Recommended STEP?

[Geo]

Hello guys,

I'm re-installing Skyrim as we speak (incl. Dawnguard/Dragonborn). After two very painful attempts with S.T.E.P. I'm trying a third time, but this time hopefully a bit more prepared. The first attempt was back in the summer and the second a few weeks ago, but both of them didn't work out very well. I went full on the guides then, meaning I pretty much went full on all graphics bits. And I ran about 100+ mods. But on both attempts the game was unplayable, after Helgen I had a CTD every 5 minutes. It was like it went out of memory, just CTD without warning. And the FPS was pretty good though. To tell you the truth, I never even finished Dawnguard. I got pretty frustrated so it took some time before I tried again.

 

Long story short, which STEP should I follow to prevent my previous mishaps? Performance, Baseline or Extreme? And any other small tips are appreciated. I am planning (like before) to use many mods like CoT, RLO, Wet and Cold, 1 overhaul (Unleashed), etc.

 

My specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Intel Core i7 CPU 930 @ 3.80Ghz

8GB DDR3 RAM

GTX 580 1.5gb Vram

[Farlo]

Make sure you've followed the Skyrim Installation Guide and are using Wrye Bash or Mod Organizer, that will ensure you get the best starting point that you can. If you plan on using an ENB or other lighting mod I'd suggest you stick with the Baseline recommendations, but you probably have some room to use some of the higher-res landscape textures. Just take it slow and test often. Good luck!

[Geo]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll try a hybrid 1024/2048 textures in that case. I am not planning on using ENB though, probably Realistic Lighting Overhaul and Climates of Tamriel. 

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