Is the HD DLC recommended? Or are there any other texture mods there that does a better job?

The official pack is quite good enough for me. The drawback is that it doesn't cover every single texture in the game, so you might want to look for some mods that cover the gaps. Ruins Clutter Improved and Static Mesh Improvement Mod are some of those.

Then there are many general texture replacers which overwrite the official HD ones, such as for armor and weapons, landscapes, dungeons and city architecture. They are not always coherent with the original's style though (stopped using the amidianborn armor textures because they sometimes stray from the original look too much), and going overkill on texture mods may make you reach the 3.1gb VRAM threshold which causes a lot of instability and crashes. I've also found that using very high resolution textures sometimes causes weird squarish aliasing/artifacts for me, probably because I'm playing in a slightly lower resolution than my native display (1600x900 on a 1080 display).

Ok, i'll download it when Skyrim is done downloading. Also gonna get the Unofficial HD texture patch

I use the official HD pack, but I also recommend running in addition to the official ones the following HD texture packs:

World texture overhaul: SkyrimHD2k - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/607 - some slight style changes from vanilla, I like these but it depends on your taste.

SMIM - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8655/ - not just retextures, but remeshes to make the actual items it covers much more detailed in appearance.

Ruins Clutter Improved - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/14227/

Armor textures: aMidianBorn Book of Silence - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/24909, but install BGM Glass Armor texture afterwards as I think that looks better (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=2060 - you don't need the main BGM file unless you prefer BGM elven as well, just get the glass armor update).

Dynamic snow textures: Better Dynamic Snow - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=10383

Book textures: Book Covers Skyrim - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/35399/? - gives every single book a unique cover. Get the desaturated version.

Dragon Wall textures: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27095/ - get the dragon ones to be lore-friendly.

Distant terrain textures: Enhanced Distant Terrain - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1598/? - for better distant visuals.

Cave textures - Hectrol Caves Deluxe - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/29145/? - fantastic detail for cave textures.

Spider Web textures - Hectrol - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1731/? - much more intricate and realistic webbing

Plant textures - Hybrid's - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1546/? - his screenshots don't do it justice, much nicer in game.

Rings/necklace textures -http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27038/?

Troll Skull - JKO: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=36206

Mammoth Cheese - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=35005

Giants - Mystery Modders: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/35198/?

Random Bones - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/36158/?

Sunglare - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/866/?

Dungeons: Redefined - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3147/?

Falmer pods, spider nests, imperial towers: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/users/2783760/?tb=mods&pUp=1

Trees - TreesHD - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3812/? (it was made for Vurt's flora overhaul, but doesn't require Vurt's - trees look great! I've tried VFO but found it a little overbearing and not to my taste).

Water:

WATER - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=13268

Splash of Rain - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=37873

For Dragonborn:

Solstheim Landscape and Furniture - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=31591

Scathecraw - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=37326

Apocyrpha textures - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/36222 - disclaimer: this mod was made by me, and the walls of books do differ from the official textures in style, while still being lore-friendly.

Also:

High Quality World Map (with roads) - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=4929

Footprints - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22745/? - people and creatures leave footprints in the snow.

Undead FX - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/36158/? - undead (summoned zombies etc.) dynamically applied various states of decay

Benjamin318's retextures - if you can get hold of them - he's banned from the Nexus, so his mods are no longer available there. Pick and choose his textures according to your own taste - his tents, bones and overgrowth are all great.

I run all these* alongside many other mods, and don't reach the 3.1gb RAM limit, so you should be safe to do so.

*I remove those textures I dislike (or if I prefer some from a different mod) by deleting from the respective folder before installing. Having said that, there are very few textures I remove.

WOW, so many mods !!!! - And did you had any problems with the game so far with those mods ????

I want to install some of them too, but i afraid don't to mess things up, i think you get the message !!!!

I have only the official HD pack installed, and it works fine - so far anyway...lol

Thanks for the recommendations jackstarr! I'll definetly check them out!

I booted up Skyrim and when it autodetected the settings my computer maxed everything out. That was cool.