gb (4x8gb) 3200Mhz Corsair Vengeance

GPU: Gigabyte RTX2080 Gaming OC

Drive running Skyrim: 500gb Samsung 860 Evo

 

I would've thought that an RTX2080 would've been enough to run such an old game at 4k60fps, but I'm only getting 60fps in interiors, inconsistently. Generally in cities my performance tanks the highest, I don't have JK's Skyrim or anything like that but I do have Populated Cities (the new devious one by Corsec), getting around 20fps when standing in the middle of Whiterun. Turning off the ENB does not seem to improve fps, which seems to indicate I'm CPU-bound, but what I've left out is I've just upgraded from an old i7-4790(non-k), and my fps was virtually the same! Please someone tell me what I can throw money at to get 60fps

Well,

 

I think your specs are better than mine. My box is - I don't know - let's say 5 or 6 years out of date. It's pretty old as the socket 1150 isn't even made anymore:

 

i5 4690

ASRock Z97 Pro4

16 Gig memory...

blah blah

 

Spoiler

 

 

I don't have a lot of NPC mods.. Interesting NPCs, adventures and traveler with low numbers, inconsequential NPCs and a couple of followers and make overs.

 

I followed this guide https://www.sinitargaming.com/skyrim_graphics.html especially start and stability. I use Somber Dreams ENB, vivid weathers, and RLO. I have JK's village and then JK cities light. I mostly use 1k textures or even less - I may have a couple 2k. I don't really notice the difference as I focus more on game play, looting, pillaging, etc.

 

I have found the enblocal file for Bleak/unbleak just amazing. I just changed the memory settings on it for me. What ever it does knocks my FPS out of the park. That FPS is from FRAPS

 

Here's my load order:

 

