After 4.5 years with my last desktop, I decided it was time to upgrade, that is, build a new one. 128 Gb SSD with a 1Tb HDD for data. i5 3570k cpu @3.4GHz (3.8 Turbo boost), not overclocked. Kept the Radeon HD 5570 w/1Gb VRAM, plus 8 gigs of DDR3 RAM.

Holy cow!

I now have a mod list that includes FCOM, Better Imperial City, Open Cities Reborn for all the rest, RAEVWD, Immersive Interiors, All Natural, all the ULs, Sneaking Detection Recalibrated, plus 3 gigs of texture, normal map, and LOD replacers.

No stutter (and no Stutter Remover) at all, loading times are negligent, and 5-15 actors in combat with no lag.

Added bonuses include much much faster Wrye Bash Installers tab actions.

I'm flabbergasted.

And I recommend upgrading to all who can. Who knew that after all these years of struggle, new hardware would do such wonders?