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Best ways to improve performance for low end Computers?

WesternEnclave

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Mods:

Streamline 3.1 (bonus: random ctds!)

Oblivion Optimization Project

Oblivion Script Optimization

PYFFI meshes for vanilla Oblivion

Memory Purger (works similar to FreeMem in Skyrim)

Techniques:

If you don't care about hi rez texture, use Texture Optimizer and downscale everything to 512 x 512 (vanilla rez)

Use the modify Vipcxj_Highheels.esp on this site instead of the original (less frequent update scripts)

Avoid mods that add random encounter or increased spawn (Frans', MMM, and A.O)

Third paties:

Game Companion.

CleanMem.

 

Hope this helps.

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varenne

varenne

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1. Avoid any and all hi-rez textures, may be even med-rez. Once you optimize and reach stability, you can reconsider some, but not all.

 

Again as mentioned above, what is meant by a low-end PC. O/S, motherboard, CPU, RAM, grapics card?

Oblivion uses only one core so multi-core processors are wasted on it.

 

I maxed out an old Windows XP machine with 4GB of RAM, the 4GB Patch and a decent ATI video card with 256MB of onboard VRAM. Later upgraded to 512MB. Ever so slightly overclocked motherboard, optimized settings for Oblivion and created a profile for it. You can override some Oblivion ini settings via your graphics card management program, and if capable overclock your graphics card. Keep overclocking low or medium. Extremes will decrease stability. You are not aiming for massive FPS, since Oblivion's limit is around 50-55FPS. I've reached 60, but stability goes out the window. I have it hard locked now at 50 using OSR.

 

Super important to minimize Windows programs running in the background, so you limited RAM is available for Oblivion. That would be researching you specific installs of applications, plus WIndows stuff you have turned on. A lot of that crap you can turn off and have it on Manual settings vs. Automatic.

 

2. Oblivion Stutter Remover (OSR) - Start with the easy settings, FPS Management and then research your hardware and the more advanced settings, HEAP, algorithms, etc. The later ones are very hardware specific.

 

3. Stabilization and Optimization Mods (Oblivion) - Begin to read everything here, still relevant.

 

4. Streamline - I didn't care for the earlier versions of it as I found it too unstable.

 

Optimization and stability is a long-term goal, one you have to really work at not just for low-end PCs but even high-end, since Oblivion is an old game and does not make use of the more advanced gaming features of today. But if you put some reading effort into it, AND slowly tweak one item and test, test, test, you can reach a fairly nice personal Oblivion build.

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Guest

Guest

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ok I'll look into these, thanks asenasen!

 

 

Also I have streamline v2 Is is as good as v3?

3.1 still has random CTDs, but people generally say it is better than 2.1

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AnnaFly

AnnaFly

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what are the best way to improve the performance of oblivion for lower end computers? Ini tweaks may be useful but what are the best ways to improve it besides changing the settings in the game?

Greetings.

 

Firstly, sorry english isn't my native tongue/language ... so i prefer to find an old topic i've posted at Microsoft TechNet ( or Answers ?) about  computer performances ... in some games.

 

Not sure i 'll find it (or them) because it was posted a few years ago ( more than two years) and i posted a lot of answers there when i was a " helperess " at these sites.

 

With a translator  you will better understand an old post than a new i don't really want to write once again ... i 'm "lazy" tonight. 

 

Secondly , what do you mean exactly by "low-end" machine ? I can easily run a game such Oblivion or Skyrim with an old computer based on a Dual-Core ( or Dual-core II) intel E7200 ( or E8200/8300 ... it's better) or an AMD Quad 9550 under XP operaing system or , better, under Windows7  ( 64 bits if possible) , 4 GB of ram ( minimum) and with an old NVidia 8800 GT ( with 512 MB of graphic memory ). Resolution screen used : 1400 x 900 .

 

I'm still using that kind of computers but with an ATI 5770 ( or even 5750 ) graphic card ( 1MB of gaphic memory ) .

 

Fist thing to do is to manage your operating system and especially the hard disks ( you ,need two hard drives if you really want to create a decent system performances ) .

 

So the question is : what is your operating system , 32 or 64 bits ? What is exactly your hardware ( CPU , graphic card, Hard Disks, Mother board if possible, memory ...

 

I'll post a link(s) as a "PS" in i can find it (them).

 

Cheers.

 

PS : just a simple post ( Loukiana is my name ... and user name) , i will find others with much more details.

 

 

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/fr-FR/0b804c24-d967-4297-96ae-c6a4813cffc2/sp1-cause-ralentissement-au-dmarage?forum=win7fr

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Nepro

Nepro

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4 GB Patch - http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php if you have more than 3 GB RAM

Memory purger - extended by Alenet  http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45033/?

Streamline -  http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10400/?

Oblivion Stutter Remover - http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/23208/?

