» Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:39 am Hello and thanks for reading.
As many of you know, I've recently begun my first game of (modded) Oblivion. So far it's going very well. Install is extremely stable, I like my character and I'm having fun.
The only issue I'm facing at this point is occasional significant FPS slowdown. Most of the time, my game runs at 60 FPS (seems be limited, which is just fine with me). Outdoors, which I know gives some machines trouble, I get 50-60 FPS consistently. And I never get the dreaded "stuttering" some speak of (I am using Oblivion Stutter Remover). No, NPCs seem to be the cause of my problems. When I look down a busy street — as in Skingrad recently, with about 5-6 NPCs in view — FPS drops to 19-23. It's not unplayable, but it's getting there. And this worries me because it's not like they're in combat, conjuring minions and whatnot.
I don't think it's a graphics/GPU issue (my card: MSI Nvidia GeForce 760 GTX Twin Frozr 2GB). I tried turning down/off every setting in the menu...no effect. I tried radically lowering the resolution...no effect. And watching my GPU load...it's just not that high. Most of the time, it's not maxed. So, I think the CPU is to blame, even though mine, while no longer top of the line, is considered a solid performer for modern games (my CPU: Intel i5-2500k running very stably at 4.3 GHz).
Here's my PC specs, mod install and load order:
PC specs
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3 1600
GPU: MSI Nvidia GeForce 760 Twin Frozr 2GB
Drive: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB Solid State Drive (Oblivion install location)
OS: Win 7 Home Premium
Mods installed
++ 000 - Unofficial Oblivion Patch.7z (42F6A326) (Installed)++ 001 - Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch - Manual Installer-10739-1-5-3.7z (37551047) (Installed)++ 002 - OOO135.7z (81F216DC) (Installed)++ 003 - OOO135BSA-44629-1-35.7z (0FC66A67) (Installed)++ 004 - OOO Missing Icons-44629-.7z (5D48169C) (Installed)++ 005 - OMOBS Shivering Isles-28537.7z (77C8070E) (Installed)++ 006 - Cobl 172-21104.7z (BFECAEE3) (Installed)++ 007 - MenuQue v16b-32200-v16b.zip (BAAF4C98) (Installed)++ 008 - DarNified UI 132-BAIN-22170.7z (FEA185A1) (Installed)++ 009 - Symphony of Violence 0_5-13987.rar (78B5C41F) (Installed)++ 010 - SoC Full Version -39804-1-1.7z (9E896039) (Installed)++ 011 - Generic Dungeon Drones.7z (ADF1B75D) (Installed)++ 012 - Atmospheric Oblivion.7z (A3D0A289) (Installed)++ 013 - Armamentarium Complete.7z (5F8C4AF1) (Installed)++ 014 - Artifacts.7z (5BE756B4) (Installed)++ 015 - Unique Signs-25314.zip (FC0A6D23) (Installed)++ 016 - Exterior Actors Have Torches.7z (886430DA) (Installed)++ 017 - Dungeon Actors Have Torches.7z (D301C2DB) (Installed)++ 018 - More Effective Enchantments.7z (7706F4AC) (Installed)++ 019 - Harvest Flora.7z (BD30D67A) (Installed)++ 020 - AULIAS_1_2_5-39635-1-2-5.zip (D33DD594) (Installed)++ 021 - RuneSkulls-9412.zip (4D3A03F3) (Installed)++ 022 - Elys Silent Voice.7z (4249925D) (Installed)++ 023 - Bullet Time.7z (27357D05) (Installed)++ 024 - BHC Expanded 1_2-27029.zip (08DC693D) (Installed)++ 025 - Supreme Magicka 0-90b-12466-0-90b.zip (8AC13A8A) (Installed)++ 026 - LessAnnoyingMagicExperienceEV 1,7.7z (5F151FEF) (Installed)++ 027 - Race Balancing Project.7z (8E3EF40E) (Installed)++ 028 - Oblivion Character Overhaul test-43612-1-2.zip (E38A93C9) (Installed)++ 029 - CM Partners.7z (20672F6F) (Installed)++ 030 - Better Dungeons.7z (A0E6F3E4) (Installed)++ 031 - Better Cities v5-4-1a-16513-5-4-1a.7z (FB0AE6F9) (Installed)++ 032 - Better Cities Resources v5-4-1a-16513-5-4-1a.7z (7B4C5E68) (Installed)++ 033 - Better Cities Primary Resources-16513-5-4-1.7z (6D72C13F) (Installed)++ 034 - Item Interchange.7z (04AF3735) (Installed)++ 035 - Weather - All Natural-18305-1-35.7z (EE48E997) (Installed)++ 036 - Enhanced Economy 5_4_3-25078.7z (F9D9AE4E) (Installed)++ 037 - Book Tracker.7z (FF511223) (Installed)++ 038 - TQP v3-2-0-12859.zip (BDC2F3A5) (Installed)++ 039 - Custom Spell Icons v3_1-26196.zip (505891FC) (Installed)++ 040 - Quest Log Manager 1_3_2b-32266-1-3-2b.rar (D02D8C5B) (Installed)++ 041 - Enhanced Hotkeys 2_3_1-34735-2-3-1.7z (74691EDE) (Installed)++ 042 - QZ Easy Menus.7z (148C4D49) (Installed)++ 043 - Dynamic Map 2_1_1-35969.7z (4FB40C92) (Installed)++ 044 - MiniMap - Reboot.7z (AD567095) (Installed)++ 045 - Map Marker Overhaul 3_9_3-26389-3-9-3.7z (B482FFD0) (Installed)++ 046 - Faster Horses-20265.zip (63163D7F) (Installed)++ 047 - Book Jackets Oblivion.7z (DECDAE5C) (Installed)++ 048 - Horse Turn Speed Modular V1-27967.7z (646366E6) (Installed)++ 049 - Let the People Drink-10223-2-6.7z (B5EACD6A) (Installed)++ 050 - Realistic Leveling.7z (7F7442AC) (Installed)++ 051 - Gather Ye Rosebuds 1_1-14259.zip (518F05B3) (Installed)052 - ==Last==
00 Oblivion.esm01 All Natural Base.esm [Version 1.34]02 Cobl Main.esm [Version 1.72]03 Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm [Version 1.35Beta]04 Armamentarium.esm [Version 1.35]05 Artifacts.esm [Version 1.1]06 Better Cities Resources.esm [Version 5.4.1]07 CM Partners.esm08 CustomSpellIcons.esm09 RealisticLeveling.esm0A Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp [Version 3.4.5]0B UOPS Additional Changes.esp0C Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp0D DLCShiveringIsles.esp0E Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp [Version 1.5.3]++ USIPS Additional Changes.esp0F Better Cities .esp10 All Natural.esp [Version 1.35]11 All Natural - SI.esp [Version 1.35]++ Symphony of Violence.esp12 Atmospheric Oblivion.esp13 Sounds of Cyrodiil.esp [Version 1.1]14 Book Jackets Oblivion.esp15 More Effective Enchantments.esp16 Enhanced Economy.esp [Version 5.4.3]17 BookTrackerOBSE.esp18 Quest Log Manager.esp [Version 1.3.2]19 QZ Easy Menus.esp1A Dynamic Map.esp [Version 2.1.1]1B Map Marker Overhaul.esp [Version 3.9.3]1C Map Marker Overhaul - SI additions.esp [Version 3.9.3]1D Enhanced Hotkeys.esp [Version 2.3.1]1E HorseTurnSpeed-Fastest.esp [Version 1.0]1F ExnemRuneskulls.esp20 Cobl Glue.esp [Version 1.72]21 Cobl Si.esp [Version 1.63]22 Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp [Version 1.35Beta]23 More Effective Enchantments OOO.esp** OMOBS_SI.esp [Version 2.0]24 ArmamentariumArtifacts.esp [Version 1.35]25 OOO 1.32-Cobl.esp [Version 1.72]++ ArmamentariumLL4OOO.esp [Version 2.01]++ ArmamentariumLLMagicOOO.esp [Version 