Qarl's Texture Pack 3: Original, Redimized, or Redimized Red : IV

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:23 am

As many of you know, there's many options available for improving vanilla Oblivion textures with one of Qarl's texture packs.
The question I have is, if you had my computer's specs and setup, which of the versions would you use?

Setup:

Spoiler

Windows 7 64-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.26 GHz (P8400)
Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS 1GB, overclocked to a GeForce 9700M GT
4 GB RAM, with 16GB extended RAM (ReadyBoost)
Oblivion GOTY edition, 4GB extended, with Oblivion Stutter Remover, Streamline, Kuertee's Cleanup, etc.
The only major overhaul mod used is MMM, with vanilla rate spawns only.
All Oblivion vanilla and modded meshes optimized with latest version of PyFFI.

As you can see from my setup, I'm not RAM limited. So it really comes down to my CPU versus GPU. I suspect that CPU is my bottleneck, since even with minimal MMM spawn points I occasionally see characters just "standing around", not being processed.

So, which version would you recommend for me? I currently use QTP3-Redimized/Reduced MAX, and would like to use a higher quality version if it won't seriously impact performance.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:42 pm

Honestly, what I suggest is simply trying the next one up (and keeping on going, if things go well) - see how it goes, check FPS at best and worst times, and... yeah. :shrug:

Sorry, but it probably is the best way. PCs are so personal, in the way they're set up, etc., etc. In my experience, anyway.

edit: And if you're using BAIN, it's painless and risk-free - if a little on the slow side, when dealing with things QTP...

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:21 am

The issue you run into with QTP3 is VRAM usage. I too have a 1gb video card, and after installing QTP3 I experienced frequent crashes while in the wilderness. Eventually I noticed that 1100-1200mb of textures were trying to be loaded on my 1gb card, and when I switched to Redimized the crashing stopped (as well as a reduction in loading pauses/stutterring, but that may have been due to OSR). So my suggestion is basically the opposite of the previous post, heh, I think you should start out with QTP3 and see how it runs, and if you encounter problems switch to Redimized. I just see it as an easier process than going in the opposite direction, but they might be equally viable anyway, I doubt it matters. I'm just thinking it might be worth it to try the base QTP3 install until you encounter problems, because why not have the highest quality if it's doable? But like I said I've got a 1gb card too and I had to switch to Redimized.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:39 pm

I'd just go with Redimized. You're not missing out on too much and it'll save you some bandwidth. With a 9600, I think Redimized is the right choice.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:38 am

If you don't have any other mods installed, full QTP3R should be easily workable; if you do have mods, though, the situation changes. Could you post a load order so we can see if you are already running any mods that might consume vRAM?

QTP3R is always the best choice to start with, and from there, if you need to tame the ravenous hunger for vRAM these textures tend to have, gradually add the reduced options as needed. Me? The only textures I'm using from QTP3 are the dungeon textures. I actually don't like the building textures (too gray for me). The dungeon textures, however, are unmatched. :biggrin:

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:13 am

Hm. Good points, both. I was assuming the use of various other mods, basically because *I* use a ton of them. ;D I forget sometimes, people might just add a texture pack, and be done with it.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:34 am

I should note that even using QTP3R, with road travellers and WAC creatures and stuff adding to VRAM usage, it can actually top 1100mb for me sometimes still. So there's no guarantee Redimized will always keep your memory usage within 1gb when you take into account all the other stuff that may be loading. But then I've been kind of uncompromising in my hunt for hi-res replacement textures, heh.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:10 pm

there's no real good reason to use QTP3 full instead of redimized as it uses almost twice the VRAM for a barely noticeable increase in eyecandy. start with redimized, if it's stuttery start adding the reduced modules until you're happy with the balance. and make sure you get the optimized qtp3 meshes - fixed file on tesnexus as it makes a big FPS difference.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:01 pm

A http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1167313-quarls-texture-pack-a-bit-confused/. I was a bit surprised that the difference between QTP3 and QTP3 Redimized was so noticeable as in palidoo's comparison pic there. If I had +1 GB VRAM I'd probably go with QTP3 as the base and then use parts of QTP3 Redimized if/where I notice it's necessary because of VRAM load. (And then use other or parts of other texture replacers but that's another matter.)