Spoiler

# This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer.
Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch.esp
UnlimitedBookshelves.esp
Unofficial Skyrim City Patch Modified.esm
Skyrim Supplemental Patch.esp
hdtHighHeel.esm
WM Flora Fixes.esp
SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators.esm
notice board.esp
HammetDungeons.esm
EFFCore.esm
Campfire.esm
Heels Sound.esm
ApachiiHair.esm
ApachiiHairFemales.esm
ApachiiHairMales.esm
SGHairPackBase.esm
ZaZAnimationPack.esm
CompanionArissa.esm
daymoyl.esm
SexLab.esm
Skyrim - Utility Mod.esm
SexLabAroused.esm
Cutting Room Floor.esp
Weapons & Armor Fixes_Remade.esp
Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
BetterQuestObjectives.esp
Dark Fantasy Overhaul.esp
Extended UI.esp
iHUD.esp
SkyUI.esp
UIExtensions.esp
AddItemMenuLE.esp
FISS.esp
Modern Brawl Bug Fix.esp
NIOVHH.esp
OutOfMyWay.esp
BlendedRoads.esp
Skyrim Particle Patch for ENB - Flame Atronach Fix.esp
Unique Grasses.esp
WetandCold.esp
ImmersiveWeaponReaches.esp
RealisticRoomRental.esp
AOS.esp
Natural Lighting Vivid Atmospherics.esp
TrueStorms.esp
Darker Fantasy Weather Systems AoS.esp
Natural Lighting Vivid Atmospherics TS.esp
Simply Darker Nights by Simtar123.esp
Traps Are Dangerous.esp
AOS2_TAD Patch.esp
AOS2_TrueStorms Patch.esp
Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim.esp
BetterQuestObjectives-CRFPatch.esp
Wooden Mannequins Stay Still.esp
No More Ugly Effects.esp
Immersive Sounds - Compendium.esp
CuttingRoomFloorRemoveAltArmorEffect.esp
Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp
3DNPC.esp
Rebirth Monster.esp
Savage Wolves and Feral Foxes.esp
Merged Weapons.esp
Weapons & Armor_TrueWeaponsLvlLists.esp
aMidianBorn_ContentAddon.esp
Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remade.esp
Book Covers Skyrim.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
RLO - Exteriors.esp
JKs Towns.esp
Obsidian Mountain Fogs For LE.esp
tcbm.esp
SkyrimCoinReplacerRedux.esp
AOS2_RealisticWaterTwo Patch.esp
AOS2_WAF Patch.esp
xazPrisonOverhaulPatched.esp
Daedric Shrines.esp
goodbrother.esp
Weathered Road Signs.esp
Forgotten DungeonsAll.esp
RealisticNeedsandDiseases.esp
JBMod.esp
Ambriel.esp
hold guard.esp
ESFCompanions.esp
AKSkyrimUnderground.esp
Nordic Ruins of Skyrim.esp
True Scholar.esp
TrainAndStudy.esp
Merged Border Gates.esp
Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
Inns and Taverns.esp
Immersive Weapons.esp
WeaponsArmorFixes_ImmersiveWeapons_Patch.esp
Merged in Game Armor.esp
Lore Weapon Expansion.esp
JKs LITE - Cities.esp
ssWildernessCampEncounters.esp
SOTGenesisMod.esp
ImmersiveMashups.esp
Stealth Skills Rebalanced_COMPLETE.esp
WarmongerArmory_Vanilla.esp
WarmongerArmory_DLC.esp
WarmongerArmory_LeveledList.esp
Brigandage.esp
Vokrii - Minimalistic Perks of Skyrim.esp
Disparity.esp
Imperious - Races of Skyrim.esp
FriendlyGuards1.esp
Wintersun - Faiths of Skyrim.esp
TheChoiceIsYours.esp
MagnoCumGaudio.esp
Inconsequential NPCs.esp
SMIM-Merged-All.esp
Atlas Legendary.esp
DarkwaterKeep.esp
RealisticWaterTwo - Legendary.esp
Run For Your Lives.esp
fallentreebridges.esp
RRR_3DNPC-Patch.esp
Immersive Horses.esp
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.esp
dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp
AOS2_EBT Patch.esp
dD-Dragonborn-Dawnguard-EBT Patch.esp
dD-Medium Script Range.esp
JBMod - SkUg Patch.esp
Hunterborn.esp
DawnguardArsenal.esp
BountyHunter.esp
Frostfall.esp
Merged Immersive Patches.esp
BetterQuestObjectives - BCS Patch.esp
BetterQuestObjectives-DBForevertoMisc.esp
EFFDialogue.esp
BetterQuestObjectives-EFFPatch.esp
MQM_CRF_Patch.esp
NotSoFast-MainQuest.esp
TCIY_Wintersun_Patch.esp
Immersive Horses - Hearthfire Patch.esp
CWneutral.esp
GuildStarter.esp
bettercompanionliving.esp
Watercolor_for_ENB_RWT_RND.esp
Wildcat Better Messages.esp
Wintersun - BCS Patch.esp
MLU - CCOR New Recipes.esp
MLU - AOS2.esp
3DNPC Don't Call Me Dragonborn.esp
