Microstuttering in 3rd person running/horseback riding on good rig

[scorpgul]

I am using STEP:EXTENDED 2.2.9, (EDIT: Now using a fresh install of STEP:EXTENDED 2.2.9.1 and stuttering still persists unless "Distant Object Detail" is set at High down from Ultra) have followed all instructions to the letter and used GamerPoet's Bash Patch, FNIS, DSR guide but I am having stuttering despite having a good rig. I am playing on a GTX 780 Ti which has 3GB VRAM, an i7 3770k at 4.5GHz, 8GB RAM, Windows 8.1 64 Bit(EDIT: Now on a GTX 980 Ti 6GB, 16GB RAM and Windows 10 pro 64 Bit) and when I tried using the 2k resolution textures for all the texture mods, I had massive stuttering/brief freezing when roaming outside on horseback. I had to reinstall everything a second time using the "Baseline" 1K or lower textures to reduce the stuttering which I STILL get every few seconds when on horseback outside.

Most of the "Baseline" Textures are aimed at people with 1GB to 2GB VRAM so why do the 2k Textures give me this problem with 3GB VRAM (EDIT: Now 6GB)? And as I said I still get stuttering every few seconds when outside on horseback especially, its just not as severe as when I used the 2k textures.
 
Meanwhile, I saw Gamespot's video where they used full 2K and up to 4k textures on almost EVERYTHING plus ENB preset with a GTX 780 and they get butter smooth gameplay without any stuttering. What could be going wrong? I followed all the instructions.
 

I make sure everytime I play a game that the ONLY programs running are Steam and the game itself. I always close all explorer windows and unnecessary processes beforehand. I am well aware of the craziness in Skyrim when going above 60 fps as I have a 120Hz monitor and it was not pretty when I played the game at over 100 fps average. I change my monitor's refresh rate to 60Hz everytime before playing Skyrim. I have the game installed on a Samsung EVO 840 250GB SSD. I had it on a fully defragmented Western Digital 7200 RPM hard drive before and frankly the only difference it has made is speed up loading screen time. The stutters I had before are still present so I doubt this is an I/O issue.

 

My CPU is watercooled and My GPU never exceeds 77 degrees when under full load. In Skyrim it does not even reach 74 degrees. My GPU usage is actually really low in the game, never exceeding 40%, however RAM usage seems right, I have seen it close to 2.8GB. I have Hyperthreading disabled when playing Skyrim and the load is spread across all 4 cores with core 1 having noticeably more load. I am using ENBoost and all the recommended settings found on the EnbLocal.ini guide on STEP guide. I am using Sheson's memory patch as recommended on STEP guide.

Now to the stutter itself. Inside cities and dungeons the game is SMOOTH and VRAM usage is the most. I have actually seen VRAM usage exceed 3.5GB inside dungeons with absolutely no stutter at all which surprises me. Once I go outside in 3rd person view/horseback and I start running, I am hit by microstuttering as soon as I cross borders. I closely monitored my GPU usage and VRAM usage and found that GPU usage is never more than 50% and VRAM usage is MUCH lower than inside dungeons. In First person the stuttering is almost nonexistant, even when I cross borders. As soon as I mount my horse/switch to third person view and start running, micro-stuttering starts. It's as if the game can't keep with the loading. My UGrids values are at the default, never messed with them. (EDIT: After enabling "tb" command, I can confirm that the stutters happen EXACTLY at cell border lines.)

Sometimes the microstuttering turns into actual mini freezes where the game just freezes for like 5 seconds then resumes as usual, though they were much more severe when I was using the 2K textures. Since downgrading to 1K textures the minifreezes are mostly gone, but they will still happen. I also noticed that as the stutters happen, I can clearly see things pop in the distance at the same time. Some areas where the stutter is very noticeable are the tundra outside Whiterun, the road from Helgen to Riverwood, the road from Whiterun to Falkreath and the intro carriage ride which gets really choppy just as Helgen becomes visible, almost like a mini-slideshow until the gate opens and the carriage enters Helgen.

