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FPS & getting a stable game.


IsharaMeradin

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I've seen people mention FPS a lot when talking about how stable or unstable their game might be.  Is there a specific value that it should be at?  Or is it really just something to make people think that they've got something really good going on when they have high values?

 

As I understand it, FPS is frames per second.  If TV growing up was around 30 FPS and that was good enough, why do I want to squeeze out more?

 

My game runs at 60 FPS at the main menu and 31 FPS during load screens.  In the actual play environment it varies quite wildly.  I can look straight up into the sky and get 31/32.  I can look straight to the ground and get 30.  Between these two points the value fluctuates depending upon what is being shown to the camera.  The lowest value I have had on this computer is 8. That was standing at the point where Live Another Life puts you when picking the camping in the woods option.  There is mountain & tree LOD in the distance as well as flames from a fire close up. Not to mention the nearby trees, grass and rocks.  Removing all other mods and loading in at this point seems to have no real affect on the FPS.

 

If FPS isn't helping to devise a "stable" game, how should I go about ensuring that I have a stable game?

 

System specs if anyone cares:

CPU: AMD FX 6300 6 core 3.5 GHZ

RAM: 8.00 GB

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

GPU: AMD Radeon R7 200 series

VRAM: 2 GB

 

And so we're on the same page:

TES5Edit for cleaning as needed.

LOOT for load order.

Wrye Bash for bashed patch.

SKSE for memory tweaks and mod use.

I avoid ENB.  (Of all things I have tried, that did make a drastic drop in FPS, but I also heard it doesn't like Fraps which could explain the drop...)

FNIS if using any animation mods.

Mod Organizer for the profiles since there is now a fairly easy means of compiling scripts within MO's structure. 

 

I should also mention that when I play, I like to play for long periods of time.  Doesn't matter how good or bad the computer is, I've always at some point exceeded what it can manage and find strange things such as LOD not transitioning to normal and so I stand on ugly ground or some texture not rendering and I have purple objects.  I usually stop and exit the game when these types of things occur.

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I also heard it doesn't like Fraps which could explain the drop...

 

Don't forget that Steam added a built-in FPS counter to its client. I don't use FRAPS anymore !

 

But you're right, as far as I know, ENB is very FPS-consuming, even if there are ENB more performance-friendly than others.

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Steam built in a FPS counter?  Where do I see that?  It isn't often that I bring up the overlay.

 

I use FRAPS for the video component.  Been trying to make short videos for some of the mods I make where screenshots alone cannot do it justice.

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With the 2Gb card ENBboost might make a difference. Doesn't appear to do a lot with my IGb.

It caps the FPS at a default 60, but there's no harm in bringing it down to 30ish.

Things seem to run a little better with the CCC "Wait for Vertical Refresh" on and no SFO.

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Steam built in a FPS counter?  Where do I see that?  It isn't often that I bring up the overlay.

 

Steam -> Settings -> In-Game -> In-game FPS counter.

 

Rather basic for now, but better than nothing !

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Your experience as you describe it sounds perfectly normal to me. Honestly, IMO, people put too much emphasis on FPS. If your game runs fine for you, no horrendous stuttering or lag, what does it matter if it's 60FPS or 30? It's going to fluctuate, depending on where you are (open world), what you're looking at (how many assets are loaded) and nothing can prevent that. That doesn't mean the game is "unstable".

 

As for the issues described in your last paragraph, that's your VRAM nearing/hitting its limit. Again, normal. You're doing everything right and have no need to worry about an unstable game. If you were CTD'ing every 5 mins .. well, that's a different story. :lol:

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Thought my game could run better...

 

Had used STEPs settings for the AMD CCC.  Turns out that my card is good but not "high end".   When I set the values for TESV.exe to be the same as the default values (mainly use application settings where applicable) my FPS jumped up dramatically in-game.  Those low points of 7-9 became 24-30.  Movement is fluid again.  Graphics actually look better than they had before.  Happier about it now.

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Ah, yeah. That could do it too. I've tried messing with some of that stuff and it seems to be about as worthwhile as messing with the ini files for the game. 99 times out of 100 the results will be poor.

 

I just let Skyrim tell it I want Ultra, with whatever AA/AF the game says to use. It seems to work pretty well.

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