Neovalen

Enhanced Distant Terrain IS part of STEP. Look at Section B3, Page 11 .

Is it confirmed that it gets rid of the hd thrashing? If so that would be amazing, the description doesn't list it though.

Thank you to everyone who contributed know-how to help with my build. Here is what I ended up with after much anguish and research: Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Motherboard: GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K Processor Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Processor Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10 Video Cards: 2 EVGA 04G-P4-2673-KR GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked+ w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 in SLI SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 Series - MAX IOPS Edition VTX3MI-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) *Reused from my old cpu* Hard Drive (Data): Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Expected Arrival Date For All Components: 6/28/2012.

Thanks for the reply frihyland, actually looked at a few reviews and 8x/8x pci-e 3.0 shouldn't botteneck my 670 cards as they don't use up the full bandwidth unless I'm mistaken? I was looking into getthing this board.

Thanks for that read sb4n. So from what I've read I've learned: 1. Ivy Bridge runs a little hotter than Sandy Bridge when overclocked, so will not achieve same Ghz level but performance will be the same-ish with less power draw. 2. Ivy Bridge has a few extra features such as built in graphics (great for those times when your video card goes out to test), more PCI-E 3.0 lanes, etc. So I think Ivy Bridge is the right way to go instead of buying a generation back, even if I don't quite get the same Ghz numbers as Sandy Bridge. That sound about right? Additionally, due to my wife wanting my old system minus Hard Drive and possibly selling her system the budget has increased slightly but so has the need list. Updated Build List: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (with LEDs) x2 (total 16GB) EVGA 04G-P4-2673-KR GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked+ w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card x2 in SLI Z77 Motherboard *** ($?) Power Supply ***Â ($?) Case **** ($?) I currently use a Cooler Master HAF932 for my existing system. OCZ Vertex 3 Series - MAX IOPS Edition VTX3MI-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

With all this Processor / RAM talk I've given some thought about upgrading my i7-920 @ 3.6Ghz / ASUS P6T Deluxe v2 to an Ivy Bridge setup. Especially with the pair of GTX 670's I have coming in soon. I've thought about getting the following based on all I've read: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler SOME DUAL CHANNEL MEMORY 8 to 16 GB *** Any suggestions for price/performance? (Approximately $100 going from the post earlier in this page) SOME Z77 MOTHERBOARD *** Any suggestions for a good overclockable board? (Approximately $125-$175 available for this) My main goal with the upgrade is of course to not bottleneck my pair of GTX 670's and be able to run my rig hard for whatever might come my way in a surround setup. I've already got an SSD that I'm under-accessing due to my mainboard, so I figure doing this will give me the maximum bang for my buck and I won't have to upgrade anytime soon once this is done.

Personally I use Wrye Bash alone to manage my mods, and make sure I hit "track this mod" on the nexus page and use thier built in mod tracker. It updates every time even an optional file is uploaded unlike tracking with NMM.

Even with just STEP installed if you use ALL 2048 or 4096 texture packs you can bet you'll hit a VRAM cap in some areas. Right now I'm using 1024 versions of everything available to do so because I'm using 1GB of VRAM and still get stuttering if I turn on ANY AA and can easily cap out 1gb even without it. The creator of step does use a 560Ti but he also shrinks all of his textures to 1024 using Texture Optimizer in order to run properly. Fortunately for me, relief comes soon. My dual 4gb 670's arrive on Monday so then I can think about updating.

Stutter generally indicates a lack of VRAM no? A standard GTX 670 has 2GB by default, Skyrim can sometimes be in excess of this... are you using all the heavy versions of your texture mods?

Good luck, if it's like Skyrim all you gotta do is hit up the Alchemy table to obtain infinite $$$... remember TES Online really is based on the VANILLA experience not the modded experience with difficult battles and balanced crafting.

The thing with more VRAM is you lose some performance compared to the lower VRAM models in games that don't use the VRAM (2-3 fps). So by that token I'm not surprised they haven't just jumped fully in. I think 3-4GB will be the standard in the near future though considering the quality and memory usage of games coming out with everything turned up.

The problem with MMOs these days are they cater to the least common denominator (because they want more subs). It's impossible to get a complex and amazing RPG experience anymore outside the single player experience like Skyrim.

My first love in computer gaming was the Mechwarrior Series. I played the hell out of NetMech(from MW2) for years and competed in ladders and full on community driven galaxy battles in the battletech universe. Unfortunately the series has declined over the years, especially once Microshaft bought the franchise out but the community is still strong. I bring this up because I'm really excited to see it finally coming back. Mechwarrior Online by Piranha Games looks extremely promising as a suitable successor to the original Mechwarrior series and dying to get back into it. Not to mention it get now getting supprt from Razer in the form of the Artemis. Its looking up, hopefully I'll get into the beta and see for myself soon!

I've actually been reading lately about how unsecure ATI drivers actually are to have on your system, been a few reports lately they are behind on security updates like ASLR. Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/5966/uscert-takes-amd-to-task-on-driver-security