 

I do not understand however why it happens when I have the game on an SSD, have a powerful GPU with 3GB VRAM (EDIT: Now 6GB VRAM) and have 8GB system RAM (EDIT: Now 16GB system RAM). I have done some digging and it seems as if it has something to do with cell loading stutter and increased I/O activity.
 

 

EDIT:

I have now done a fresh install of Skyrim and the full STEP:EXTENDED 2.2.9.1 modlist exclusively, with install instructions followed to the letter using Mod Organiser. The original Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini files located in MyDocuments are vanilla intact and the ini files I use are the Mod Organiser ones. In fact, my whole Skyrim install is pure Vanilla. Everything is done from Mod Organiser. I can play Vanilla Skyrim if i don't launch the game through Mod Organiser. It contains the original intact .esm files.

 

All the texture mods are the 2K variants. (EDIT: I have now downgraded every single 2K Texture Mod to 1K version after experiencing severe stuttering/mini freezes and stutter is STILL present, but less severe) STEP:EXTENDED Patch, Bashed Patch, Dual Sheath Redux Patch, FNIS Patch and Dyndolod steps have all been successfully completed and are working.

 

Nothing has changed. The stutters are still there even though I have made substantial hardware upgrades. Lowering "Distant Object Details" to High, ESPECIALLY fTreeLoadDistance is still the only "fix" that works, but one that I think I should not have to do. Some people are increasing those values to crazy high amounts to combat z-fighting  and getting smooth gameplay with lower end hardware. In this current state, I couldn't even think of doing that. I tried it and it DID get rid of z-fighting but the stutter was severe and the minifreeezes more frequent.

 

 

My Mod Load Order straight from Mod Organiser:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Plugins Load Order straight from Mod organiser:

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT:

Skyrim performance Monitor logs:

Log1:

 

Log2:

 

Log Download Links:

https://www.mediafire...Stutter Log.log

https://www.mediafire...utter Log 2.log

 

 

My Full Specs:

i7 3770k @ 4.5Ghz - Watercooled

EVGA GTX 780 Ti Classified Kingpin Edition - Watercooled(EDIT: Upgraded to a MSI GTX 980 Ti Gaming 6GB with latest Geforce Driver, problem persists)

8GB G-Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 RAM 1600Mhz(EDIT: Upgraded to 16GB RAM, problem persists)

Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD(EDIT: Disabling pagefile/Moving Pagefile to another drive has not made any difference)
Corsair RM1000 1000Watt Power Supply
Windows 8.1 PRO 64 Bit(EDIT: Upgraded to Windows 10 PRO 64 Bit, problem persists)

 

 

Similar 2015 Thread on Nexus forums. His system is almost identical to mine and he has the exact same issues:

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/2448284-object-fade-setting-random-stuttering-on-powerful-pc/

 

 

Thanks!

Edited August 21, 2015 by scorpgul

[scorpgul]

For me, increasing ReservedMemorySizeMb to 640 got rid of the stuttering.  It was pretty noticable at 512 but disappeared when pushed up to 640.  I thought I might have to push it up to 768 because of the number of mods (graphic upgrades) I'm using, but 640 seemed to have done the trick.

I tried so many things yesterday, messing with nearly all the ENBLocal.ini settings, switching them on and off. And I set ReservedMemorySizeMb up to 1024 yesterday and still what really brings down the stuttering is Distant Object Details variables:

 

fTreeLoadDistance

fBlockMaximumDistance

fBlockLevel1Distance

fBlockLevel0Distance

 

With the Ultra vallues, the stuttering persists and when it does I can clearly see a massive amount of textures, grass, trees, mountains, distant objects etc just pop out of nowhere.

Edited August 10, 2015 by scorpgul

[scorpgul]

This is very dependant on the resolution of the textures you're installing.