Ghosu - Weapon Pack 1.esp
SexLab-AmorousAdventures.esp
SofiaFollower.esp
LostLongSwords.esp
BikiniAscendVolume1.esp
Fantasy Soundtrack Project - Combat.esp
Fantasy Soundtrack Project.esp
ISC CCF Patch.esp
ISC WAFR Patch.esp
ISCompendium AOS Patch.esp
ISCompendium CCO Patch.esp
ISCompendium Enhanced Blood Patch.esp
Immersive Sounds - Footsteps.esp
ISFootsteps AOS Patch.esp
Better Dynamic Ash.esp
dD-No Spinning Death Animation Merged.esp
mcgFemaleWalk for SkyrimLE.esp
Merged Posers.esp
Poser Hotkeys.esp
Poser Merged Module.esp
PrettyMotionMCM.esp
TKDodge.esp
XPMSE.esp
BarbarianPaints.esp
Kai's Lipstick.esp
Merged Overlay Pack.esp
RaceMenu.esp
RaceMenuPlugin.esp
Realistic Haircolors.esp
SBP_SimpleBellyPaints.esp
SGHairPackAIO.esp
TheCoenaculiCBBE.esp
True Hunter.esp
True Hunter MCM.esp
Merchants and Citizens Have No Lockpicks.esp
NoPsychicLockKnowledge.esp
Treasure Maps of Skyrim.esp
Realistic Capacity.esp
Time Passes.esp
SimpleBowCrafting.esp
Dovahkiin prayer.esp
General Goods Fences.esp
No NPC Greetings.esp
Skysan_ENBHorseTrough.esp
Dual Sheath Redux.esp
GoToBed-EquippingOverhaul-patch.esp
GoToBed-Hunterborn-patch.esp
GoToBed-RealisticNeedsandDiseases-patch.esp
GoToBed.esp
honedmetal.esp
Immersive NPC in the dark.esp
LootandDegradation.esp
PC Head Tracking - MCM.esp
PC Head Tracking - Patch.esp
WetandCold - Ashes.esp
AKSkyrimUnderground Daedric Shrines Patch.esp
Lock Overhaul.esp
Predator Vision.esp
TavernGames.esp
AdventurersAndTravelers.esp
DifficultArchery_50.esp
Immersive Archey.esp
Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp
ABT - Faster Arrows Improved +25%.esp
ImmersiveHeadshots.esp
ABT - Faster Bolts Improved +10%.esp
ABT - Increased Bolts Damage (Vanilla) +50%.esp
ABT - Loot Arrows -25%.esp
ABT - Merchants Arrows +50%.esp
ABT - Progressive Damage (Vanilla).esp
ABT - Recover 25% Less Arrows and Bolts.esp
DSAMG - Greybeard Fix.esp
DSAMG - Miraak Music Fixes.esp
EnemyEnhancer.esp
Realistic AI Detection 2 - High Interior, Medium Exterior.esp
SkyRealism - Encumbrance.esp
TradeBarter.esp
VioLens.esp
ImmersiveSpells.esp
MoarMagePower.esp
PassiveWeaponEnchantmentRecharging.esp
Spell Learning.esp
SexLabDangerousNights2.esp
SexLab Warmbodies.esp
SexLabDefeat.esp
SLAnimLoader.esp
SLALAnimObj.esp
SleepToGainExperience.esp
Berte.esp
3DNPC_FrogCustom_Amalee.esp
3DNPC_FrogCustom_Zora.esp
Bijin AIO.esp
TheAmazingWorldOfBikiniArmor.esp
TAWoBA_Light.esp
MLU - Stealth Skills Rebalanced.esp
Merged CT77 Remodeled Armor.esp
ElderOutfit-NoBijin.esp
EldersWearVanilla.esp
Merged Population Patchs wo IC Patch.esp
mihaildraugrpatrols.esp
VigilantFaction.esp
TimingIsEverything.esp
Honoured Standing Stones v0-1.esp
stendarrsbeaconenhanced.esp
daymoyl_DawnguardAddon.esp
Missives.esp
MF_RadiantProstitution.esp
EmbersHD.esp
The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
sami_hut.esp
AzuraShrineExtra.esp
treehouse_larger.esp
NorthernClearSpringTarn.esp
BetterQuestObjectives-PaarDilemmaPatch.esp
Missives - Solstheim.esp
SexLab Approach.esp
Merged Hair Pack.esp
Merged Eye Pack.esp
FunctionalBags.esp
bm_SimpleAction.esp
d_b Whetstone.esp
Equipping Overhaul.esp
FNIS.esp
FNISSexyMove.esp
RLO - Effects.esp
RMRangerArmor.esp
MLU.esp
Merged Loot Patches.esp
MLU - Lost Longswords 1H.esp
MLU - Warmonger Armory.esp
MLU - aMidianBorn Content.esp
Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
RLO - Interiors.esp
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
Alternate Start -- New Beginnings.esp
BetterQuestObjectives-AlternateStartPatch.esp
RDO - Immersive Horses Patch.esp
RDO - EFF v4.0.2 Patch.esp
RDO - Cutting Room Floor Patch.esp
Realistic-Voice.esp
RLO - CRF Patch.esp
Scarcity - Less Loot Mod.esp
Scarcity - 6x Merchant Item Rarity.esp
Scarcity - 8x Loot Rarity.esp
Bashed Patch, 0.esp
Dual Sheath Redux Patch.esp
DynDOLOD.esp
Warburg's 3D Paper World Map - Texture 2.esp
Paper World Map - Solstheim.esp
warburg's 3d paper world map - dawnguard.esp

