Performance Issues coming back after a year to re-mod.

[rockitram]

Hello everyone,

 

I took a huge break from modding Skyrim last year, and this year I wanted to come back. So I reinstalled Skyrim fresh, following guide videos from GamerPoets on YouTube, and I got everything setup just how I wanted it, with 86 mods. I did not play it unmodded this year, even for a second. I just set up the game how I wanted it, following GamerPoets videos. Then I added 86 mods that I really wanted, and did my best to keep the amount low, because I use to have a major problem with over modding, and it was addicting. Now it's a little easier to keep it low, because I don't even remember all the mods I use to use.

 

Performance is dreadful - the game is unplayable now and I don't understand why. Is it because I didn't run the game before installing and using Mod Organizer, and play up until a certain point, before I started using mods maybe?

 

I use ENB, I've tried turning it off or just the graphical enhancements it provides and the performance is still horrible, no change. I get very bad FPS and I don't see how I should, my computer specs are quite nice actually for what I play.

 

I have only edited INI's based on what the STEP wiki states besides some shadow tweaks I found online. Nothing else, besides what is required for ENB to work, and set MaxAnistropy to 1 instead of 16, using the ENB Anistropy, and not using ENB VSync, or the games VSync, instead I'm using my Drivers VSync, because I had been convinced that it's better. I have tried switching to either the games VSync, and then to the ENB VSync, and it doesn't seem to make a difference in performance.

 

My mod list or plugin list is at the link here:

https://pastebin.com/8zd1mrc4

 

My system specs are at the link here:

https://wiki.step-project.com/User:Rockitram/SystemSpecs

 

I cannot seem to fix this on my own, which is why I'm here. I usually am able to fix my problems on my own, or have friends that can.

 

I would appreciate any help I can get, thank you.

 

If I missed any information, or anything please let me know.

[DanimalTwo]

You are using an i3 processor and GTX 660 GPU with 2 GB VRAM. That would not impress anyone. You probably should not be using an ENB and at best install minimum size textures when available. A good gaming rig would use an i5 at minimum.

[Aiyen]

Okay let the crusade continue! 

No you do not need more then 2Gb of VRAM to do 2k textures... people who say that are people who say it and most likely mean you got 100% fluent gameplay and 60 FPS everywhere... or close to it anyways. At 1080p or lower it is more then powerful enough to deal with most ENB effects at decent framerates. You can ofc. still find presets that do not care about performance and only quality etc... but those will still kill even the best of things, since they where never meant for gameplay. 

 

the i3 is fairly old, but I highly doubt that the architecture difference between 3 and 5 would make much of a difference... the 3 was still new when the game was released and hence better then what was in the consoles the game was designed for.

 

Also ENB does not really tax the CPU.. but the GPU and memory.  If you have consistent bad FPS both with ENB and without then obviously you have some setting somewhere that is not set properly, or you have something bogging your system to a crawl. 

 

I guess it would help for this if you specify where you get bad FPS, and what it specifically is. 

Make sure to use the console to enter the game and test, and not some old save from yonder days etc. 

[phazer11]

What Aiyen said. Also make sure you're making a new save, using an old save without whatever mods you were using before is a bad idea. I'll also recommend that if you're not using Mod Organizer to ditch whatever mod manager you're currently using and reinstall the mods you want in Mod Organizer. The shadow settings are likely what is doing your performance in. I'd recommend lowering them and see if that helps.

I would also recommend you read these.

https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Skyrim_INIs

https://forum.step-project.com/topic/6726-common-ctds-freezes-ils-and-memory-issues/

 

The second isn't likely to help your performance really but it should help save you from further headaches such as CTD's

 

I would also recommend trying a more performance friendly (out of the box) ENB preset. Aiyen's Skylight ENB will probably be a good place to start for you. Since you didn't mention what preset you were using.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48730/?

[rockitram]

I don't care about impressing anyone. I'm not trying to, I stated what my computer specs were so in case they were important for my situation.

 

i3 is perfectly fine for what I do, and I have played Skyrim on this PC before, and have never had this problem.

 

I have tried performance friendly ENBs, and no ENB as well. I have tried lowering the Skyrim settings as well, so that they are very poor graphically, and the performance is still horrible. I don't understand what is going on.