I installed  2K textures. Did not touch any 4k textures. With a 980 Ti 6GB VRAM and 16 GB System RAM and with the game installed on an SSD, don't you think that I should be able to play the game at a constant 60 FPS at 1080p without stutter and having to bring down Distant Object Details to stop stutters. Even vanilla Skyrim stutters when Distant Object Detail is set at Ultra values, which baffles me.

[TechAngel85]

What is your memory set to for SKSE? Try increasing it...

 

Default:

DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

 

Try:

DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=1024
ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

 

 

Up your Reserved memory in enblocal.ini to 512 and leave it there.

[TechAngel85]

I was going to use DDSopt after installing STEP, however I read that it can actually cause issues so didn't proceed. Can you confirm that DDSOpt will not cause any issues whatsoever?

I cannot risk losing the current playthrough, have invested too much.

Just install the STEP Optimized textures if you're using STEP. Else, you can use these: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/57353/?

 

 

This is the SkyrimPrefs.ini

 

 

 

[Display]

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

iShadowSplitCount=2

iMaxAnisotropy=0

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000

fGamma=1.0000

fDecalLOD2=1500.0000

fDecalLOD1=1000.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=920.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

fLightLODStartFade=1800.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=0

iTexMipMapSkip=0

iWaterMultiSamples=0

iMultiSample=4

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bFull Screen=1

iSize H=1080

iSize W=1920

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=250

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=800

bFloatPointRenderTarget=0

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti "

bFXAAEnabled=0

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iAdapter=0

iShadowFilter=3

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bTransparencyMultisampling=0

bDeferredShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=0

fGrassStartFadeDistance=18000.0000

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000

[MAIN]

bGamepadEnable=0

bCrosshairEnabled=1

fHUDOpacity=1.0000

bSaveOnPause=1

bSaveOnTravel=1

bSaveOnWait=1

bSaveOnRest=1

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000

[GamePlay]

bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1

bShowQuestMarkers=1

iDifficulty=4

[interface]

bDialogueSubtitles=1

bGeneralSubtitles=1

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

bShowCompass=1

[Controls]

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

bMouseAcceleration=0

bUseKinect=0

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=750

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=1107502616

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=1107501238

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=3954

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=1258707057

fVal3=1.0000

uID3=94881

fVal2=0.4500

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=40000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=150000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=40000.0000

fBlockLevel0Distance=25000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=1.1000

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

bDecalsOnSkinnedGeometry=1

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=256

[LOD]

fLODFadeOutMultObjects=10.1000

fLODFadeOutMultItems=8.7000

fLODFadeOutMultActors=8.5000

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

 

 

iMultiSample=4 should be set to 0 with ENBoost/ENBSeries

 

This is the ENBLocal.ini:

 

 

 

 

 

[MEMORY]

ExpandSystemMemoryX64=false

ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true

DisableDriverMemoryManager=false

DisablePreloadToVRAM=false

EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false

ReservedMemorySizeMb=256  

VideoMemorySizeMb=3008  

EnableCompression=false  

AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false

 

 

Set VideoMemorySizeMb back to the STEP formula and ReservedMemorySizeMb to 512 since you're using mainly 2K textures for exteriors.

 

Then do as I suggested above with the SKSE.ini

[scorpgul]

What is your memory set to for SKSE? Try increasing it...

 

Default:

DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=768

ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

 

Try:

DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=1024

ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

 

 

 

Up your Reserved memory in enblocal.ini to 512 and leave it there.

 

iMultiSample=4 should be set to 0 with ENBoost/ENBSeries

 

Set VideoMemorySizeMb back to the STEP formula and ReservedMemorySizeMb to 512 since you're using mainly 2K textures for exteriors.

 

Then do as I suggested above with the SKSE.ini

 

I have now done exactly as you suggested.