1.35]26 Artifacts.esp [Version 1.1]++ Artifacts - ArmaCompleteAddon.esp [Version 1.0]27 BHC_Expanded.esp [Version 1.2]28 LetThePeopleDrink.esp [Version 2.6]29 Better Cities - House price patch.esp [Version 1.0]2A Harvest [Flora].esp [Version 3.0.0]++ Harvest [Flora] - Shivering Isles.esp [Version 3.0.0]2B Auto Update Leveled Items And Spells.esp [Version 1.2.5]2C Better Dungeons.esp2D Bullet Time Custom.esp2E Dungeon Actors Have Torches 1.6 DT.esp2F Exterior Actors Have Torches 1.3 DT.esp30 Toggleable Quantity Prompt.esp [Version 3.2.0]31 Gather Ye Rosebuds.esp32 SupremeMagicka.esp [Version 0.90b]33 SM_ShiveringIsles.esp [Version 0.90]++ SM_OOO.esp [Version 0.90]++ SM_COBL.esp [Version 0.90]34 SM_EnchantStaff.esp [Version 0.90]++ SM_Scrolls.esp [Version 0.90]++ SM_SigilStone.esp [Version 0.90]++ Item interchange - Extraction.esp [Version 0.78]++ Item interchange - Placement.esp [Version 0.78]35 CM Partners.esp36 CM Partners Special NPCs.esp37 CM Partners NPC.esp38 CM Partners More NPCs.esp39 CM Partners Marker NPCs.esp3A CM Partners Extra NPCs.esp3B bgBalancingEVCore.esp [Version 10.52EV-D]3C Oblivion_Character_Overhaul.esp [Version 1.0]3D bgMagicEV.esp [Version 1.7EV]++ bgMagicSpellTomes_for_WryeBash.esp [Version 1.68EV]++ bgMagicItemSigil.esp [Version 1.68EV]++ bgMagicEVStartspells.esp [Version 1.68EV]3E bgMagicBonus.esp [Version 1.7EV]++ bgMagicEVAddEnVar.esp [Version 1.68EV]3F bgMagicAlchemy.esp [Version 1.57]40 bgBalancingEVLAMEAddition.esp [Version 10.51EV-D]++ bgBalancingEVLAMEGlue.esp [Version 10.0EV-D1.62EV]41 Better Cities Full.esp [Version 5.4.1]42 Better Imperial City.esp [Version 5.4.0]43 Better Cities - All Natural.esp44 Better Imperial City FPS Patch.esp++ Better Cities - COBL.esp [Version 5.4.1]** bgMagicEVShader.esp [Version 1.7EV]++ bgMagicShaderLifeDetect.esp [Version 1.68]45 bgMagicLightningbolt.esp++ FasterHorses.esp46 MiniMap.esp++ Cobl Filter Late MERGE ONLY.esp [Version 1.53]47 Cobl Silent Equip Misc.esp [Version 01]** All Natural - Indoor Weather Filter For Mods.esp [Version 1.35]48 Bashed Patch, 0.esp
I've read through at least five threads where folks had similar issues and found no reliable fix. Many pointed to Bethesda's engine and that it isn't optimized for modern, multi-core processors. Most of the posts I found were at least a few years old, however, so I was wondering if anyone has uncovered anything or knows of any mods that could help boost NPC-related FPS. Also, I haven't tested removing Oblivion Character Overhaul, which is one of the only mods I have that specifically impacts NPCs — could that be the culprit (I'm doubtful, since it's an aesthetic overhaul and, as I've said, my GPU doesn't seem to be the problem)?
As I stated, 20 FPS is not unplayable, and it usually happens for fairly short periods. But if there's a way to boost that about 5-10 FPS, I'd feel much more comfortable, especially since I know I haven't seen the most taxing content Oblivion can deliver (e.g., larger battles). If it's a matter of removing a few mods, I'm fine with that, since I prefer smooth performance over the features offered by most mods.
As always, any advice, comments, feedback, input, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
ELB
