Stressed out trying to understand system specs and STEP mods

[Dweedle]

So I'm attempting my best to follow all the guides for STEP and im still downloading at the moment the mods for STEP, I'm trying to make an attempt to download every mod as I want the full STEP experience but I have to come clean and say a lot of the tech stuff is going above my head and I'm terrified of screwing up and not being able to run the game.

 

My Computer is an Alienware X14 Laptop with 2.6GHZ Intel i5, 1GB Nvidia GT 650M and 8GB of Ram with 451GB HD (251GB free).

 

I don't know much of what that all means either (went alienware because I dont know much about tech).

 

So I'm just wondering, overall, what kind of performance and experience am I going to get following the STEP guide fully with my system?  Thanks.

[Aiyen]

Do not go above 1k (1024x1024) resolution on texture replacers, and you should be fine for STEP core with decent playable performance!

 

edit: Mainly you do not have enough RAM on your video card to use much more then that. It does not affect performance as much, but it will help keep the game behave.

[Dweedle]

should i use the texture compressor before i play then as well? since it makes textures smaller? https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12801/?

[EssArrBee]

The Core i5/GT 650M setup is a descent enough for STEP with all the lowest options you can get. Don't use the HRDLC from Bethesda and just use the full 1024 version of the Optimized HRDLC mod that is listed in the conflicting graphics section.

 

Also, you might leave out mods like Burn Freeze Shock Effects and Deadly Spell Impacts. They can cause crashes during combat if you don't have the power to handle it with Skyrim's touchy engine.

[Dweedle]

Oh! I thought the high res DLC was 1024k. Are they more? hmm, I will go download the one you suggested.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[EssArrBee]

The Bethesda HRDLC is a mix of 2048 and 1024 textures, but with the HRDLC Optimized you can get a full 1024 version and forgo using the HRDLC. It is better than trying to reduce all the textures yourself.

[Nearox]

If you still need more performance, you can check out these two 'Bethesda Performance Textures' mods. I perosnally think the author did a good job and the quality difference is mostly not noticeable while playing. His 1k textures look better than bethesda 1k textures. Put them after 'HRDLC optimized' in your install order

 

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/42360/?

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/43921/?

 

Even if you are going to be using step:core hi-res armor/wpn or creature packs, these 2 mods touch a lot of textures not added by step:core mods (such as bellyaches or book of silence) so you'll still gain some performance.

[Dweedle]

thanks :D

 

downloading those right now