 

SKSE.ini:

 

 

[General]

ClearInvalidRegistrations=1

 

[Memory]

DefaultHeapInitialAllocMB=1024

ScrapHeapSizeMB=256

 

 

 

 

These are the inis from ModOrganiser, I did not touch the Skyrim inis found in the My Documents folder.

 

Skyrim.ini:

 

 

[Display]

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti"

fSunShadowUpdateTime=0.25

fSunUpdateThreshold=1.5

iPresentInterval=1

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=0

iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7

iMinGrassSize=40

[Water]

bReflectLODObjects=1

bReflectLODLand=1

bReflectSky=1

bReflectLODTrees=1

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

sIntroSequence=

fFlickeringLightDistance=8192

[Combat]

f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7

[Archive]

sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa

 

 

SkyrimPrefs.ini:

 

[Display]

iTexMipMapSkip=0

bFXAAEnabled=0

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000

fLightLODStartFade=1200.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=800

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=250

iAdapter=0

iSize W=3840

iSize H=2160

iMultiSample=0

iMaxAnisotropy=0

iPresentInterval=0

bFull Screen=1

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti"

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

bFloatPointRenderTarget=0

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000

fGamma=1.0000

iShadowFilter=3

bShadowsOnGrass=1

fDecalLOD2=1500.0000

fDecalLOD1=1000.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=0

bTransparencyMultisampling=0

iWaterMultiSamples=0

bDeferredShadows=1

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000

iScreenShotIndex=0

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

bMainZPrepass=0

[imagespace]

iRadialBlurLevel=2

bDoDepthOfField=1

[LOD]

fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000

[Grass]

fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

b30GrassVS=0

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=400.0000

[Decals]

bDecals=1

bSkinnedDecals=1

uMaxDecals=1000

uMaxSkinDecals=100

uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60

[TerrainManager]

fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=1.5

bShowLODInEditor=0

[blurShaderHDR]

bDoHighDynamicRange=1

[blurShader]

bUseBlurShader=0

[Launcher]

bShowAllResolutions=1

uLastAspectRatio=3

[Water]

iWaterReflectHeight=512

iWaterReflectWidth=512

bUseWaterDisplacements=1

bUseWaterRefractions=1

bUseWaterReflections=1

bUseWaterDepth=1

[MAIN]

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000

bGamepadEnable=0

bCrosshairEnabled=1

fHUDOpacity=1.0000

bSaveOnPause=1

bSaveOnTravel=1

bSaveOnWait=1

bSaveOnRest=1

[interface]

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

bDialogueSubtitles=0

bGeneralSubtitles=0

bShowCompass=1

[GamePlay]

bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1

bShowQuestMarkers=1

iDifficulty=2

[Controls]

bUseKinect=0

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0200

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.9000

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=750

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=922951862

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=3954

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=939939953

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=939526237

fVal3=0.5000

uID3=466532

fVal2=0.8000

uID2=554685

fVal1=0.8000

uID1=1007612

fVal0=1.0000

uID0=94881

[Clouds]

fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000

fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000

fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000

fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000

[General]

iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1

bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0

[Trees]

bRenderSkinnedTrees=1

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=40

 

 

I am using Nvidia DSR, downsampling from 4k and the stuttering is identical to when I run the game at 1080p with Distant Object details at Ultra.

 

ENBLocal.ini:

 

[PROXY]

EnableProxyLibrary=false

InitProxyFunctions=true

ProxyLibrary=other_d3d9.dll

 

[GLOBAL]

UsePatchSpeedhackWithoutGraphics=true

UseDefferedRendering=false

IgnoreCreationKit=true

 

[PERFORMANCE]

SpeedHack=true

EnableOcclusionCulling=true

 

[MULTIHEAD]

ForceVideoAdapterIndex=false

VideoAdapterIndex=0

 

[MEMORY]

