The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC Performance discussion

Grimm Fandango said:
This may due to my ignorance on PC technicalities but if the game is barely using the power of high performance CPUs/GPUs, why does the FPS dip? Is it the poor optimization? Is it based on NPCs and stuff?
It could be due to streaming, or memory bandwidth. But I think the most likely is that it's CPU bound, and the only reason people don't believe it is because of this:
Durante said:
As I said above, I think it's pretty likely that the game is actually mostly single threaded and people are seeing ~30% across multiple cores because Windows is rescheduling the thread. (Yeah, it sometimes does that, I have no idea why, it certainly isn't very cache friendly)
 
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=8000.0000
fShadowDistance=5000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2

tesv2011-11-1315-37-0bhyob.png


fInteriorShadowDistance=4000.0000
and same settings as first shot.

tesv2011-11-1315-39-1xkzfg.png


fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
and same settings again.

tesv2011-11-1315-40-5rsb5k.png


Don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for as all of them looked the same and ran the same, 60fps.

I still get this odd low FR when exiting the bar in that little town near these pics (Heroin or something like that lol). No difference interior wise, just gonna stick with that 1000 for now then and 5000 for regular shadowdistance.
 
Durante said:
Paging file help

So I did your paging file guide and made sure I restarted. Now this isn't a factual claim but before I changed the paging file I quickly tested the fps in Riverwood, I was getting min 40 max 56. After the paging file thing I'm getting min 45 max 60... I'm pretty sure it gave me a slight fps boost. Cheers.
 
Man, what kind of asshole company releases a single-threaded PC game these days? I'm glad that I have a fast CPU but what the hell. This game should be getting much better performance on slower machines.

Is this something that ever gets improved in a patch? I'm pretty sure that Valve added multi-threading to a few of their HL2-era games.

edit: Saw the post below mine. Nevermind. I haven't tried disabling cores or anything, I just know that we should be getting better performance for a game that's designed to run on six year old hardware.
 
Durante said:
That probably just means that windows is re-scheduling the thread across different cores.
Actually game is multithreaded.
1 core - It uses it completely and decrease performance to 30
2 cores - utilize 90-95 of first core and 80+ second and gives me 45-50 fps
3 cores - utilize about 60-70 of every core and gives me 55-60 fps

CPU: i5 2500k stock.
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=8000.0000
fShadowDistance=5000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2

http://www.abload.de/img/tesv2011-11-1315-37-0bhyob.png[img]

fInteriorShadowDistance=4000.0000
and same settings as first shot.

[img]http://www.abload.de/img/tesv2011-11-1315-39-1xkzfg.png[img]

fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
and same settings again.

[img]http://www.abload.de/img/tesv2011-11-1315-40-5rsb5k.png[img]

Don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for as all of them looked the same and ran the same, 60fps.

I still get this odd low FR when exiting the bar in that little town near these pics (Heroin or something like that lol). No difference interior wise, just gonna stick with that 1000 for now then and 5000 for regular shadowdistance.[/QUOTE]

[b]What's Your iShadowMapResolution?[/b]
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary and iShadowMapResolutionPrimary [b]dont do nothing[/b], splishadow also dont do nothing.
There is no change in setting interior distance of shadows too.

You get 60 fps? Interiors give me big hit ;\ Actually shadows give me enormous FPS hit.


Ps. I'll try to make some comparison soon of shadow settings.
Ps2. Sorry for double post i though someone have already posted.
 
KKRT00 said:
What's Your iShadowMapResolution?
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary and iShadowMapResolutionPrimary dont do nothing, splishadow also dont do nothing.
There is no change in setting interior distance of shadows too.

You get 60 fps? Interiors give me big hit ;\ Actually shadows gives enormous FPS hit.


Ps. I'll try to make some comparison soon of shadow settings.
Ps2. Sorry for double post i though someone have already posted.
4096, yea, interiors are no worry, outside when there tons of trees its there. 1 more comparison coming just to see if I'm just seeing things.
 
How do I set the Steam launch properties to go to TESV.exe to skip the launcher?

Also, I tried setting my shadow distance to 400 to see the super sharp shadows that I saw in the OP, but nothing changes...same pixelated garbage shadows.
 