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:08 am

Those texture differences are noticeable. It does look slightly "bumpier" in the Redimized version.

I have an ATI HD 5870 1GB DDR5. Since I usually play with other graphics mods together with QTP3, I use:

- QTP3 Redimized
- http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26038 (enough so that difference is minimal with good performance boost)

I also have http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26075.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:10 pm

I also have an ATI HD 5870 with 1GB VRAM and Dual core 2.4 Ghz CPU. Textures never really seemed to be a problem with my FPS, it is always the added contenet. I have seen my vram usage go over 1100MB whenusing ULs but the game kept on going.

Fro my opinion I would use and install in this order:
Vibrant Textures
QTP3 Full
ATP Roads

Unlike everyone else I seem to see quite a difference between QTP3 and QTP3R. All I can say is try them all and decide. In my opinion, if you are going to use QTP3R you might as well just use Vibrant and save completly on the vram usage.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:46 pm

You do realize QTP3 Custom Road Texture is just the vanilla road texture slightly recolored, right? If you read the comments on it you'll see I went from making a Detailed Terrain compatible version of it to saying screw it and making my own http://i54.tinypic.com/2cg2551.jpg http://i52.tinypic.com/10zmnv4.jpg-http://i51.tinypic.com/jr8yll.jpg http://i54.tinypic.com/2yxln6a.jpg http://i54.tinypic.com/2sbslm9.jpg. I actually have a version uploaded on tesnexus but it shows too much obvious tiling since it's simply the vanilla texture multiplied by four to make it higher resolution. Ha, I know I said this exact same thing in another thread, I am obsessed with the damn road texture and need to finally upload my new one.

I think the difference between Redimized and the original textures can be quite noticeable in some places. I'm thinking overall that what you lose from Redimized is a tiny tiny little bit of color due to the textures reflecting light more "harshly" in a way, I don't know if that's the textures themselves or the normal maps, though. It's noticeable in that screenshot comparison, yeah, but on the other hand there are plenty of textures that make the transition just fine. I think part of the issue might be the fact that some of the original QTP3 textures are kind of "gawdy" in the sense that they have a lot of depth and in some cases graininess where it would have been better to keep it more subtle, so when you're trying to make the textures and normal maps more "efficient" as Redimized does the results tend to compound the original issues with the textures. Really this is only occasionally noticeable, and is probably only a real concern for a handful of textures. I think it ended up affecting the brick-like stone textures in particular, so that comparison I linked isn't necessarily representative of the overall loss in quality. But there is indeed a loss of quality with Redimized. I can't say about going from Redimized to Reduced since I haven't felt the need to free up any resources like I did when I was getting crashes with the base QTP3.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:37 am

Agreed. Like I said, I use a lot of high res graphics for trees & vegetation, high-res armors, the mythic creatures mods, high-res body textures, RAEVWD and landscape lod mods- all those count to an enormous amount of vram. That's why, even with a beast of a HD 5870 and a core i7 I downgrade QTP3 with reduced.

You do realize QTP3 Custom Road Texture is just the vanilla road texture slightly recolored, right? If you read the comments on it you'll see I went from making a Detailed Terrain compatible version of it to saying screw it and making my own http://i54.tinypic.com/2cg2551.jpg http://i52.tinypic.com/10zmnv4.jpg-http://i51.tinypic.com/jr8yll.jpg http://i54.tinypic.com/2yxln6a.jpg http://i54.tinypic.com/2sbslm9.jpg. I actually have a version uploaded on tesnexus but it shows too much obvious tiling since it's simply the vanilla texture multiplied by four to make it higher resolution. Ha, I know I said this exact same thing in another thread, I am obsessed with the damn road texture and need to finally upload my new one.