ExpandSystemMemoryX64=false

ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true

DisableDriverMemoryManager=false

DisablePreloadToVRAM=false

EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false

ReservedMemorySizeMb=512

VideoMemorySizeMb=13957

EnableCompression=true

AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false

 

[WINDOW]

ForceBorderless=false

ForceBorderlessFullscreen=false

 

[ENGINE]

ForceAnisotropicFiltering=true

MaxAnisotropy=16

ForceLodBias=false

LodBias=0.0

AddDisplaySuperSamplingResolutions=false

EnableVSync=true

VSyncSkipNumFrames=0

 

[LIMITER]

WaitBusyRenderer=false

EnableFPSLimit=false

FPSLimit=10.0

 

[iNPUT]

//shift

KeyCombination=16

//f12

KeyUseEffect=123

//home

KeyFPSLimit=36

//num /       106

KeyShowFPS=106

//print screen

KeyScreenshot=44

//enter

KeyEditor=13

//f4

KeyFreeVRAM=115

 

[ADAPTIVEQUALITY]

Enable=false

Quality=1

DesiredFPS=20.0

 

[ANTIALIASING]

EnableEdgeAA=false

EnableTemporalAA=false

EnableSubPixelAA=false

 

[FIX]

FixGameBugs=true

FixParallaxBugs=true

FixParallaxTerrain=false

FixAliasedTextures=true

IgnoreInventory=true

FixTintGamma=true

RemoveBlur=false

FixSubSurfaceScattering=true

FixSkyReflection=true

FixCursorVisibility=true

FixLag=false

 

[LONGEXPOSURE]

EnableLongExposureMode=false

Time=1.0

BlendMax=0.0

 

 

 

VideoMemorySizeMb=13957. I got this value from:

";64-bit users with ≥ 8GB system RAM, set to formula: [Total Available Graphics Memory] − [170 (for Win7) or 350 (for Win8+)]" which is in the ENBOOST section from the STEP Guide.

[Total Available Graphics Memory] shows up as 14307 in the Adapter tab and I did 14307-350=13957.

With the Distant object Details values back to Ultra, I tested the game extensively and the stuttering is back . No change at all.

 

I have recorded the Skyrim Performance Monitor Logs so you can see exactly what is happening. This is the first time I run it and I have noticed that whenever a stutter happens, I/O jumps up at the same time the fps decreases. The sudden jumps lead me to believe this might be an I/O issue. What do you think? Check the CPU/GPU usage.

 

Logs:

https://www.mediafire.com/download/nmubauely9vv8j2/Stutter+Log.log

https://www.mediafire.com/download/867ljj2w3xxuhst/Stutter+Log+2.log

 

 

I also used the console command "tb" to toggle borders and the stutters happen EXACTLY as I cross the yellow lines. Hmm what could this mean? I am trying to narrow this down now. I have to fix this!

 

I just the exact same run in First person and the stutter is non-existant. As soon as i switch to third-person or on horseback third person, the stuttering starts. This is very strange.

Edited August 11, 2015 by scorpgul

[brokenpaine]

What happens to your game when you load all VANILLA INI's and original ENBseries INI?

[phazer11]

You get a message telling you to fix your .ini's from ENBseries binaries. Other than that if you somehow managed to deal with the glitchyness you'd probably have bad performance and some mods that require ini edits won't work right.

[scorpgul]

So can any STEP people, super moderators or Skyrim modding pros help me out? I have uploaded the Performance Monitor Logs. Can someone please read my last post and take a look at it?

 

Thanks

Edited August 13, 2015 by scorpgul

[brokenpaine]

My bad the question was directed to scorpgul. lol Just threw that out there because after reading through everything the INI's were seeming to be the red flag, but even more so, I'd say your modlist.The link you gave, is that on top of STEP. Are you using STEP or? Are you using MO or NMM?

 

Hey scorp I'd recommend reconfiguring your INI's from scratch and after that if the issue persists, you can at least rule that out.