 

I merge a lot of mods like armor, patches, weapons, overlays, hair, etc.

 

What ever it is my game is stable, doesn't crash and playable. It took me a good month to iron out mods and even making the game start but it was worth it. 

[legionofpwn]

My game is pretty stable, not much in the way of crashes and such - just low fps sometimes, which I guess is an engine limitation. Using task manager's resource monitor I'm finding that none of my CPU cores are even hitting 100%, which implies to me maybe that my CPU is spending time waiting for scripts to finish firing. Seems like my only solutions are to switch to SE or get rid of some script heavy mods.

[RedMonika]

2 hours ago, legionofpwn said:

My game is pretty stable, not much in the way of crashes and such - just low fps sometimes, which I guess is an engine limitation. Using task manager's resource monitor I'm finding that none of my CPU cores are even hitting 100%, which implies to me maybe that my CPU is spending time waiting for scripts to finish firing. Seems like my only solutions are to switch to SE or get rid of some script heavy mods.

Considering scripts to be heavy or light is a misnomer. You kinda have to understand the way that scripts work before you can start understanding how to measure their 'weight.' I have a lot of what could be considered "heavy" script mods but I control how they affect or interact with the game. For example, I have Wet and Cold which takes into account NPCs. Control the options in MCM menus to how see what you can turn off. You can have the over all affect but cut down on how they affect the game. I cut down most options in Wet and Cold to just have NPCs wear hoods... now as I'm thinking about it I'm not sure I really care about that actually.

[27X]

19 hours ago, legionofpwn said:

I can throw money at to get 60fps

 

18 hours ago, Shotdie said:

No, It´s an engine limitation, if you want to have more FPS with scripts and graphics you need to Switch to SE

Bullshit.

 

Skyrim's limitations come from memory bandwidth handling and excessive draw calls, which has jack shit to do with scripts. Point of fact is SSE has more draw calls than LE and that's before start adding hipoly models "that only work on SSE" (bullshit) and setting ugrids above 5, which incidentally hammers even more draw calls.

 

The factual advantages of SSE are DX11 frameTIME resolves, not frameRATE, superior memory footprint (which has nothing to do with bandwidth) and being able to use ESLs. Bad mods on SSE are just as much a problem as they are on LE. And better frametimes can only smooth out crappily written mods so much.

 

Raw bandwidth increases in asset loading and anything that can ->generate<-, not process, drawcalls faster at runtime will have a marked increase in Skyrim's framerate, which means RAM and storage speed/bandwidth actually matter as much or more than graphic speed.

[Shotdie]

47 minutes ago, 27X said:

 

Bullshit.

 

Skyrim's limitations come from memory bandwidth handling and excessive draw calls, which has jack shit to do with scripts. Point of fact is SSE has more draw calls than LE and that's before start adding hipoly models "that only work on SSE" (bullshit) and setting ugrids above 5, which incidentally hammers even more draw calls.

 

The factual advantages of SSE are DX11 frameTIME resolves, not frameRATE, superior memory footprint (which has nothing to do with bandwidth) and being able to use ESLs. Bad mods on SSE are just as much a problem as they are on LE. And better frametimes can only smooth out crappily written mods so much.

 

Raw bandwidth increases in asset loading and anything that can ->generate<-, not process, drawcalls faster at runtime will have a marked increase in Skyrim's framerate, which means RAM and storage speed/bandwidth actually matter as much or more than graphic speed.

I didn´t want to get technical but that´s basically what I wanted to say with "engine limitations", you´re totally right

[Guest]

I find it quite amusing that the SSE enthusiasts NEVER mention one of the biggest advantages of that build... x86-64 higher amount of general purpose registers.

~50% of your 32-bits x86 program is just instructions for grabbing/storing data from/to the stack/heap (ARM 32-bits does not have the same flaw since ARM isn't a crappy architecture unlike x86 and x86-64). x86-64 adds 8 general purpose registers (r8-r15), greatly reducing the need to do so.

The calling convention alone is reason enough to compile large programs as x86-64. Not only you benefit from a better __fastcall convention by storing your parameters directly into registers, but you also don't need to clean up the stack afterwards (assuming all of your parameters can be stored within registers).

 

This ends up being quite relevant in Skyrim since the program does a lot of thread context switches. Not only you've a lot less instructions to process between allocated CPU time, but you can also now perform 1-cycle CPU instructions with 64-bits data rather than multi-cycle instructions (SSE).

[Guest]

Your CPU is likely holding the game back.

 

Only way I get 60fps consistently on my laptop at 1080p (i7-4610M, Quadro M4000M) is when I overclock the CPU to 4.0GHz using Intel XTU. When I drop it to half that, or even run it close to stock, FPS drops like mad.

 

The 3600 isn't very good in terms of clockspeed, which Skyrim likes since it's DX9 and DX9 has a largely single threaded render pipeline (which ENB tries to fix).

[Pauduan]

If you drop the resolution to 1080p and get under 60% fps gain, you're not GPU-limited.

 

I have tried multiple GPUs and find that with some small tweaks in render settings (at 1080p), a given setup gives very similar FPS across different GPUs, all else being the same.

 

At my daily resolution of 2560x1600, things are quite different - GPU limitations kick in hard.