I have the issue that after some time the performance drops significantly. Restarting the game or sometimes alt-tabing fixes it.
I use a 4GB mod but it also happens without it. It's not because my PC is crap.

I suspect the memory is full and the game has poor memory management.

I researched if there is a console command to "flush" the memory. I found a command for oblivion (and fallout?) that sounds like it does that.
It's called "RunMemoryPass" and takes an integer as argument.

Skyrim accepts the command but nothing changes no matter what number I pass as argument.

Does anyone know what this command does? Is there a way to flush memory?


I would appreciate if a future patch will implement a proper memory management. For example if I fast travel a far distance it should unload everything and only load the relevant enviroment.

PergeCellBuffers will clear out any loaded cells from memory.

Purge*

PCB was the console command in Oblivion to accomplish that. Not sure what overall effect it will have on Skyrim, given that memory management for it is different according to Bethesda.

Had a short point a few weeks back when my game bogged down and got to stuttering. Went into the console and hit "PCB" and enter and it smoothed right out. Makes me think it can still work.

I inadvertently typed "PCB 1" and hit the Enter key (instead of "PCB" and hitting the Enter key)
After realizing my oversight I toggled several times between PCB 1 / PCB 0/ PCB to see if the console would advise me
that my syntax was in error, but the console accepted "PCB 1" "PCB 0" and "PCB" without any complaints.

It has me concerned that the console accepted both PCB 1 as well as PCB 0.

Is there a console command to default PCB back to where it should be? Or is there no need for me to do anything now.

It's not a toggle. PCB purges cells that are background loaded but aren't being used.

(can't delete this screen)

Yes, I presumed that. However, my concern still remains that PCB 1 and PCB 0 are in there.
What then does PCB 1 (true?) and PCB 0 (not true?) do?
PCB 0 did not prevent me from following up with PCB.

Because it isn't checking for any parameters since it doesn't need them.

Then I'll just write off PCB 0 / PCB 1 as redundant, thanks

I tried PCB on several occasions now, it doesn't do anything. It's still choppy. Sometimes there is an output on the console after entering the command.
When I alt-tab to windows for a few seconds the game will run smoothly again.

bump

same problem as you. granted, i don't play the game as often since i pretty much done everything in the game.. well not everything coz its impossible but all the guilds all the playstyles.. so i haven't rlly tested pcb, but i will try when it happens.

Different as in "much worse"?

I've had the game dump me rudely back to the desktop with no error message of any kind more times in the 150 hours I've been playing it than Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas ever did for the 350 hours I played those altogether and I'm using the Skyrim4GB file as well with no mods of any kind!!!

I'm all for engine improvements and the game is otherwise outstanding but next time, please Bethesda, test the blasted game thoroughly before you ship it!!!!!!

The game becomes unstable with ALT+TAB, as it says in the read-me...

Save your game, Exit to desktop, Reload the saved game... That is the "Best" way to purge memory build-up. Not questionable and game-breaking purges while running a live game, that potentially destroy in-game content that you might need.

The alt+tab issue is related to the game not truly returning back to full-screen. Windows is interrupting it, though it looks full-screen, it stays running behind steam. Since steam is what launched the game, and is running in front of the game for overlay use.

Turn off all steam toys... Steams overlay keys, and quick-keys and microphone watching program options... and set all keys to NONE for hotkeys in steam. That should help reduce game-jitter a bit. (Also be sure you are playing offline, as steam will kill the game while it uploads junk and downloads junk in the background, while you play. And disable the games AUTO-SAVE on TRAVEL and the SAVE-INTERVAL to NEVER or 60. And disable XBOX control, and vibrate, and anything else you are not actually using in the game.

Save manually, or use SLEEP or REST to auto-save.

wow what a stable game...

A lot of full-screen games have issues like this... That is a windows problem.
However, "Steam" is adding to the issue, with its "Key hooks" "Sound hooks" and "Screen hooks", which are used for steams stupid chat and overlays and uploading junk. (Novelties that are rarely used, but burden everyone.)

Not that the game itself is exactly stable at the moment... for everyone... (Some people don't notice, or have lucked-out, or haven't hit the randomness yet. It seems to be a lottery... WOOT WE WON!)

I find when I alt tab out, when I click or alt tab back to skyrim it comes up as a black window. A second alt tab to the skyrim process then loads the game back up properly. This happens every single time, but I rarely ever get crashes.

same wolf, but i find that if i do that too many times things like water and fire disapear,, they are still there tho. fire emits light, water are still swimable (and drownable) but they are invisible.

so i need to turn off some steam stuff like the ability to [censored]+tab and F12 to take pics?

True I ve noticed that after alt-tabbing the game will jump from using all 8 processors to 4. Atleast thats what my task manager said, maybe u guys could do some experimenting as well.

ok played for about 3 hours to test it.. got out of a cave and it happened. so i open console and write pcb.. nothing. for 2 min i try to do it again and again and nothing happens.
i hit esc to pause the game and then open console and write pcb, and it worked. jumped back to 50fps

hope i helped.

I can't wait for the Creation Kit so I can make my PCB beds mod for Skyrim (clear your cache upon activating a bed).

Not to derail this thread, but does PCB work on Morrowind as well?

pcb doesn't work anymore no matter what i do.

tbh, i doubt its steam. NO GAME that i played EVER had this issue. only this. you can try to justify it but its all comes to this.. this game is broken. im sorry. i love this game and i will TRY to continue to play but having to exit the game and start it again is not a solution, its proof of how broken it is.

pisses me off a well know and loved company releases such a broken game. i would understand flying horses. i would understand randomly spawning mammoths or dragons flying backwards, but this is not the same.. this is a bug that is related on game stability and THIS GAME IS BROKEN.


GOD some1 do something already...

also did testing with PCB..and pcb both did nothing....but..

Alt/Tab clears about 100 - 200 Meg of Ram . I posted Pic's in another thread....

PIC's

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee72/camaro_69_327/TESV_2011_12_15_12_32_36_982.jpg

ALT/TAB

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee72/camaro_69_327/TESV_2011_12_15_12_33_00_228.jpg

AS you can see I never moved. Trying PCB at the time did nothing. Every time I ALT/TAB it clears Ram.