Remember your trying to get this rolling with a powerful rig, which can be a pain. Use trial and error and start to rule out certain aspects.

 

So it's just an issue when horseback riding? Do you have Conienant horses installed? Any or Horse mods /follower Mods? Post your Load Order and Plugin Order. Using ENB or SweetFX/ReShadeMe?

 

To be honest even I deal with a little stutter, never in interiors, but in certain exteriors. But nothing bad enough to not break immersion. Sounds like you have it worse, but remember, with such a powerful card and monitor, getting control of your framerate and microstutter is a pain. I've seen this issue all over, have you not been able to google a reliable setup for your GPU? lol So many threads out there. I'll try and help my best though.

[scorpgul]

My bad the question was directed to scorpgul. lol Just threw that out there because after reading through everything the INI's were seeming to be the red flag, but even more so, I'd say your modlist.The link you gave, is that on top of STEP. Are you using STEP or? Are you using MO or NMM?

 

Hey scorp I'd recommend reconfiguring your INI's from scratch and after that if the issue persists, you can at least rule that out.

Remember your trying to get this rolling with a powerful rig, which can be a pain. Use trial and error and start to rule out certain aspects.

 

So it's just an issue when horseback riding? Do you have Conienant horses installed? Any or Horse mods /follower Mods? Post your Load Order and Plugin Order. Using ENB or SweetFX/ReShadeMe?

 

To be honest even I deal with a little stutter, never in interiors, but in certain exteriors. But nothing bad enough to not break immersion. Sounds like you have it worse, but remember, with such a powerful card and monitor, getting control of your framerate and microstutter is a pain. I've seen this issue all over, have you not been able to google a reliable setup for your GPU? lol So many threads out there. I'll try and help my best though.

 

This is a fresh install of Skyrim and the full STEP:EXTENDED modlist exclusively, with install instructions followed to the letter using Mod Organiser. I have not installed any other mod that does not belong in STEP Extended. The original Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini files located in MyDocuments are vanilla intact and the ini files I use are the Mod Organiser ones. In fact, my whole Skyrim install is pure Vanilla. Everything is done from Mod Organiser. I can play Vanilla Skyrim if I don't launch the game through Mod Organiser. It contains the original intact .esm files.

 

All the texture mods are the 2K variants. Bashed patch, Dual Sheath Redux patch, FNIS patch and Dyndolod steps have all been successfully completed and are working.

 

 

My Mod Load Order straight from Mod Organiser:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Plugins Load Order straight from Mod organiser:

 

 

 

 

 

Yes the issue happens almost exclusively when I am on foot in 3rd person mode and horseback riding in 3rd person. As soon as i cross a cell border, the stutter happens. In first person while crossing the same border, it's as if the stutter does not exist. And yes, the game is flawless and stutterfree in interiors. This problem only happens outside. Trust me I have tried I think every single "fix" posted on the internet and so far nothing has even come close to reducing the stutter like reducing "Distant object Detail" values to High down from ultra, namely:

 

fTreeLoadDistance

fBlockMaximumDistance

fBlockLevel1Distance

fBlockLevel0Distance

fSplitDistanceMult

 

fTreeLoadDistance being the MAIN culprit. At the Ultra value of 75000, the stutters are severe. At the High value of 40000, the stutters are reduced by 80%. I do not understand why this setting gives me such severe stutter when I have such a huge resource pool which is overkill for this game even when it's modded. Even on vanilla Skyrim when it is set at Ultra, I get stutters at cell borders which makes no sense at all.

Edited August 14, 2015 by scorpgul

[scorpgul]

So yesterday I disabled pagefile, reenabled it and moved it to another drive and stutters still happen. Did not make any difference at all...

I've downclocked RAM to 1333mhz, used XMP profile, downclocked GPU, changed sata port, nothing works...

