Skyrim Memory Usage

[Luisangre]

Just curious to see how much memory Skyrim uses for you guys.

I'm using SR + SkyRe and with no textures optimized I'm hitting around 3.5 million KB

I'm about to optimize all textures using the 2k x 2k constraint on ddsopt and hope this fixes my random ctd and loading screen ctds.

Also, is it worth running ddsopt on the vanilla and high res texture pack files as well?

[phazer11]

Yes it is worth it. There are many threads on this matter you really can't get away with 2k textures for landscape at the very least.. At most II would say 2k with 1k normals but even then... also yes you should optimize the textures.bsa and the HRDLCs

[Luisangre]

Damn...and here I thought with my gtx 680 classy I could pretty much run everything 4k O_o

I am optimizing all of my texture mods at the moment and left the 2 constraints at 2048x2048....is this optimal or should i switch both to 2048x1024?

Also, all this does is bring the textures down to 2048 right? Think I've heard somewhere before that it actually splits the resolution of the texture.

Thanks in advance.

 

All I basically did was use these settings;

https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:DDSopt_%26_Texture_Overhauls#tab=Using_DDSopt

 

But instead changed the resolution limits to 2048 x 2048

[xiamthewalrusx]

The problem isn't with your video card, it's with the 32-bit x86 architecture that Skyrim's engine was designed on. This type of application can not access large amounts of RAM without crashing. The absolute upper limit is 4GB, but generally there is a ~3GB ceiling.

[Luisangre]

Thank you, xiamthewalrusx.

Would you recommend keeping the ddsopt resolution limit constraint to 2k x 2k or should I knock it down to 2k x 1k?

[xiamthewalrusx]

It's probably best to set the maximum resolutions on a mod by mod or even item by item basis. For example, you really won't see any difference between 2k and 1k rabbits. You can also use DDSOPT to change which algorithm is used to compress the textures. Many objects in Skyrim mods are compressed using the DXT5 algorithm, which allocates half of it's 128 bit block size to an alpha channel, but do not require any transparency (for example the texture files for many food items). Using the DXT1 algorithm to compress these textures will eliminate the alpha channel and make the textures completely opaque. DXT5 has a 4:1 compression ratio, while DXT1 has a 6:1 compression ratio.

 

Definitely check out STEP's mod optimization table at:

https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:DDSopt_%26_Texture_Overhauls#tab=STEP_Mod_Texture_Properties

 

Also, this link provides some really useful information:

https://justpaste.it/ock

[Luisangre]

Wow....using ddsopt on single texture by texture...I don't think I have the patience to do that O_o

Judging by Phazer11's post I figured 2k x 2k resolution constraints would be good enough...hope so.

[Luisangre]

Incoming noob question;

After optimizing all vanilla bsa's (the 3 high rez texture packs, 3 dlc and normal textures bsa) are we free to delete the bsa?

I think I've done something like this in a very old version of STEP but wouldn't that delete a ton of meshes and other files that weren't extracted from the bsa?

Thanks in advance...sorry for all the q's...been modding this forever and wanna actually play asap ><

[Gyro]

Wow....using ddsopt on single texture by texture...I don't think I have the patience to do that O_o

Judging by Phazer11's post I figured 2k x 2k resolution constraints would be good enough...hope so.

Well, you do them in batches, like in the DDSopt guide.  But yeah, like much of the rest of STEP, it does still take a time investment.  Set a weekend aside ;)

[phazer11]

No I said for most items (mods) you would at maximum have 2k textures and 1k normal maps. Normal maps are usually denoted by _n after the file name. However, I would personally not go over 1k textures and normals for most mods as the increase in quality is really not comparable to the increase in instability in my opinion.

 

Also if following my advice download the authors 1k version if available. For example I ran a test because I was bored between optimizing Skyrim HD 2k Textures - Full version to 1k and the Lite version to 1k. The optimized and resized Lite version was IIRC at least ~50MB smaller and less blurred.