Any solution to the Audio being too low issue? I've tried lowering the Sound to 44100 Hz, changing the fAudioMasterVolume to 4.0000, but the game's still too quiet.
 
TheOctagon said:
The only thing the textures in Bleak Falls should be smeared across is toilet paper.
Have You ever had a situation when mods werent working?

I dont see any difference at all with Better Faces, Armor and Cloth Improvement mods ;\
 
MisterAnderson said:
How do I set the Steam launch properties to go to TESV.exe to skip the launcher?

Also, I tried setting my shadow distance to 400 to see the super sharp shadows that I saw in the OP, but nothing changes...same pixelated garbage shadows.
I tired that and then removed the info from the OP. I don't know how but it was suggested to me from the beth forums before I got the game.

Scythian said:
Any solution to the Audio being too low issue? I've tried lowering the Sound to 44100 Hz, changing the fAudioMasterVolume to 4.0000, but the game's still too quiet.
I did the same and I noticed a change. Odd. Game seems almost too loud now hahah
 
Durante said:
I can confirm that, going above 4096 doesn't seem to make a difference. My settings now are 4096 and distance 2000 interior / 4000 exterior. Outside of a few corner cases I've been really happy with that.


I have a new suggestion for people with good systems that feel like the game should perform better:
If you have more than 8GB of RAM, try disabling your page file.

Will not make a difference. Disabling your page file is NOT a good idea. Set it to 768MB or so.
 
Truant said:
Don't know, but you can run tesv.exe straight from the folder without having Steam running.

Wouldn't Steam achievements be disabled?

Edit: I keep messing around with the shadow settings as I read about what you guys are changing. No matter what I do they always looks the same: super pixelated, and every 15 seconds or so the pixelation does this really ugly "refresh" where it shimmers for a couple of seconds. It's really distracting. I just want some sharp shadows. :(
 
MisterAnderson said:
Wouldn't Steam achievements be disabled?
Yes, but hey, be a man hahaha. Try it out though because I've ran a few tests out that way too. Steam won't be counting your playtime either :P

I edited that in as an alternative.

MisterAnderson said:
Edit: I keep messing around with the shadow settings as I read about what you guys are changing. No matter what I do they always looks the same: super pixelated, and every 15 seconds or so the pixelation does this really ugly "refresh" where it shimmers for a couple of seconds. It's really distracting. I just want some sharp shadows. :(
In documents/mygames/skyrim/skyrimprefs you tried this?

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=5000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2

Or just these 3 edits?

fShadowDistance=400.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192
 
Durante said:
It could be due to streaming, or memory bandwidth. But I think the most likely is that it's CPU bound, and the only reason people don't believe it is because of this:

That does not mean the game is CPU limited. CPU limited means that the game fully utilizes your CPU and you need a faster one. What you mean to say is that it's poorly coded, and is so inefficient with the CPU that it can't fully take advantage of its power.

Which doesn't make sense considering it should be optimized for 360/PS3, which have CPU's that are very good at multithreading... Perhaps BethSoft just sucks at coding for performance. Even Morrowind can still run like a dog on modern hardware once modded if I remember correctly.
 
MisterAnderson said:
Wouldn't Steam achievements be disabled?

Edit: I keep messing around with the shadow settings as I read about what you guys are changing. No matter what I do they always looks the same: super pixelated, and every 15 seconds or so the pixelation does this really ugly "refresh" where it shimmers for a couple of seconds. It's really distracting. I just want some sharp shadows. :(
Just change to those:
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowFilter=3
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
Yes, but hey, be a man hahaha. Try it out though because I've ran a few tests out that way too. Steam won't be counting your playtime either :P

I edited that in as an alternative.


In documents/mygames/skyrim/skyrimprefs you tried this?

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=5000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=4096
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2

Or just these 3 edits?

fShadowDistance=400.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192

Tried the first one just now and it looks the same:

9F417B4AFEED461895DD5330DD5D0EB64AC81ECB


Trying the second 3 edits now.
 
It just occured to me that there's also a skyrimprefs.ini in my documents... I've been messing with the one in the steamapps folder. Do I need to be making edits to both?
 
