Bandus

I am not completely confident this is the correct forum for this question and I apologize if that is the case! I am in the process of installing STEP Extended (my first STEP install of any type) and while benchmarking I am starting to notice a trend that has me concerned/confused. Benchmark results: https://i.imgur.com/w0kRKJL.png My concern is that my GPU load stays around 31%-33% even as I get further and further along in the installation process. My question ultimately is: Is this normal? Should GPU load be that low? I don't know if this is an issue with my system, with Skyrim, or if I've done something wrong during the installation process. My system specs are: https://wiki.step-project.com/User:Bandus/SystemSpecs I am using MOD Manager. My LOOT load order (incomplete as I'm still in the process of installing STEP Extended) is as follows: [spoiler=LOOT Load Order] 0 0 Skyrim.esm 1 1 Update.esm 2 2 Dawnguard.esm 3 3 HearthFires.esm 4 4 Dragonborn.esm 5 5 Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch.esp 6 6 Skyrim Project Optimization - Full Version.esm 7 7 Lanterns Of Skyrim - All In One - Main.esm HighResTexturePack01.esp HighResTexturePack02.esp HighResTexturePack03.esp Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp 8 8 Cutting Room Floor.esp 9 9 SkyUI.esp STEP DLC Optimized Textures - Standard.esp STEP Vanilla Optimized Textures - Standard.esp 10 a Appropriately Attired Jarls Redux.esp 11 b Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul.esp 12 c Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp 13 d Weapons & Armor Fixes_Remade.esp 14 e Weapons & Armor_TrueOrcish&DaedricWeapons.esp 15 f Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp 16 10 SPTConsistentOlderPeople.esp 17 11 Dead Body Collision.esp 18 12 Invisibility Eyes Fix.esp 19 13 NARC.esp 20 14 TradeBarter.esp 21 15 Weapons & Armor_TrueWeaponsLvlLists.esp dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp 22 16 iHUD.esp 23 17 Chesko_LoreBasedLoadingScreens.esp 24 18 RaceMenu.esp 25 19 RaceMenuPlugin.esp 26 1a ViewableFactionRanksBothDLC.esp 27 1b SMIM-DragonbornTernFix.esp 28 1c SMIM-DungeonsCliffsIceSkirts.esp 29 1d SMIM-FurnitureChestSnowFix.esp 30 1e Footprints.esp 31 1f 83Willows_101BUGS_V4_LowerRes_HighSpawn.esp 32 20 Beards.esp 33 21 Brows.esp 34 22 ORM-Arvak.esp 35 23 aMidianBorn_ContentAddon.esp 36 24 Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remade.esp 37 25 SkyFalls + SkyMills + DG + DB.esp 38 26 SMIM-FarmhouseFlickeringFix.esp 39 27 Point The Way.esp 40 28 ExplosiveBoltsVisualized.esp 41 29 imp_helm_legend.esp 42 2a Complete Crafting_TrueWeaponsLvlLists.esp 43 2b Elemental Staves.esp 44 2c GQJ_DG_vampireamuletfix.esp 45 2d Mage Outfit Texture Overhaul.esp 46 2e Animated Weapon Enchants.esp 47 2f Paralyze.esp 48 30 BFSEffects.esp 49 31 DawnguardRuneWeaponsFXSReplacer.esp 50 32 DeadlySpellImpacts.esp 51 33 dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp 52 34 dD-Dragonborn-Dawnguard-EBT Patch.esp 53 35 Book Covers Skyrim.esp 54 36 SkyrimImprovedPuddles-DG-HF-DB.esp 55 37 SMIM-ShackRoofFixes.esp 56 38 FarmhouseChimneys.esp 57 39 RealisticWaterTwo.esp 58 3a RealisticWaterTwo - Legendary.esp 59 3b SFO - Dragonborn.esp 60 3c SMIM-ShackRoofFixesDragonborn.esp 61 3d Skyrim Flora Overhaul.esp 62 3e SMIM-RiftenDocksRopesObjectFix.esp 63 3f EmbersHD.esp 64 40 BlockSparkles.esp 65 41 mintylightningmod.esp 66 42 WondersofWeather.esp 67 43 Chesko_Step418_SN.esp 68 44 RelightingSkyrim_Legendary.esp 69 45 ELE_Legendary_Lite.esp 70 46 Bashed Patch, 0.esp My ENBLocal.ini is: [spoiler=ENBLocal.ini][PROXY] EnableProxyLibrary=false InitProxyFunctions=true ProxyLibrary=other_d3d9.dll [GLOBAL] UsePatchSpeedhackWithoutGraphics=true UseDefferedRendering=false IgnoreCreationKit=true [PERFORMANCE] SpeedHack=true EnableOcclusionCulling=true [MEMORY] ExpandSystemMemoryX64=false ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true DisableDriverMemoryManager=false DisablePreloadToVRAM=false EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false ReservedMemorySizeMb=128 VideoMemorySizeMb=4064 EnableCompression=false AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false [THREADS] DataSyncMode=0 PriorityMode=0 EnableUnsafeFixes=false [MULTIHEAD] ForceVideoAdapterIndex=false VideoAdapterIndex=0 [WINDOW] ForceBorderless=false ForceBorderlessFullscreen=false [ENGINE] ForceAnisotropicFiltering=true MaxAnisotropy=16 ForceLodBias=false LodBias=0.0 AddDisplaySuperSamplingResolutions=false EnableVSync=false VSyncSkipNumFrames=0 [LIMITER] WaitBusyRenderer=false EnableFPSLimit=false FPSLimit=10.0 [iNPUT] //shift KeyCombination=16 //f12 KeyUseEffect=123 //home KeyFPSLimit=36 //num / 106 KeyShowFPS=106 //print screen KeyScreenshot=44 //enter KeyEditor=13 //f4 KeyFreeVRAM=115 //B KeyBruteForce=66 KeyDepthOfField=118 [ADAPTIVEQUALITY] Enable=false Quality=1 DesiredFPS=20.0 [ANTIALIASING] EnableEdgeAA=false EnableTemporalAA=false EnableSubPixelAA=false [FIX] FixGameBugs=true FixParallaxBugs=true FixParallaxTerrain=false FixAliasedTextures=true IgnoreInventory=true FixTintGamma=true RemoveBlur=false FixSubSurfaceScattering=true FixSkyReflection=true FixCursorVisibility=true FixLag=false [LONGEXPOSURE] EnableLongExposureMode=false Time=1.0 BlendMax=0.0 All of the mods I have installed so far are directly from the STEP Extended setup process, again incomplete. I have applied