MoreHeap - http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/44985/?

iPreLoadSizeLimit tweak - http://preventcrashesinoblivion.page.tl/TweakGuide-.-com-h-s-Oblivion-Tweak-Guide.htm

 

4 GB Patch - you need to have more than 3 GB RAM and 64 bit system preferably 4 GB RAM and more

 

Memory purger very good mod don't use it with any other purger. Streamline got its own purger but you can disabled the Streamline purger in ini file and use Alenet's one instead.

 

Streamline - this is probably the one of two best optimizers for low end machines. Play with fog setting and object distance.

 

Oblivion Stutter Remover - take it from default ini and then adjust setting by setting. Don't use heap replacer unless you figure out one that works for your mode setup and system otherwise you risk crashes due to misconfiguration

 

MoreHeap is the easy way to go and skip OSR heap replacer. Be sure to set heap size no more than your RAM. Anyway the max you can set is 1024 (MB). Currently it is unknown if you can use both OSR heap and MoreHeap by shademe. So you better off using only one heap and not two.

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/109511-oblivion-stutter-remover/?p=14702894

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/23208/?tab=4&&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Foblivion%2Fajax%2Fcomments%2F%3Fmod_id%3D23208%26page%3D2%26sort%3DDESC%26pid%3D0%26thread_id%3D109511&pUp=1

 

 

iPreLoadSizeLimit is probably the most effective thing and will get rid of the lag but you need to work on it. Every iPreLoadSizeLimit is dependent on your machine specs and mod setup.

 

TL;DR - you gonna have to spend some serious time figuring out the right configuration for your machine and mod setup.

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WesternEnclave

WesternEnclave

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what are the best way to improve the performance of oblivion for lower end computers? Ini tweaks may be useful but what are the best ways to improve it besides changing the settings in the game?

Greetings.

 

Firstly, sorry english isn't my native tongue/language ... so i prefer to find an old topic i've posed at Microsoft TechNet ( or Answers ?) about  computer performances ... in some games.

 

Not sure i 'll find it (or them) because it was posetd a few years ago ( more than two years) and i posted a lot of answers there when i was a " helperess " at these sites.

 

With a translator  you will better understand an old post than a new i don't really want to write once again ... i 'm "lazy" tonight. 

 

Secondly , what do you mean exactly by "low-end" machine ? I can easily run a game such Oblivion or Skyrim with an old computer based on a Dual-Core ( or Dual-core II) intel E7200 ( or E8200/8300 ... it's better) or an AMD Quad 9550 under XP operaing system or , better, under Windows7  ( 64 bits if possible) , 4 GB of ram ( minimum) and with an old NVidia 8800 GT ( with 512 MB of graphic memory ). Resolution screen used : 1400 x 900 .

 

I'm still using that kind of computers but with an ATI 5770 ( or even 5750 ) graphic card ( 1MB of gaphic memory ) .

 

Fist thing to do is to manage your operating system and especially the hard disks ( you ,need two hard drives if you really want to create a decent system performances ) .

 

So the question is : what is your operating system , 32 or 64 bits ? What is exactly your hardware ( CPU , graphic card, Hard Disks, Mother board if possible, memory ...

 

I'll post a link(s) as a "PS" in i can find it (them).

 

Cheers.

 

PS : just a simple post ( Loukiana is my name ... and user name) , i will find others with much more details.

 

 

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/fr-FR/0b804c24-d967-4297-96ae-c6a4813cffc2/sp1-cause-ralentissement-au-dmarage?forum=win7fr

 

 

 

Well my processor is an  AMD Sempron 145. I got 1.75 GB of RAM. I have a ATI Radeon HD 4200 Graphics card. My CPU is 2.79 GHz. and such...

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varenne

varenne

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You can download a free copy of SiSoft Sandra and it will tell you quite a bit about your current hardware and software. You can often find dirt cheap RAM on various sites, depending on how old that motherboard is. But if it is too old it get's a little harder to find it sometimes.

 

Is this your Motherboard model 3047h? If it is that's looking pretty good as far as total RAM capacity, which is 16GB. I'd try to get 4, 2 GB sticks which are fairly cheap these days. When buying it's always best to by matched sets of RAM. Here is one example. It all comes down to what your budget for upgrades is; what you can afford. That will give you a total of 8GB, which is maybe half the total capacity. The more RAM per stick, the higher the prices will be. I prefer Corsair, but Crucial is also good. You could buy one set now and a second set at a later date. This will replace your current 1.75GB.

 

The ATI Radeon HD 4200 is th integrated graphics and key here is onboard graphics RAM or VRAM. Based on a quick review that may struggle with Oblivion and other 3d games. You have 3 expansion slots, 1 x PCI Express x16 2.0 (low-profile), 2 x PCI Express x1 (low-profile), so you could also potentially add a better card. You will want something PCI Express or PCIe and more than likely stay with ATI based as it will better match your other hardware.