 

I do use the memory patch, but SKSE for some reason doesn't seem to work right with the memory patch for me anymore, and I can't figure out why. A guide said to use Memory Blocks Log to determine the right settings for it, and when I try to use it, it says that Block 1 must be 512, but it's not both Block 1 and Block 2 are 256. It also says that SKSE must be installed wrong or that my SKSE.ini is being overwritten, so I checked into it, and it's not installed wrong and nothing is overwriting it. Which still leaves it to mystery. So I removed the Memory section of the INI and I installed SSME in my Skyrim folder.

 

I do use Mod Organizer, I believe I've said that though. I prefer Mod Organizer, I don't like to use other mod managers. I followed the GamerPoets videos on YouTube and they're all for Mod Organizer. His videos say STEP wiki on them.

 

I'm not sure what else to say. I've tried the suggestions here before, despite the first one not being necessary at all. i5 process is not needed, as I've said before I've played games on here before, never had this problem. Skyrim is the only one with poor performance right now, but didn't use to have this problem at all on Skyrim. I mostly play MMORPGs on the PC though, and play single player games on PlayStation 4 now. Skyrim, Oblivion, The Sims 4, and the Assassins Creed games are the only games I play on PC anymore that aren't strictly online. The main MMORPG I play is Elder Scrolls Online. I have no problems on those other games, just Skyrim. That makes me believe I messed up somewhere, but I don't see where I had. I can't figure it out.

 

I wouldn't be able to tell you where or when these problems occur, because they happen as soon as I log in, and never stop. It makes no difference where I am in the game, or when. My FPS is usually around 12, and sometimes goes up to 20 inside, but outside it's always around 12. Which is horrible... and I studder badly, and can't move that well, I get long loading screens and sometimes the game will stop responding all together for a while, but if I wait (sometimes for 20 minutes) it will finally function again, but still stay slow and studdery and have low FPS.

 

Last year when I modded Skyrim I had 255 mods installed, with everything retextured at 2k or less, and almost nothing wasn't retextured and I also used pretty decent ENBs, but nothing outrageous (not ENBs for Screenshots only). I didn't have low FPS then, and I didn't have performance issues. Yet somehow I do now. I can't pinpoint where I went wrong this time, and I hope you guys can help me find where I did. I am not blaming the game, or saying the game is crap - I am blaming myself, because it is my fault - I did something, and I don't know what I did.

 

I really appreciate the help. I'm sorry if I seem complicated with this. I am a complicated person.

Edited January 18, 2015 by rockitram

[GrantSP]

Well since you use MO you are in luck, that manager allows us to set up the game a number of different ways and examine them.

If you haven't already, create a new profile and install only the vanilla assets, no mods or any other addons.

Run them game and compare the performance. If there is a marked improvement then you at least know it is most likely mod related.

 

Make sure you follow the advice about ENBs that has already been mentioned.

 

The thing with these sort of issues is that they are fixable, it just means a bit of detective work and eliminating anything that isn't the culprit.

[rockitram]

I have done all those things and I still can't pinpoint what is going on. I'm not sure what else to do...

 

I also still cannot get SKSE to display Block 1 in Memory Blocks Log as 512, no matter what I change. So I can never get the desired numbers for ENBoost setup correctly.

[GrantSP]

I have done all those things and I still can't pinpoint what is going on. I'm not sure what else to do...

 

I also still cannot get SKSE to display Block 1 in Memory Blocks Log as 512, no matter what I change. So I can never get the desired numbers for ENBoost setup correctly.

By this comment are you saying you have changed the skse.ini to have a setting like:

[Memory]
DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=512
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

but the memory block log only shows it something less?

 

My skse.ini settings are similar and my logs never get anywhere near that figure either but my machine is as stable as it can get. I don't believe I have ever had a CTD or any other issues like ILS or the like.

Are you chasing a figure or trying to get a stable system?

[phazer11]

Your DefaultHeapInittialAllocMB should be 768 not 512 in the .ini

[rockitram]

No, I didn't change the SKSE.ini. The DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB section has 768 in it. But Memory Blocks Log always reports Block 1 as 256, same as Block 2. Yet Apparently to determine the correct settings for it, I have to have that Block 1 as 512, but it never is. That's what I was saying.

 

I just disabled all mods again and tried on a new profile with a new game, and the game crashes to desktop as soon as I get into the world. It doesn't make sense. It's as if the game took on a life of its own and decided it didn't want me to play properly.

[Nozzer66]

Try using the -forcesteamloader argument in the arguments field of SKSE in MO.