INI tweaks that are not part of STEP instructions from a video from GamerPoets. My Skyrim.ini is: [spoiler=Skyrim.ini][General] bBorderRegionsEnabled=0 sLanguage=ENGLISH sIntroSequence= uExterior Cell Buffer=64 fFlickeringLightDistance=8192 uGridsToLoad=7 [Display] fNearDistance=18.0000 fSunShadowUpdateTime=0.25 fSunUpdateThreshold=1.5 fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0 fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0 fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0 iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 iPresentInterval=1 bAllowScreenshot=1 [Actor] fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=12288.0000 [Audio] fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0 fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0 fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0 fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0 [backgroundLoad] bSelectivePurgeUnusedOnFastTravel=1 [Camera] f1st3rdSwitchDelay=0.95 fMouseWheelZoomSpeed=10 iHorseTransitionMillis=001 [Grass] bAllowCreateGrass=1 bAllowLoadGrass=0 iGrassCellRadius=3 iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7 iMinGrassSize=40 fGrassFadeRange=10000 [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 f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7 f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7 f1PBoltTiltUpANgle=0.7 [Papyrus] fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0 bEnableLogging=0 bEnableTrace=0 bLoadDebugInformation=0 [Water] bReflectLODObjects=1 bReflectLODLand=1 bReflectSky=1 bReflectLODTrees=1 [interface] fMapWorldYawRange=400 fMapWorldMinPitch=0 fMapWorldMaxPitch=90 fBookOpenTime=200.0 fSafeZoneX=10 fSafeZoneXWide=10 fSafeZoneY=10 fSafeZoneYWide=10 My SkyrimPrefs.ini is: [spoiler=SkyrimPrefs.ini][General] fBrightLightColorB=1.0000 fBrightLightColorG=1.0000 fBrightLightColorR=1.0000 iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1 bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0 [imagespace] bDoDepthOfField=0 iRadialBlurLevel=2 [Display] bDeferredShadows=1 bShadowsOnGrass=1 iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3 fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000 fShadowDistance=8000.0000 iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024 iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 iShadowSplitCount=2 iMaxAnisotropy=0 fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000 fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000 fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=1e+007 fGamma=1.0000 fDecalLOD2=1500.0000 fDecalLOD1=1000.0000 fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000 fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000 fLightLODStartFade=7000.0000 iTexMipMapMinimum=0 iTexMipMapSkip=0 iWaterMultiSamples=0 iMultiSample=0 iShadowMode=3 bTreesReceiveShadows=1 bDrawLandShadows=1 bFull Screen=1 iSize H=1080 iSize W=1920 fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000 fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000 fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=10000000.0000 fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=10000000.0000 fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000 fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000 iScreenShotIndex=2 bShadowMaskZPrepass=0 bMainZPrepass=0 iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=100 iMaxDecalsPerFrame=350 bFloatPointRenderTarget=0 sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970" bFXAAEnabled=1 iShadowMapResolution=4096 fShadowBiasScale=0.4000 iShadowMaskQuarter=4 iAdapter=0 iPresentInterval=1 iShadowFilter=3 [Grass] b30GrassVS=0 fGrassStartFadeDistance=18000.0000 fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=18000.0000 fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000 [MAIN] bGamepadEnable=0 bCrosshairEnabled=1 fHUDOpacity=1.000 bSaveOnPause=1 bSaveOnTravel=1 bSaveOnWait=1 bSaveOnRest=1 fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=500000.0000 [GamePlay] bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=0 bShowQuestMarkers=1 iDifficulty=2 [interface] bDialogueSubtitles=0 bGeneralSubtitles=0 fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000 [Controls] fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=0.9000 fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125 bAlwaysRunByDefault=1 bInvertYValues=0 bGamePadRumble=1 bMouseAcceleration=1 [Particles] iMaxDesired=750 [saveGame] fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000 [AudioMenu] fAudioMasterVolume=2.0000 fVal7=1.0000 uID7=0 fVal6=1.0000 uID6=0 fVal5=0.9500 uID5=3954 fVal4=1.0000 uID4=1158043761 fVal3=0.8500 uID3=94881 fVal2=0.0000 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=500000.0000 fBlockLevel1Distance=140000.0000 fBlockLevel0Distance=75000.0000 fSplitDistanceMult=4.0000 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=200 [Decals] uMaxDecals=1000 bDecals=1 bSkinnedDecals=1 uMaxSkinDecals=100 uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60 [LOD] fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000 fLODFadeOutMultItems=14.0000 fLODFadeOutMultActors=14.0000 [Launcher] bEnableFileSelection=1 bShowAllResolutions=1 uLastAspectRatio=3 [blurShaderHDR] bDoHighDynamicRange=1 [blurShader] bUseBlurShader=0 [Water] iWaterReflectHeight=1024 iWaterReflectWidth=1024