 

I have downgraded every single mod to the 1k version which is a huge embarrassment for a GTX 980 Ti and still the stutter persists when that damn treeloaddistance setting is set above High. This pretty much confirms that it has nothing to do with mods.

 

I have also read that the patch 1.4 that Bethesda released in 2012 caused this issue. It changed the way cell transitions take place and I have found many old threads dating from that specific time of people who had flawless stutterfree gameplay prior to that patch reporting the exact same stutters since then.

 

Like I mentioned, I remember once playing SKYRIM at butter smooth 60 fps at Ultra setting without any stutters whatsoever shortly after it released, and that was on Windows 7 and a GTX 680. I did a whole playthrough with a nord warrior reaching level 50. That was before any DLC ever came out as well.

 

Then when I got back to it after a while in 2013 to play the DLC, I was shocked to find the newly introduced stutters. That must have been after the patch.

 

What changed? Can I downgrade? If it restores it to how smooth it was when I played in 2011/2012, I am all up for it!

 

I used a clean vanilla profile with vanilla settings ULTRA and no mods at all and stutters still happen when fTreeLoadDistance is more than 40000 which is the High value. The same stutter happened on my GTX 780 Ti.

 

The carriage ride at the start is fine until Helgen becomes visible. It starts getting REALLY choppy and I see the fps drop from 60 down to 49. Then as soon as it enters Helgen, it's stable again. I get the same problem outside Riverwood. As I approach Riverwood from any side, the fps drops to 49 then starts climbing up slowly. When I am inside Riverwood, it's fine. And that is with 1k textures on a GTX 980 Ti...

 

I was starting to think that maybe it's a motherboard problem, but then I do not have this issue with any other game. My motherboard has the latest Bios and I am using the correct Intel Chipset Sata 6GB/s port for the SSD with an Asus SATA 6g/s cable. What is it about this goddamn game that is so special that even overkill hardware cannot run it? I noticed that Skyrim heavily relies on disc read as I can hear my SSD working hard and when the stutter happens, the SSD's noise stops as well for half a second. How is it possible than a modern SSD struggles with Reads in this game LOL. The exact same thing happened when I had the game on a 7200RPM Western Digital Caviar black and switching over to the SSD has made no difference at all except reduced loadtimes. This game has some serious issues.

 

Anyone care to help please? Is this the first time you guys who are Skyrim experts hear of such a problem? The input is very limited and I think I might as well give up on the game now. I have spent the last week trying to solve this. I've done so many intro runs and tried all manners of "sure fixes" in an attempt to solve this.

Edited August 17, 2015 by scorpgul

[TechAngel85]

Just out of curiosity...

 

Have you made sure your DirectX is good? Download and install this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

[scorpgul]

Just out of curiosity...

 

Have you made sure your DirectX is good? Download and install this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

 

I just downloaded and ran it. It says DirectX setup has detected a newer or equivalent version of DirectX on this system. No installation is required. DirectX is all good.

Edited August 17, 2015 by scorpgul

[GSDFan]

@scorpgul

Hi, in looking over your skyrimprefs.ini I see the following, iSize W=3840 and iSize H=2160. In your profile your display is as follows, BenQ XL2420T 120Hz 24inch 1920x1080 TN+. Have you tried to set your ini to 1920 x 1080?

[scorpgul]

@scorpgul

Hi, in looking over your skyrimprefs.ini I see the following, iSize W=3840 and iSize H=2160. In your profile your display is as follows, BenQ XL2420T 120Hz 24inch 1920x1080 TN+. Have you tried to set your ini to 1920 x 1080?

It is Nvidia DSR downsampling. Yes I have tested 1920 x 1080 as well extensively in the ini.  The stutters and framerate are identical at  both 1080p and 4k DSR (which again does not make sense; it shows this is not a graphics card problem), but the image quality is way superior with 4k DSR and I don't have to use any antialiasing at all.

Edited August 17, 2015 by scorpgul