 

Good news is you have a choice of O/S: Win 8/7/Vista/XP. Again a quick search and your CPU, AMD Sempron 145 looks to be AMD64 architecture, so you could install a 64-bit O/S. I personally prefer Win 7 now. Win 8 still needs more time for debugging IMO and Win 7 from a OEM site is also fairly cheap, now that Win 8 is out.

 

You can also upgrade your CPU just make sure it is an AMD Socket AM3 Only. That is a specific pin layout for that motherboard socket; AM3. This I personally would hold off till a later date as it is not a significant gain. You may also be able to overclock that CPU. So you could go up from your current 2.8 GHz to a slightly higher speed. More on that later if you decide to.

 

Your RAM and Video card will IMO provide the most significant gains for playing Oblivion. That and moving to a 64-bit O/S and using the 4GB patch identified above..

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WesternEnclave

WesternEnclave

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Well when it comes to O/S I prefer xp because I've heard windows 7 is weird with Morrowind, Can you link me to some stuff that would help that you talked about? That would help a lot. In oblivion I feel like I'm getting super low Fps even with all the sliders and stuff and all the mods you guys recommended (maybe about 7-10, and in certain areas it may go higher or lower) And when I put up the sliders in the settings menu the fps only decreases (or atleast feels like it's decreasing) by like a few. :/ This may sound wrong but I envy the people who get to play Day z with maximum graphics with a steady fps of 100 or whatever, or the people who an play morrowind with MGE, or those people who can play skyrim with all those enb mods and such and still have a good fps :'( . Let's say I had a budget of at most 200 dollars, what should I get and do?

 

And then after getting it I have to install it, which I'm not really good at xD, though I heard it not hard at all and it's kinda like a kindergarten puzzle, So yeah xD

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movomo

movomo

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Oh, speaking of that, when folks say old machines, it naturally reminds me of my oldschool laptop. (not too old, anyway)

 

It has infamy Intel GMA integrated graphics chipset and horrible Celeron processor. It is what I had even ages before the first core micro architecture cpu came out. Still it has no problem with Morrowind, fortunately. But Oblivion, it's a different story.

 

For people like me there was the "Oldblivion". It helps playing Obilvion in very old machines. There's no reason to play it in that laptop while I have much stronger desktop, but it was fun. Additionally I had installed every last low-poly/low-rez replacers I could think of.

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varenne

varenne

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Well when it comes to O/S I prefer xp because I've heard windows 7 is weird with Morrowind, Can you link me to some stuff that would help that you talked about? That would help a lot. In oblivion I feel like I'm getting super low Fps even with all the sliders and stuff and all the mods you guys recommended (maybe about 7-10, and in certain areas it may go higher or lower) And when I put up the sliders in the settings menu the fps only decreases (or atleast feels like it's decreasing) by like a few. :/ This may sound wrong but I envy the people who get to play Day z with maximum graphics with a steady fps of 100 or whatever, or the people who an play morrowind with MGE, or those people who can play skyrim with all those enb mods and such and still have a good fps :'( . Let's say I had a budget of at most 200 dollars, what should I get and do?

 

And then after getting it I have to install it, which I'm not really good at xD, though I heard it not hard at all and it's kinda like a kindergarten puzzle, So yeah xD

 

I ran XP on my one PC for years and played Oblivion fairly well. You could go for Win XP 64-bit, but I'm not sure if Oblivion would improve that much with the extended 64-bit mapping.

 

Link you to which? Post a list of the ones you mean and I'll do what I can.

 

Anyone saying they are playing Oblivion at 100 FPS is a liar. It will begin to crash often at 55 FPS and more frequently at 60. High FPS is overrated. Only in newer 3d games, which make better use of today's hardware and software features is of any value. Oblivion is an old single core technology, with limited 3D graphics capabilities. It doesn't even come close to using the technology I have available on my current CPU and graphics card. It just wasn't programmed to make use of it.

 

For $200 I'd invest in more and better RAM. If any is left over, save it till you can afford a better Video card. You want something with 1 to 2 GB video RAM.

 

Installing new RAM is very easy. Just remember to unplug the AC cord and be in a static free environment; no carpet. You can read up on static discharge and how to avoid it. PCs are very susceptible to it and you will need to learn to take precautions. Your PC should have online instructions on how to upgrade your RAM and other internals. Look for an online manual, either from the manufacturer or a third party write up someone may have done.

 

Those two will give the most improvements and bang for your buck. You can then research how to overclock your CPU, but only slightly not extreme. Those three combined will provide you with a decent environment to build Oblivion on. Not great, but decent.

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Guest

Guest

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Well Where can I buy ddr3 ram for the best price/ Good shipping? and If I get more ram how much of an increase should I be expecting?  