Okay, that is what I thought I understood from that section. Thank you once again for the confirmation!

Before I started the S.T.E.P. installation process, I read the "Beginner's Guide" recommended on the Skyrim GEMS page. That guide is located here: https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/wiki/beginners_guide#wiki_tes5edit Based on that guide, I learned how to use TES5EDIT to create a merged patch. In looking at the STEP instructions I don't see any place that it indicates creating a merged patch is necessary. The guide of course discusses using TES5EDIT to clean the Update ESM and I realize that at some points certain mods in the STEP process require use of TES5EDIT to clean them. My question is: Do I need to create a merged patch once I am done with the STEP process or at some point during the STEP process? Thanks!

Thank you again! The clarification is appreciated!

You are absolutely correct, of course! I read that section yesterday but for some reason it didn't "click" in my brain that it was my solution. Follow up question though: You said "if you wish to have the original Update.ESM restored." Does this mean that there isn't a need to have the Update.ESM in the data directory as long as I have the Update - Clean activated in MO? Thank you for your time, it is appreciated! Edit: To be clear, the guide says specifically to do it (I did go back and read it), however based on what you stated I just want to make sure I don't mess things up. :)

I am following the STEP steps and recently finished with the 2.D section. Upon reviewing, I note that in MO I have "Update - Clean" on the left side that shows my mods. If I right-click on it and select "Open in Explorer" I see the update.esm file and the meta.ini. On the right side I also see Update.esm in the list just under Skyrim.esm. However, if I navigate to steamapps\common\Skyrim\data, I see Update.bsa but not Update.esm. I am confident I followed the steps properly, however I am concerned that the Update.esm file doesn't seem to be in \Data. Is it supposed to be there at this point or have I made an error? Thanks!

I had the exact same question regarding what/where the STEP:Extended patch actually was. Just to be super clear, if I plan on installing STEP Extended and a mod earlier in the process such as Realistic Ragdoll and Force and Diseases Descriptions indicates Step Extended Patch users can remove plugins or not install the mod entirely, I can disregard installing them, correct? It isn't like I need to install them in order and then uninstall them later as part of the process?