298 [2012/06/19] [Various community members] Fixed load order bug that occurred when renaming a plugin. [trira] Some more UI responsiveness improvements. [cdcooley] Fixed BAIN's Skip Docs option causing Interface files to be skipped when running for Skyrim. [WrinklyNinja] Fixed Wrye Bash reverting its own load order changes when Lock Load Order is enabled. [cdcooley, WrinklyNinja] Some more installer improvements. [Alt3rn1ty] Fixed Espify/Esmify Self not refreshing the load order display. [cdcooley] Fixed BAIN's Clean Data command removing some Bethesda-supplied files. [Daidalos, WrinklyNinja] Added some UI feedback messages for certain plugin-related situations where Wrye Bash would previously silently prevent user action (eg. deleting the main master file, loading plugins before masters). [WrinklyNinja] Fixed Wrye Bash not ensuring plugins.txt / loadorder.txt synchronisation when it regains window focus. [cdcooley] Removed the Lock Load Order command when running for Skyrim, as this functionality is effectively taken care of by the above synchronisation fix. When running for Skyrim, Wrye Bash will now allow any changes to load order that are made in accordance with the textfile-based standard (eg. changes by BOSS, NMM), but revert any other changes made (eg. changes by the Skyrim launcher). This is to ensure data integrity. [Arthmoor] Moved Wrye Bash's Documentation from the Mopy folder to Mopy\Docs. [WrinklyNinja] Fixed the background highlighting of ghosted plugins not always being in sync with which plugins were ghosted. [cdcooley] Fixed crash when selecting another plugin after opening the Doc Browser. [WrinklyNinja] Fixed applying INI tweaks to mod ini files removing all comments from them. [cdcooley] Fixed bug in Create BOSS Report. [bluesky404] Fixed Wrye Bash not removing plugins deleted through the Mods tab UI from plugins.txt and loadorder.txt (the latter in Skyrim only). [WrinklyNinja] Updated the included BOSS API DLLs to the latest development version. [WrinklyNinja] Updated the taglist files used by Wrye Bash if it cannot detect a BOSS install. [WrinklyNinja] Fixed slideshows in General and Advanced Readmes not working in Internet Explorer. [WrinklyNinja] Improved performance of Bash Tag reading and storage. [Daidalos] More updates to the WizBAIN Editor. These changes are not yet documented. [Metallicow] Fixed building an inactive Bashed Patch causing an error message. [Daidalos] Fixed activating a Bashed Patch through the post-build dialog not updating the UI to reflect this. [Daidalos]

Well, I've purchased the pair of EVGA 670s SC+ 4GB for SLI already, so unless I have major issues thats what I'm sticking with. That gives me 4GB VRAM in SLI (4gb+4gb/2) which should hopefully be future proof for awhile. I paid just under 1k$ for the pair which isn't bad considering they want 630$+ for the 680 4gb and I can probably overclock to 680 speed without much issue. Honestly I've been diehard ATI for a long time (I'm using a 5870 1gb now, had 3 ati cards before that), but I couldn't justify staying ATI right now for the performance/price I'm looking to pay. More VRAM and the lure of better driver support drew me right in. Figured worst that happens is I swap to the green team for one generation and see how the other side lives. Considering in addition to Skyrim in surround (5760x1080) I will be playing BattleField3 in surround (5760x1080) both of which are VRAM monsters from all reports especially with AA I felt having 4gb each card to be preferable. Trends for gaming in 2013 seems to be more VRAM required... I feel adequately prepared with a pair of 4gb cards.

YOU SIR ARE A TRAITOR TO COMPUTER LOVERS EVERYWHERE! (just kidding) Once my new video cards come in the mail (should be by the end of the week) I'm planning on reloading BF3. Before that I played a LOT of Dragon Age: Origins... don't even get me started on the trainwreck that was Dragon Age 2. I also played Medieval Total War and Civ IV. I was playing SW:TOR but I just found I didn't have the time anymore to dedicate to an MMO style game even though I enjoy them.

Alright, thanks for all the advice. I managed to snag a decent deal on a pair of EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Superclocked+ (no tax no shipping) at MSRP. Considering the price of tax, shipping, and just plain markups out there that is rather nice. I'm looking forward to having 4GB of VRAM and awesome video cards for Surround rather than a single card with 1gb VRAM. I decided to bite the bullet now instead of waiting, because I could be waiting a long long time that I could be enjoying myself.

Interestingly enough I noticed the snow problem with optimized textures but removed SRO Opt and put back in base SRO and it's still there!

EBT 1.8 is for patch 1.6, it is already released.BFSE I haven't noticed any issues running 1.6 with it. iHUD has been updated but doesn't work well for me now that he's switched to SKSE for keybinding. The old version(scriptdragon) still works but bugged in mounted combat. For now I've simply uninstalled this one.

Mod Name: DSpSoB - Dual Sheath plus Shields on Back Description: This mod makes weapon in off hand sheathable and shield placed on back when not drawn. Dual Sheath works only for all vanilla Swords, Axes, Daggers and Maces. Staves from left and right hand now placed on back when sheathed, instead of disappearing vanilla behavior. Shields on Back works for all vanilla shields. My take: This mod has worked seamlessly for me and I highly endorse it! It works for all NPCs in the game. Unfortunately the second weapon doesn't show for NPCs until they have engaged in combat and then sheathed. Always hated how my off hand weapon didn't show! In a bit of self promotion, I made a compatible skeleton so you can use this along with realistic ragdolls and BBP(should you have animations for it, still works without) here.

Gave this one a test and works like a charm. Just make sure to NOT install the animated trough water from WATER.

Just wanted to give an update, the creation kit was updated by Bethesda again today. HOPEFULLY fixing some of the major issues the community have brought up. Interestingly the CK version yesterday was 1.6.91.0 and today's is 1.6.89.0 (note the version number is now matching the current patch).

I tried it both ways... but it actually JUST finished properly (finally) on the 6th attempt. I suspect there may be some sort of array out of bounds error or some such in the compression algorithm but Ethatron will have to check. Depending on where it is in memory it either works ok, crashes, or BSOD. Now I have a set of three compressed and optimized bsa files, yay! Now to try them out! For the record though, this computer hasn't had any BSOD's doing anything except for using DDSOpt/BSAOpt... thats why it shocked the heck out of me. It happened using the older BSAOpt/DDSOpt also.

A poison mod that you can poison your weapons for more than one hit would be nice too... lol but I agree, this one seems really unrealistic in it's present form. May look at a non-glow version when released.