You need to tell us what mainboard you have before we can suggest which ddr3 type of ram you should buy. And yes, with 4GB+ RAM and ENBoost for Oblivion, your game will run smoother.

Edit 1: A quick search on Newegg gave me this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231394&cm_re=RAM_1333-_-20-231-394-_-Product

Looks pretty decent, I think you can use these on your mainboard.

Since you are going to need a new rig soon, I guess their sub-50 price is adequate.

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varenne

varenne

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I've used Newegg and the Local Tiger Direct. I used to like Newegg, but over the past few years their product lineup has gone down hill a bit. Now they tend to push the crappy stuff on deals. I like going to Tiger Direct since if I run into any problems I have someone to beat on and yell at.

 

Honestly, you need to shop around for the best price. And not just online but local stores too. I walked into Tiger Direct with a print out of the RAM I wanted from Newegg and asked what they had and at what price. The manager dropped $25 off the price as I bought 2 sets of 4 sticks; matched pairs and they wanted the sale. Not everyone will get that deal, but it doesn't hurt to try. 

 

If you aim for 8GB you'll have plenty of RAM to spare and any Windows programs or apps running in the background will affect Oblivion even less. You want to be able to install the 4GB Patch, which you cannot do right now with only 1.75GB.

 

Curious. Is your PC actually an HP desktop or some sort of generic clone just using that motherboard?

 

Also if you really want to target the techno geeks on LL hit this forum, it's where they tend to hang out: http://www.loverslab.com/forum/10-technical-support/

 

I would suggest starting a new thread there, title "YOUR Motherboard Manufacturer and Model, need help making upgrade choices". Thing is, you'll get a lot of personal opinions there, and elsewhere on the 'Net. It comes down to reading up on topics and making your own decision in the end.

 

And I agree with asenasen. Those G.SKILL are a decent midrange set of RAM for a reasonable price. Best thing to do is read reviews of customers that bought them. That way you get a feel of how they worked out for others, before you buy.

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AnnaFly

AnnaFly

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Greetings.

 

 @ Varenne : merci , cela m'évite d'éventuellement froisser cette personne en lui disant que sa machine est "trop juste" pour pouvoir réellement  "jouir" d'un jeu tel Oblivion ou Skyrim ... sans compter que même Windows7 ne montrera pas pleinement ses possibilités et sa "valeur" avec si peu de mémoires ... sans compter que celle-ci  est aussi "partagée" par sa carte graphique.

 

 Ce topic me remet tristement en mémoire l'époque où j'étais obligée de dire aux gens ( sur TechNet et Answers en particulier ) qu'ils avaient fait un mauvais achat ... pour rester polie .

 

Mieux vaudrait se monter une nouvelle machine ( avec la fin du support d' XP depuis avril 2014 , il y a des gens qui déposent carrément d'anciennes machines sur les poubelles ...  c'est en partie stupide , mais vrai ).

 

Faire évoluer un portable ( notebook/Laptop) est en général trop onéreux avec des résultats , trop souvent ,  aléatoires.

 

Bonne fin de week-end.

 

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@ WesternEnclave

 

 Well , don't take offense , but i don't really think your machine could decently run a game like Oblivion ... even XP operating system ( + SP3) would prefer much memory ( especially if you use an Internet antivirus suite like "Kaspersky Internet security xxx something xxx  " ....  and yes before you ask the question, i'm also a fan of Kaspersky 's tools ) .

Sorry.

 

Another thing is your operting system : i really think Windows7 is the better OS Microsoft ever made ( but i was a "fan" of Win98 too , but not Win95 even with the OSR2 version ... and i never got a particular problem to run MS Dos 6-22 , but that's another story) .

 

For Morrowind , i play this game with W7 ... but that's true , not on every computers . I never searched the reasons why i can launch this game without any problem on some computers ( using W7 of course) , and why i cannot launch the same game on others ... i think the problem came not with Windows7 operating system, but with the Graphic card used , and especially with the drivers of these Graphic cards.

 

By the way , there are same issues with the old games from Microsoft " Age of Empires ( + Rise of Rome)  and with Age Of Empires II & III ...

 

I need a functional Morrowind game because i use the mods  " Morroblivion"  or "SoVvm br3" in Oblivion , so Morrowind is needed ( with its Construction Set) to recreate with a certain accuracy some areas ...

 

Don't forget to keep in mind that there is no more support provided by Microsoft  since April 14 for XP operating system  , so sure you can continue to use it ( at your own risks ) , but it's better if you do so to do it in "dual-boot" or more boots ( i use XP + W7 32 and 64 bits on each computers i have , none of these OS ( Operating System) are an OEM version ... but that's also another story...).

 

What's else ? Varenne already said the most important informations/points about your machine , i 'll not add any other comments for this moment about it.

 

Cheers. 

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