I knew about QTP3 Custom Road Texture some time ago and it works nicely. Not only in roads but in rocks and sand that I like more with the custom pack.

However, that's fantastic work! Please do upload your perfected version, and with Detailed Terrain support - can't wait to try it!

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 12:42 pm

I know what you mean, I went through a brief period after I decided to install as many road travelers as possible where going outside always felt like a risky proposition (crashes, general buginess), and this was after I had installed Redimized and got rid of stuff like hi-res sky and hi-res tree billboards. So I cut back to a reasonable amount of people on the road, it was a bit unrealistic coming across a dozen people or something ridiculous so often. I still hit 1100mb likely due to stuff like all the various armor on the NPCs, the increased amount of soldiers from a couple different mods. And I'm sure the best thing to do after cutting back was installing WAC so all of its textures have to load even just passing by creatures, in addition to the Mythic textures I've had for a while. Sorry, just cataloging the stuff while I can think of it, heh. I wonder why the VRAM usage gets so high when I see other QTP3 users at reasonable levels, and I realize "oh yeah, I'm an uncompromising dummy."

Hopefully this will be the day I upload that texture finally. The problem is I keep thinking I'm finished, go to take some example screenshots, and then decide I want to change some little thing to see if I can make it better. Like, I just added some more depth to the normal map and want to see how it looks in-game, which could lead to another round of making minor tweaks that probably have me ending up back where I started anyway, haha. I don't know, it's probably worth it to make it as good as possible since it's a texture you see everywhere. QTP3's main road texture bothered me so much for multiple reasons and I felt like it wasn't given the attention a texture like that needs. So obsessed! Also, I haven't used it without Detailed Terrain so I think it might look terrible for people who don't have DT. I am trying to become the king of obscure specific textures.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:48 pm

I used to use QTP3R on a 1gb card. I swapped up at QTP3 and haven't looked back since. I have a considerably long load order but crashes are as infrequent as they've ever been. The difference between QTP3 and Reidemized is huge imo.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:12 pm

...minimal MMM spawn points I occasionally see characters just "standing around", not being processed.

Did you try the Wrye Bash tweak for maximum active actors? Maybe that is limiting your actors, not the CPU? I'd recommend setting it to 30 to see if actors still stand around. I use a setting of 50, but I have a i7 930 too...

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:26 pm

With my load order:

