So,

Just got Vanilla Skyrim and I was brave to start it on ultra settings.

While playing for few hours I experienced major FPS drops(25-40) mostly when I turn around,in towns and at big battles.

Other than that the game is smooth always at 60 FPS,but these drops sometimes ruin the fun.

So I tried it on high setting but it still occurs (I absolutely refuse to play it on medium and low )

Then I monitored my CPU and GPU usage and I saw my GPU reaches 100% every time I experience FPS drops.

Cpu always stays at 50% though.

Is this game so gpu dependent? Is there a way to force using more cpu power rather than gpu?

My specs:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.0ghz

AMD Radeon 7770 1GB

Asrock 960GM GS3 FX motherboard

4GB RAM

Oh and I didn't overclock, If anything my processor should fear not my video card XD

I could ran ME3,Dead space 3,Battlefield 3,ASC3 on ultra no problem and Far Cry 3 on high but this is *******

Any suggestion would be highly appreciated

Ironically, it is not the GPU but the CPU that is the source of most frame rate drops, and those are mostly caused by NPCs.

Most people use a utility to clamp the frame rates to mask the inevitable drops, because there is nothing you can do about it really. Use the Anitlag or Stutter Remover or something like MSI Afterburner, clamp the frame rates in the 38 to 48 range and you will have butter smooth play.

Make sure your Gamepad and Rumble is disabled in the game options and or Prefs files if your not using a controller.

Hmm interesting,but then why is my cpu not using more power?

The graph shows it is only using 50%

I have the same exact card as you, and only time I see drops is when there is a bunch of stuff going on in the frame (like lots of combat), which is expected.

Maybe try the same settings I got:

High textures

Low decal quanity

Water reflect only for sky and land.

No radial blur (or low)

No AF or AA, just use FXAA

Low quality shadows, http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/283/? to make it not so "blocky".

Move view sliders halfway.

Distant view detail at Medium.

Object detail fade on.

Skyrim still looks nice IMO.

Resolution is another big factor. I use 1080p, but maybe you could try lowering it a bit on your PC.

It's not the CPU load, but the script scheduling, every NPC has a script, and they can't run all at once.

TGL's suggestions are good. One thing to keep in mind is the less post game processing you do, the better the game is, in other words, disable the CCC for this game, or make sure it is not doing anything for the game (everything is set to applicaiton controlled or off)

I find 4X AA and FXAA to give the best performance/quality tradeoff. Shadows at High have less of a load than Ultra and don't look any worse.

But, if you clamp the rates, then you don't notice the drops, so do that and turn off your FPS display and enjoy the game.

To add to CCNA's post, my philosophy on graphical settings for games: If I don't notice it, turn it off/turn it down.

Every little load counts and is a big help for any GPU/CPU to load the obvious stuff instead of smaller detail eye-candy. Most of the time, settings you won't notice off unless you are looking for it or focusing too much on it.

Thanks for the responds.

I tried with those settings and the stuttering outside towns is completely disappeared.

I've also downloaded a stutter fix and set the fps limit to 40.

But when I'm in a town called whiterun it occasionally goes below 30 fps which is still very noticable also if I pick up a fight with the citizens of riverwood.

GPU usage is now around 50 so I don't know

Make sure you have the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Patch and the http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19/?, as well as http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25859/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/6/? for mods and to know what files are dirty. http://www.creationkit.com/TES5Edit_Cleaning_Guide_-_TES5Edit on cleaning.

There is a reason why the towns are not larger and there are not more NPCs, you have discovered it.

The good news is, you hardly ever have combat in a city (other than some Dawnguard content starting at level 10) and the dragons that just have to hit each city at least once during the MQ. There are a couple of mods that tell the NPCs to run away so they don't get killed, and this can help with frame rates in those few situations. However towns are a haven and a place to store your loot and pick up a few quests, not a place you have to worry about frame rates.

I would try this too: HIALGOBOOST

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/15123/?

http://www.hialgo.com/SkyrimFAQ.htm

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My philosophy on graphical settings for games: If I don't notice it, turn it off/turn it down.

That's very smart....

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And don't play with shadow detail at ultra. !!!!! (Skyrim option.)