[Aiyen]

You would only use DDSopt for larger amounts of resizes etc. If it is just single textures then I recommend gimp + dds plugin. Since it allows you more control over what happens.

[Luisangre]

Phazer11, I understand what you're saying but there must be a way to stably run 2k textures....I have a very high end rig and can't imagine going back to 1k textures (this is what I used with my old 5870 amd 1gb gpu).

 

Aiyen, Is there a guide to using this program on site?

 

And is there anyone here at all that uses 2k textures?

Hopefully next SR adds recommended resolution for mods.

[Neovalen]

Next SR WILL include resolution recommendations AND DDSOpt settings.

[Aiyen]

Aiyen, Is there a guide to using this program on site?

No but the GIMP documentation is very extensive, and (mostly) easy to read. It is just about downloading the program, get it installed, and then just search for the plugin and install. 

 

Then you can set it to open all .dds files by default, and it can export them again, and create mip map levels etc. But most vitally it lets you see the texture so you can easier catch potential errors. 

 

And is there anyone here at all that uses 2k textures?

Only for skin and weapons/armor. But I only use vanilla versions of weapons and armor. If I use any of the larger weapon/armor packs the game gets more unstable. 

In general you can run with more 2k textures... but then you just cannot run with multiple script based mods. You have to cut back somewhere. If you want more content, then use less memory on textures. If you want more textures, cut back on content. 

[Luisangre]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Aiyen, I feared it was something like this :[

I've been doing some testing and it seems that when Skyrim's memory usage hits 3 gb the game becomes super unstable and I can count on a ctd within 5 minutes.

With Neo confirming that the next version of SR will have recommended resolution sizes and ddsopt settings it looks like the best thing to do at the moment is just test things out and give feedback instead of trying to make the game into a playable state (over 900 hours logged on Skyrim and about 10% of that was actually playing the game lol).

I think SR will reach a new pinnacle of godliness and stability with the addition of recommended resolutions and ddsopt settings.

Thank you.

[OMGoblins]

Next SR WILL include resolution recommendations AND DDSOpt settings.

I hate to ask because I'm sure it's been answered somewhere, but I honestly haven't seen anything about it while searching through the pre-release feedback thread (although I didn't go back extremely far into the thread...). Is there any information you are willing to disclose about the progress towards releasing the next version of SR or an estimated date when it will be completed? 

 

I have been reading about STEP for awhile, then I found SR and it was everything I was hoping for! My internet is a real slow piece of crud (despite living in a well populated area with digital cable all around, my neighborhood only has access to one provider that offers 1 mbps DSL speeds!). So I managed to download all the mods, but then got tired of that for a bit and took a break from it. A couple days ago I just did a quick and verrry dirty install of SR (literally did 0 TESVE cleaning) - AV, lot of HD clutter stuff, things that needed lots of cleaning. Then added in SkyRe and Immersive Weapons and Enhanced Mighty Dragons. It's been a blast playing it, but I definitely have some CTD that I know is caused by me not using the cleaner at all, plus 1 bug so far (mainly CTD when going through doors in cities that load a new area, especially Whiterun and Windhelm, like quite a bit. Only bug has been the skeletal dragon being invincible). Oh and I only used NMM since I am as of yet unfamiliar with MO. I really just wanted to get into the game (my first time playing) without setup taking an entire weekend that I hear about. It still took me about 6-8 hours to install everything doing it really dirty though, but I feel it gave me some experience so I wont go completely bonkers if I do all the installation and cleaning and stuff with MO and it doesn't work because I messed up somewhere.

 

I basically did such a dirty job because I kept seeing people mention that a new SkyRe was coming out and a new SR was coming out soon. SkyRe 1.3 just came out and I'm wondering when SR will, because I will be following the install directions and cleaning directions fully then and I'm looking forward to the game being that much better.