Spoiler

Active Mod Files:00  Oblivion.esm01  TR_OoT_Main.esm02  All Natural Base.esm  [Version 1.2.1]03  Cobl Main.esm  [Version 1.73]04  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm  [Version 1.34]05  Mart's Monster Mod.esm  [Version 3.7b3p3]06  Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.esm  [Version 0.9.9MB3]07  Armamentarium.esm  [Version 1.35]08  Kvatch Rebuilt.esm09  Better Cities Resources.esm  [Version 4.9.5]0A  Progress.esm  [Version 2.2]0B  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.3.3]0C  DLCShiveringIsles.esp0D  Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp  [Version 1.4.0]0E  Better Cities .esp0F  LoadingScreens.esp10  All Natural.esp  [Version 1.2]11  All Natural - SI.esp  [Version 1.2.1]12  Enhanced Water v2.0 HD.esp++  Enhanced Water v2.0 HD - SI Addon.esp  [Version 0.1]++  Symphony of Violence.esp13  MIS Low Wind.esp14  Rainbows.esp15  All Natural - Real Lights.esp  [Version 1.2.1]16  WindowLightingSystem.esp17  Akatosh Mount By Saiden Storm.esp18  ClocksOfCyrodiil_BC_OBC_OC_OCLR_Vanilla.esp++  Item interchange - Extraction.esp  [Version 0.78]19  Enhanced Economy.esp  [Version 5.1]1A  FF_Real_Thirst.esp1B  kuerteeCleanUp.esp1C  Dynamic Map.esp  [Version 2.0]1D  Map Marker Overhaul.esp  [Version 3.8]1E  Map Marker Overhaul - SI additions.esp  [Version 3.5]1F  DLCHorseArmor.esp20  DLCHorseArmor - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.6]21  DLCOrrery.esp22  DLCOrrery - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.4]23  DLCVileLair.esp24  DLCVileLair - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.6]25  DLCMehrunesRazor.esp26  DLCMehrunesRazor - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.5]27  DLCSpellTomes.esp++  DLCSpellTomes - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.1]28  Adonnays Elven Weaponry for NPCs.esp29  Armamentium female.esp2A  DLCThievesDen.esp2B  Slof's Horses Base.esp2C  DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.7]2D  Cobl Glue.esp  [Version 1.73]2E  Cobl Si.esp  [Version 1.63]2F  FF_Real_Thirst, Cobl.esp++  Cobl Tweaks.esp  [Version 1.73]30  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp  [Version 1.34]++  OOO-DLT_Remover.esp  [Version 1.33]**  OMOBS.esp  [Version 1.0]**  OMOBS_SI.esp  [Version 1.0]++  Adonnays Elven Weaponry for NPCs - Armamentarium piggyback.esp31  OOO 1.32-Cobl.esp  [Version 1.72]32  Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.esp  [Version 0.9.9MB3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Shivering Isles.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Looting NPCs & Creatures.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Less Bone Loot.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod for OOO - LessReaversInGates.esp  [Version 0.9.9MB3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - No Balrogs.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Spawn Rates - Reduced Reduced.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]33  Mart's Monster Mod - Safer Quest Locations.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Friendlier Factions OOO.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  ArmamentariumLL4OOO.esp  [Version 2.01]++  ArmamentariumLLMagicOOO.esp  [Version 1.35]34  LoadingScreens-OOO.esp++  MMM-Cobl.esp  [Version 1.73]35  EVE_StockEquipmentReplacer4FCOM.esp36  Kvatch Rebuilt.esp++  Kvatch Rebuilt - OOO Compatibility.esp37  Kvatch Rebuilt Weather Patch.esp38  LetThePeopleDrink.esp  [Version 2.5]39  The Ayleid Steps.esp  [Version 3.4]3A  TR_Stirk.esp3B  DLCBattlehornCastle.esp3C  DLCBattlehornCastle - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.5]3D  DLCFrostcrag.esp3E  Kvatch Rebuilt_Frostcrag Reborn.esp3F  FrostcragRebornCobl.esp40  Knights.esp41  Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.1]42  EVE_KnightsoftheNine.esp++  Mart's Monster Mod for OOO - Knights .esp  [Version 0.9.9MB3]43  The Lost Spires.esp44  AFK_Weye.esp  [Version 2.2.COBL]45  MannimarcoRevisited.esp46  MannimarcoRevisitedOOO.esp  [Version 0.1]47  road+bridges.esp  [Version 4.5.8]48  Feldscar.esp  [Version 1.0.7]49  Vergayun.esp  [Version 1.0.6]4A  Faregyl.esp  [Version 2.0]4B  Molapi.esp  [Version 1.0.1]4C  xuldarkforest.esp  [Version 1.0.4]4D  LostSpires-DarkForest patch.esp4E  xulStendarrValley.esp  [Version 1.2.2]4F  xulTheHeath.esp50  XulEntiusGorge.esp51  xulFallenleafEverglade.esp  [Version 1.3.1]52  LostSpires-Everglade patch.esp  [Version 1.2]53  xulColovianHighlands_EV.esp  [Version 1.2.1]54  xulChorrolHinterland.esp  [Version 1.2.2]55  xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp  [Version 1.6.4]56  xulBravilBarrowfields.esp  [Version 1.3.2]57  xulLushWoodlands.esp  [Version 1.3.1]58  xulAncientYews.esp  [Version 1.4.3]59  xulAncientRedwoods.esp  [Version 1.6]5A  xulCloudtopMountains.esp  [Version 1.0.3]5B  xulArriusCreek.esp  [Version 1.1.3]5C  xulPatch_AY_AC.esp  [Version 1.1]5D  xulRollingHills_EV.esp  [Version 1.3.3]5E  xulPantherRiver.esp5F  xulRiverEthe.esp  [Version 1.0.2]60  xulBrenaRiverRavine.esp  [Version 1.1]61  xulImperialIsle.esp  [Version 1.6.6]62  xulBlackwoodForest.esp  [Version 1.1.0]63  xulCheydinhalFalls.esp  [Version 1.0.1]64  KvatchRebuilt-CheydinhalFalls patch.esp65  xulAspenWood.esp  [Version 1.0.2]66  xulSkingradOutskirts.esp  [Version 1.0.1]67  xulSnowdale.esp  [Version 1.0.1]68  Feldscar+Snowdale Patch.esp  [Version 1.0]69  FrostcragReborn-Snowdale patch.esp6A  SnowdaleOOOPatch.esp6B  xulCliffsOfAnvil.esp6C  OOOCliffsofAnvilPatch.esp  [Version 1.0]6D  NRB4+UL-II+LtPD Patch.esp  [Version 3.0.1]6E  ImpeREAL Empire - Unique Forts.esp6F  ImpeREALForts+LostSpires Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.1]70  West Roads.esp71  Better Cities - House price patch.esp  [Version 1.0]72  Harvest [Flora].esp  [Version 3.0.0]++  Harvest [Flora] - Shivering Isles.esp  [Version 3.0.0]++  Harvest [Flora] - DLCVileLair.esp  [Version 3.0.0]73  Harvest [Flora] - DLCFrostcrag.esp  [Version 3.0.0]74  ROM Drop Lit Torches.esp75  kuerteeInventoryIsABackpack.esp76  Soulgem Magic.esp  [Version 1.0]77  Enhanced Economy - House prices.esp  [Version 1.0]78  RealisticFatigue.esp79  RealSleepExtended.esp  [Version 2.5]7A  SupremeMagicka.esp  [Version 0.90b]7B  SM_ShiveringIsles.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_DLCSpellTome.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_OOO.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_MMM.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_COBL.esp  [Version 0.90]7C  SM_EnchantStaff.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_Scrolls.esp  [Version 0.90]++  SM_SigilStone.esp  [Version 0.90]7D  SM Bounty.esp  [Version 1.22c]++  CoblDeathFix.esp  [Version 1.20]7E  nGCD.esp7F  nGCD Oghma Infinium.esp++  nGCD Skeleton Key.esp80  ProgressArmorer.esp  [Version 1.0]**  Cava Obscura - Cyrodiil.esp**  Cava Obscura - SI.esp**  Cava Obscura - Filter Patch For Mods.esp++  Item interchange - Placement.esp  [Version 0.78]++  Item interchange - Placement for Frostcrag Reborn.esp  [Version 0.78]++  EVE_KhajiitFix.esp++  bgHighElfSeamReducerFixEV.esp81  Cobl Races.esp  [Version 1.52]++  Cobl Races - Balanced.esp  [Version 1.52]82  Better Cities Full.esp  [Version 4.9.1]83  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Barrowfields.esp  [Version 4.7.0]84  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Chorrol Hinterland.esp  [Version 4.8.4]85  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Cheydinhal Falls.esp  [Version 4.8.1]86  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Skingrad Outskirts.esp  [Version 4.9.1]87  Better Imperial City.esp  [Version 4.9.1]88  Better Imperial City FPS Patch.esp  [Version 4.9.1]89  Better Cities - The Lost Spires.esp  [Version 4.9.0]8A  Better Cities - COBL.esp  [Version 2.1]8B  Better Cities - All Natural.esp  [Version 4.9.5]8C  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Imperial Isle.esp  [Version 4.8.1]8D  Better Cities Full FPS Patch.esp  [Version 4.9.0]8E  Real Hunger, Cobl.esp  [Version 1.6.1]**  NRB4 Standard Road Record.esp++  Cobl Filter Late MERGE ONLY.esp  [Version 1.53]++  OOO Harvest Containers Filter patch for mods.esp  [Version 1.03]**  All Natural - Indoor Weather Filter For Mods.esp  [Version 1.2]8F  Bashed Patch, 0.esp90  FormID Finder4.esp91  Streamline 3.1.esp