MisterAnderson said:
It just occured to me that there's also a skyrimprefs.ini in my documents... I've been messing with the one in the steamapps folder. Do I need to be making edits to both?
No, only the one in my documents and use my settings
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowFilter=3
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

Changing primary and secondary wont change resolution shadows at all.
 
MrAnderson

BlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=4000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192

tesv2011-11-1316-23-1cu5cd.png


iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=400.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192

tesv2011-11-1316-24-43mv7p.png


The trade off here is that the shadows are rendered less further with it only at 400 but it seems to be sharper. So it seems like when you turn up the distance, shadows degrade? Not sure but compare for youself.

And KRT00, the shadows res definitely made a difference for me. Shadows looked blocky even at 4096 on both primary and secondary for me.
 
the shadow distance change works for me. The trade off is slightly more pop in at longer distances. I have Interior at 1500 and exterior at 2000. Seems like a good enough balance. I still get a little shimmering and a little pop-in outside, but the shadows aren't "dancing" like before.

Edit: in SkyrimPrefs.ini (My documents>My Games>Skyrim)
fInteriorShadowDistance=1500.0000
fShadowDistance=2000.0000

I personally don't think anything else needs changing. just find the distance/pop-in balance that you're comfortable with. smaller number=higher res at close range, but no shadows at distances, meaning you get more pop-in as you move.
 
Corky said:
Do you put these in the skyrim.ini or the skyrimpref.ini?
skyrimprefs in my documents/Skyrim

Very interesting findings here with the sharpness in detail. Like I said before, the less it renders the sharper they get. And as I said before, the primary and secondary res did make a difference for me just going up from 4096 to 8192

Again on the comparison, the render radius/circle is so small for shadow rendering that if you look at the second shot that I took, the NPC's feet aren't even shaded anymore! And you can see the circle around you as you are running.
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
skyrimprefs in my documents/Skyrim

Very interesting findings here with the sharpness in detail. Like I said before, the less it renders the sharper they get. And as I said before, the primary and secondary res did make a difference for me just going up from 4096 to 8192

Damn, why won't my settings go into effect? I've literally copy pasted your lines into my ini but it still doesn't work.
 
Corky said:
Damn, why won't my settings go into effect? I've literally copy pasted your lines into my ini but it still doesn't work.
why are you pasting them in? those settings should already be visible..you just change the numbers.
 
REV 09 said:
why are you pasting them in? those settings should already be visible..you just change the numbers.

I didn't have secondary and primary shadowmap resolution variables...

Sorry to have to do this but maybe someone with a keener eye can spot my error

fShadowBiasScale=0.2500
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=4000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iShadowMapResolution=8192
bFXAAEnabled=1
iMaxAnisotropy=16
fGamma=1.0000
iShadowFilter=3
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=2000.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
iWaterMultiSamples=0
iMultiSample=1
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
bFull Screen=1
iSize H=1440
iSize W=2560
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=5000.0000
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=4048.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=4844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000
iScreenShotIndex=239
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti"
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
 
Corky said:
Damn, why won't my settings go into effect? I've literally copy pasted your lines into my ini but it still doesn't work.
Just copy this into your entire SkyrimPrefs in mydocuments/Skyrim. Delete your own and copy, I mean.


Code:
[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1
fInteriorShadowDistance=1000.0000
fShadowDistance=4000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192
iShadowSplitCount=2
iMaxAnisotropy=16
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000
fGamma=0.9600
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
iWaterMultiSamples=0
iMultiSample=4
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=0
bDrawLandShadows=0
bFull Screen=1
iSize H=768
iSize W=1360
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000
iScreenShotIndex=2
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100
bFloatPointRenderTarget=0
sD3DDevice="AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series"
bFXAAEnabled=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
iShadowFilter=3
bTransparencyMultisampling=0
bDrawShadows=1
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=1
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=1
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=2
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=1
bGeneralSubtitles=1
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.2400
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=1
bMouseAcceleration=1
[Particles]
iMaxDesired=750
[SaveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000
[AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal7=1.0000
uID7=0
fVal6=1.0000
uID6=0
fVal5=1.0000
uID5=0
fVal4=1.0000
uID4=0
fVal3=0.3000
uID3=94881
fVal2=0.8000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=0.8000
uID0=1007612
[Clouds]
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000
[TerrainManager]
fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
bShowLODInEditor=0
[NavMesh]
fObstacleAlpha=0.5000
fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000
fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500
fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000
fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500
fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000
fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000
fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500
fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000
fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000
fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000
fEdgeThickness=10.0000
fPointSize=2.5000
[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20
[Decals]
uMaxDecals=1000
bDecals=1
bSkinnedDecals=1
uMaxSkinDecals=100
uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60
[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
bShowAllResolutions=1
uLastAspectRatio=3
[BlurShaderHDR]
bDoHighDynamicRange=1
[BlurShader]
bUseBlurShader=0
[Water]
iWaterReflectHeight=512
iWaterReflectWidth=512
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1

