CTD at 3.1GB

[viking]

Some key posts on this and related threads (experts feel free to note any errors or insights):

• Post #11
• Post #27
• Post #40 (this is where the 500/430 ratio seems to have originated.)
• Post #66
• Post#278
• Post #313
• Post #1 (adjacent thread: Caution about memory optimisers)
• Post #64 (adjacent thread: Caution about memory optimisers)
• Post #68 (adjacent thread: Caution about memory optimisers)
• Post #70 (adjacent thread: Caution about memory optimisers)

Wiki article (draft)

 

Thanks,

STEP

 

OP follows

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First of all I wanted to thank you all for the great work you have done with STEP. Skyrim is the first game I installed on this computer and you guys have made it an AMAZING game. That being said, I have an issue that I hope you can help me solve.

 

My setup:

Vanilla Skyrim

gtx670 w/ 4GB @1080p w/ latest driver

16GB Memory

3770K at about 4GHz

Windows 8 64bit

ENB 149

Ultra settings

Highest available texture/quality

Mod Organizer

Step 2.2.1 + Skyrim Revisited + others

 

I have noticed a post here and there saying that Skyrim can't really address more than about 3.1GB of memory without issues. This seems to jive with my experience, meaning I CTD every time my memory hits that mark, but I couldn't really find anything definitive on the topic. The issue with googling the topic is the pre 1.3 skyrim that couldn't address more than 2gb of memory.

 

My mod list is mostly based on STEP which is why I came here for help, with about ten mods added onto the end (Interesting NPCs, Detailed Cities, Economics, COT, and a couple others). The reason I haven't included my mod list is that it doesn't seem to matter. As long as I keep the memory usage below 3GB I can have pretty much any combination of mods.

 

What I have tried so far (in no particular order):

• resetting ini files
• removing enb
• not using attklt
• only using a new game
• removing all mods and adding one by one until issue crops up
• running as admin
• watching the papyrus log - it seems relatively clean, no obvious errors right before CTD

Yes, I can run STEP just fine without any issues, but I also never get near 3GB of memory. I have tracked VRAM usage as well and have seen a max of 2.7GB/4GB.

 

As an example of where I might run into issues: I start a new character with Alternate Start. I start with Breezehome. Run out of Whiterun, past the Brewry, up the hill to the bandits. Enter the cave (watching memory usage with Elys MemInfo), and it dies right after I see 3GB. I have this same issue not using AS, sitting through the intro, and then running over to whiterun.

 

I'm sorry if this post is all over the place. I have spent more than a week trying to solve this issue, and the only solution I have found is to reduce memory usage. I have got to the point where I can exchange two texture packs and get into the cave without a CTD, but with both I get a CTD. I didn't even think texture packs should even affect CTDs, but I'm relatively new to Skyrim on the PC, so I could be wrong. I also found I could get a bit further with ENB turned off, but would still crash once I got above 3GB of memory. Finally, if I reload a game after a CTD, I can play just fine...until I reach 3GB of memory.

 

I really hope you guys can help. I more than willing to try anything at this point, besides just disabling all of the mods.

[Neovalen]

It cleaned out the memory periodically even in win8. I saw it in the mem info tool.

 

The problem was that it eventually caused stutter and freeze (that I don't get normally).

RAM never got above 3GB or even close to it with the tool running but still caused issues. Funny enough the cleanmem site says win8 on it....

[torminater]

Well if the stutter and freeze are only for Win 8 users, then it is still a valid option for all others...

[Neovalen]

Guess we need more testing by people on other OS.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

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[Gyro]

I use it on Win7 set for 1 minute intervals.  I very rarely notice a stutter, and it helps a great deal to keep memory use down. 

[torminater]

Using my laptop with Win 7 and 2 minute intervals. It had gotten into CTD problems after I added lots of spawn and script mods. Using the cleanmem i've gotten no major problems so far. Especially NO CTD!!! I do notice some sound stutter once in a while, but that is well worth it.

[Vond]

Yeah there is a slight soundstutter (for me it's over in less than half a second though) when cleanmem does the purging

[DoYouEvenModBro]

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[DoYouEvenModBro]

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[Neovalen]

Why oh why did I have to try using that thing? Getting all kinds of issues now with my game. Going to have to try a full re-install.

[Vond]

What kind of issues are you getting? Guess that might be why there's a win8 warning. :/ Haven't had any issuse with my game whatsoever with it running win7

[torminater]

Ok, before reinstalling, do a chkdsk /F on all of your hard disks and restart your system, then try a new savegame.

[Neovalen]

LOD would simply stop loading after awhile. I would walk up to tree/buildings whatever and they would still be the LOD texture.... short time thereafter... freeze. VRAM/RAM was not high at the time, CPU/GPU temperatures good.

 

Re-install seems to have cleared it up though... at least for now.

[Aiyen]

Well if it only happens for win 8 users then evidence point to that being the cause.

 

However that particular LOD issue I have had before even without this program installed... but that was while I was testing the limits of my machine, and it most often happened to SFO´s aspen trees.

[MontyMM]

I'm away at the moment, and don't have time to get into long and boring details, but I would again not recommend the use of CleanMem, or any similar application. 

 

It is almost certainly using a Windows API call to trim the working sets of running processes, which can create the appearance of a reduction in memory use, but that is all.  What it won't be doing is sorting through the memory that Skyrim is actually using and deciding which bits it can "clean".  Nor will it be doing anything to reclaim memory consumed by leaks, or just runaway consumption.

 

If you're interested in this sort of thing, I'd recommend reading this article by Mark Russinov of Microsoft and Winternals.