skyrim dropped to insanely low fps + light/shadows broken

[Rax]

after getting my computer reformatted, i installed skyrim clean and ran it only to find it runs like total dogshit. it used to run great on high settings, now it runs like ass on medium settings.

 

when it worked, it detected my hardware and auto'd to high. it ran just fine. i had a shitload of mods installed.

 

after the reformat, it auto detects to medium and like i said my FPS is laughable and there are huge black smudges that appear and reapper on screen, and lines or "cracks" that show on various parts of the landscape/building interiors; both the shadowy crap and the lines will fluctuate as i move my camera.

 

my display / video card specs:

 

monitor 1 (the one I use): Generic PnP monitor

1920 x 1080 pixels

colors at highest 32 bit

 

with

 

ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (which is the adapter skyrim uses)

driver provider AMD inc

driver date 7/3 2012

driver version 8.970.100.3000

 

but i've also noticed ive got

 

ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series

driver provider is the same

driver date is the same

driver version is the same

 

which monitors 2 and 3 use, but monitors 2 and 3 neither exist nor are usable. wtf?

 

so here's the thing.

i know my specs are good enough. on this monitor, with this computer, i ran skyrim great on high settings. what the fuck changed that is fucking it up so badly?

 

is it windows, having been updated like crazy?

is it skyrim, having been updated to the last patch (which as far as i know only adds mutliple language support)?

 

do i somehow have to force skyrim to use the 4600 card? what the fuck? please help, I cant play skyrim!!!!!!!

 

[lordofthedread]

Sounds to me like a graphic card  driver problem, do you know what is your graphic card exactly?

 

Dont trust Windows to install your graphic card driver go to http://www.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDHomePage.aspx and get the latest driver from there.

[Rax]

i have narrowed down the scope of this issue considerably.

 

my monitor refuses to use my 4600 series graphics card, which is what it needs to be using. i am using a VGA cable, which shouldnt be an issue, as i have used this exact hardware effectively in the past.

 

how do i force this monitor to use my 4600 as opposed to the 3200?

[Rax]

this is the sole cause. not drivers, not updates.

 

if i plug my tower into the monitor that came with my tower at purchase via VGA and DMI it works fine, and that monitor will automatically use the 4600.

 

but this one i am using now uses only a VGA to the tower, and it refuses to use the 3200. i have no idea how to get it to change this. it didnt do this in the past.

[Rax]

i suspect that after the reformat, something changed in the windows software after it got updated. i think if windows doesnt detect the use of a DMI cable, it *will not* use the 4600.

[Rax]

i could possibly buy a converter for my VGA cable, but i know for a fact it worked fine without it, and thats not even a guaranteed fix anyway. id rather save the money and fix this via software, like i KNOW is possible. fucking windows.

[Rax]

it occurs to me now, its possible that when i took it in to get reformatted, the guys may have fucked with the ports inside of the tower when they were cleaning/dusting inside my tower. sigh.

[Rax]

wow. i just fixed this, and it was an embarassingly simple fix.

[Suludi]

How did you fix it?

[Rax]

my VGA cable was plugged into the jack on my tower which apparently is for the 3200 graphics card. there are other VGA and DMI jacks for the 4600 so ya

[Rayblue]

my VGA cable was plugged into the jack on my tower which apparently is for the 3200 graphics card. there are other VGA and DMI jacks for the 4600 so ya

 

 

That turned out to be a very simple fix. Since you're using a 22", I think you ought to use DVI instead; I've got my 20" plugged into the DVI port, which means better rescaling and digital control and communication between monitor and card.