PLEASE BACKUP YOUR ORIGINAL INI THOUGH!
 
Sorry about the MIA, went surfing today here's all my shadow related SkyrimPrefs.ini values.

Code:
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192
iShadowSplitCount=2
fShadowLODStartFade=600.0000
iShadowMode=4
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
iShadowMapResolution=8192
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iShadowFilter=4
bDrawShadows=1
 
Corky said:
I didn't have secondary and primary shadowmap resolution variables...

Sorry to have to do this but maybe someone with a keener eye can spot my error
5th and 6th down from top. i never changed these though...just the distances.
 
MickeyKnox said:
Sorry about the MIA, went surfing today here's all my shadow related SkyrimPrefs.ini values.

Code:
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=8000.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8192
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=8192
iShadowSplitCount=2
fShadowLODStartFade=600.0000
iShadowMode=4
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
iShadowMapResolution=8192
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iShadowFilter=4
bDrawShadows=1
What's your HW setup? Gotta have these details to compare.
 
So this whole time I've been editing my ini file in Steam instead of My Documents so I figured that is what I was doing wrong. I just made the edits to the ini file in My Documents and the shadows STILL look like that pic I posted a few posts up...
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
And KRT00, the shadows res definitely made a difference for me. Shadows looked blocky even at 4096 on both primary and secondary for me.
Yes it matter, but for not those Primary and Secondary.
Look quality increases with iShadowMapResolution and other settings doesnt matter.

fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowMapResolution=512
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=512
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
En4Xq.jpg


==========
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowMapResolution=8196
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8196
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048
DTqLC.jpg


==========
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowMapResolution=8196
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=8196
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=1024
QhrCj.jpg
 
Good finds. You need to type me up a consolidated write up with your HW config so I can add that to the OP. I'm gonna try it with some of the settings Mickey posted as I had not edited those.

Yea, sharper distant shadows but lower FR. 10fps loss in the same area I was just in.
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
The trade off here is that the shadows are rendered less further with it only at 400 but it seems to be sharper. So it seems like when you turn up the distance, shadows degrade? Not sure but compare for youself.

Correct. As I understand it, with higher values you're asking the game to stretch the shadow maps over a larger area. That's why, by default, the exterior value is higher and the interior value lower: the former is to avoid shadow fade-in that would be particularly obvious when traversing the huge overworld, however this comes at the cost of resolution; conversely, the far smaller areas pertinent to the latter are apposite to its lower value, thus resulting in better shadow definition.
 
LiquidMetal14 said:
Just copy this into your entire SkyrimPrefs in mydocuments/Skyrim. Delete your own and copy, I mean.

Nope :/, didn't work, they still look like this and I made a new ini and pasted all those variables.

screenshot29yugb.png
 
Just change those Corky:

iShadowMapResolution=4096
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowFilter=3
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fShadowBiasScale=0.1500


Ps. Guys i dont know how You guys can set 8192 shadows, it so kills my performance indoors. Anyone uses OGSSAA and tried settings 8192 shadows? Whats You framerate in interiors?
 
Pazuzu9 said:
So basically, there's no way of getting good shadow resolution and good shadow draw distance, you have to pick one or the other?
Yes, I've noted that in my settings in the OP. It seems like even the primary and secondary don't make much of a difference unless you change the LOD distance too as in Mickeyknox's settings a few posts up. Frame rate suffers though as you are asking the game to do more.
 
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