along with RAEVWD, I need to be careful with vRAM usage, as well. About 10 minutes ago, I managed to crash the game by going overbudget on my vRAM (512Mb, I know, I need to upgrade soon, but that's still double a console's vRAM

), so I am responding by taking QTP3 down to Redimized Reduced. If that doesn't help, then QTP3 goes out the door completely and shall never return.

This happened in the Skingrad Outskirts area which adds a bunch of fort ruin clutter. When I went back in to anolyze my vRAM usage, it was consistently in the low to mid 400Mb range, which is getting rather dangerously close to my limit. As I said, I'm going to perform further tests using Reduced, and if need be revert to MTGR dungeon textures (which I'd prefer not to do because I like Qarl's dungeon textures more).

Before anyone else asks, MTGR is a texture pack that is similar to CorePC's vibrant textures, but more saturated and darker. They're actually pretty good, and pair well with the Vibrant LandLOD textures.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:51 pm

There's also Bomret's Normal Maps as an option, in case anyone wants to know. It alters the normal maps to give a much more 3D appearance. While the improvement might not be as great as it is with Quarls, the effect is still really good and since it give no performance hit, its a great texture pack (well, normal maps pack) for pretty much any user to pick up if they are interested.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:38 pm

Hi all

I just got my Palit 580GTX 3072mb vid card today. So, is it worth using the http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=4721
Or should I go with the re-dimized version? Is there anything wrong with the original other than it uses a ton of VRAM?

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:36 pm

Holy wow, if you have 3gb I'm 100% sure you can use the original QTP3 textures. Even with a bunch of other hi-res stuff you probably won't even use half of that total. I only have 1gb and I could run the base QTP3 if I wanted to deal with a few issues from time to time.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:36 am

Thanks, I'll give it a try. Just wasn't sure if Re-dimized fixed other bugs other than decreasing VRAM usage a bit.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:26 am

I was looking at that Palit card and thought bugger it. Got a GTX480 on the cheap and will upgrade my GPU at the end of the year when more 3GB cards come out and the dual cards have a some time to settle. I was sorely tempted though, only changed to the 480 a minute before hitting order.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:22 am

QTP3 Redimized does not change anything compared to normal QTP3 besides what's already included with the QTP3 patch.

I think http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=31595 still has to be installed after redimized.

@OP:
Regarding the NPC's standing still, perhaps you could add a tweak in your Oblivion.ini:

Change:

uExterior Cell Buffer=36

To:

uExterior Cell Buffer=72

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:55 am

@OP:
Regarding the NPC's standing still, perhaps you could add a tweak in your Oblivion.ini:

Change:

uExterior Cell Buffer=36

To:

uExterior Cell Buffer=72

Aha! So that's the setting to change. Unfortunately, I already have that set to 216, and I still have actors standing still on occasion, so I guess there is a limit to how much it will help...of course it probably doesn't help that my character's frequently running around with a speed of 225!

Thanks all for the info. I would post my load order as requested earlier, but in the end I decided just to install the full Redimized pack and see how it does. I have noticed a bit more instability but nothing irritating. Otherwise, my machine seems to be handling it just fine - and it looks a LOT better than the Redimized/Reduced MAX package that I was using.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:08 am

Really?

I'm noticing no real difference with the Reduced textures unless I get way up close. Even then, the improved parallax effect and high-res normal maps make them look 10X sharper than the normal Oblivion textures. I'm still only really using the dungeon textures (again, because I don't like the building textures, they're too gray for my tastes), but they look so much better even with Redimized Reduced Max than with the vanilla textures (which my dominant texture pack, MTGR, is simply a more saturated version of those).

Well, to each his own, I guess.