The short synopsis:

1. Bought Skyrim on 11/11/11.


2. Loved it, played a sword-and-shield guy vanilla.


3. Found mods.


4. Downloaded tons of mods that looked fun, learned how to use BOSS and SKSE and such, and was sorting through the mods, making cuts, finding what was really worthwhile and what was compatible. Was getting near the end of the winnowing process when...


5. ...I got svcked into World of Tanks. Deep, deep into World of Tanks.


6. Thought about getting back into Skyrim.


7. Qosmio laptop I bought in 2010 quasi-died, probably boot sector of the SSD.


8. Started using the Satellite laptop I bought on a FOB in Iraq in 2007.


9. Continued using it for WoT, knew it would not handle Skyrim except for vanilla.


10. Satellite started dying, planned out building a desktop.


11. Built a desktop: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9HZv2R Radeon 480 8GB, Intel i5 7600, it can handle whatever Skyrim SE throws at it.


12. Ready to download Skyrim.

So the question. My computer can easily handle Skyrim SE, but lots of mods are what I was looking for. Am I missing out on tons of good mods by using Special Edition, or are the good ones already compatible with both versions?

Edumacate me on this issue please; waiting to download until I get some sound advice here.

The strongest argument against using the SE is that SKSE doesn't work with it, yet, so yes, many mods are simply not compatible with it. Including SkyUI, the most popular and arguably most essential mod there is (and if only because many other mods depend on it, especially its mod configuration menu). It will still be a few months at best until there is a compatible version of SKSE, and even then the mods need to be ported first.

Ah, okay. See, that's the information I was looking for. I know that the SE is supposed to look really good, but from what I understand it does little to nothing that can't be done with some good graphical mods.

If you have a modern PC with a sizable hard drive and enjoy playing multiple characters with different mods, there is no reason not to download both original Skyrim and SSE. I have both on my PC and switch between the two. I mosly play original since Requiem is not available on SSE. But if I want to play without Requiem for some reason or if I just want to play vanilla then I will play SSE.

That's true. The real advantage for PC players is the potential of the 64bit engine, but I believe first we have to get it to the level the old version was at before this potential can really be used. To me the most awesome graphical improvement is the lighting, for example the exterior shadows. Not only are they much sharper now, they also move smoothly instead of jumping every few seconds and flickering in the process. On the other hand, textures and meshes are almost unchanged from the original (with the HD DLC).

I could do that, but I only have a 250 GB SSD, although I do have a 1TB HDD. I'd like to not fill the SSD up already; the computer is brand new.

Forget Oldrim, just see for yourself which mods you need and check if they are available. Many mods circumvent skse and mcm with different configuration methods. SkyUI 2.2 works just fine without skse.

You can't mod Oldrim to look as good as SE because SE fixed z-fighting and shadows. SE runs much smoother relation to graphics, levels loads much faster and is more stable.

hmmm I'm going to say it depend's on what you want out of the game. As I would completely change SE's graphic's to a umm less colorful pallet, it mean's a whole new slew of graphic mods. Their are some very good SE graphic mods, more SL graphic mods...

I'm still on SL, I have SE and I won't change til SKSE is compatible... yes their are work around's.. for some things.. the majority of my 468 mod's are not ported over...some never will be.. at least 20 of them aren't even on Nexus anymore. I don't use all the mods at once.. I seriously don't need "The Merry Snowberry" except around Christmas time.. or the Christmas outfits.. but If I want one of those.. I have it SL.. and might not be able to get it SE.

Everyone is different. As you have played before, I would look at the "top 100" mods... see which one's that you like, would want and see how many of those are ported over to SE.. look at the SE mod's and decide if those are the only one's that you want.

I have yet converted to SSE on pc. There are features that sound good in SSE. But there are some mods I use that are no longer supported by the authors.

I see. I have a 500 GB SD and a 2TB backup HDD, so space is less of an issue for me. Also, I only like a few games and Skyrim is one of them so I don't mind having multiple installations.

But if you want to pick just one, my advice is to consider the mods you want. Oldrim has more mods available since it has been around longer, and currently there is no SKSE, no MCM memu and no SkyProc patchers on SSE. So, if you want mods that use those things then you can only play on Oldrim.

I pretty much won't play without Requiem, which requires SKSE's scripting abilities, as well as an MCM and a Skyproc patcher, so it will be a very long time before Requiem gets ported, if ever. So I am mostly playing Oldrim right now.

But everyone's mod choices are different, so there is no correct answer to the question of whether you should use Oldrim or SSE, only you can decide that. SEE provides a more stable platform due to 64 bit and DX11, and it also has better lighting/shadow effects and rain occlusion (so rain does not fall through roofs).

Oldrim is the past and SSE is the future, although it may take a year or two before SSE catches up to Oldrim in terms of what types of mods are available. Right now we are in a transitional period. Good luck in making your choice.

I have both, play both, (but am currently filling in the gap in my experience with Morrowind, having played all the others). Once SKSE64 is out, I may play OE less than SE, if all the mods I use work with the latter, but more likely I'll just leave the saves where they are, and re-visit my characters where I left them.

SE runs a lot smoother for me. Even with 30 modeling and texture mods SE runs smooth as silk with only a slight hitch every hour or so, slight frame jitter. I have Oldrim loaded also to check mods on and with just 4 mods I get a large stutter every few minutes. Besides the z fighting that has always been there. I get little flashes on mod added content on SE, but not too serious. SE has some graphic improvements that are not possible on Skyrim. There is a slight reflection on floors of anything in the room. Depends on the floor material. Really nice effect. Look through the Skyrim SKSE mods and see if there is anything you want to wait for.

Same here. I have SSE installed, but await SKSE's proposed target date of March 2017. Many mods I want rely on SKSE

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/5206865-wipz-skyrim-script-extender-skse64/ is the Nexus Forum link for SKSE

I just picked up an RX 480 myself.

I have LE and SE but most play LE (only played SE a bit). SE looks awesome, don't get me wrong, but I don't think the difference is earth shattering. I think LE looks just as good as SE with some nice mods and ini tweaks.

Of course technically, SE is better. It should load quicker and you can have grander battles. Once SE gets SKSE, SkyUI, and a few other of my favs I'll have to jump back in but for now LE is working great.

I think you should go ahead and load both. They each will take less than 20GB (unless heavily modded). I can't think of anything more important to put on an SSD drive than one of your favorite games.

LE compels me because of lighting mods, but many things are covered in SE...even if it's not the old SKSE mod you were used to, there are often just as good replacements. And honestly, some of Oldrim's big mainstay mods are overkill anyways. But that's just my opinion.

Stability wise, SE hands down. I can only describe LE as "wobbly". It's not just graphics. The whole game has a wobbly feel to it. lol. Like a damn house of cards about to topple. At least with mods.

edit: By Lighting, I meant only Xbox. There's nothing. I know ELFX is on SE PC, so most people should be happy (I'm an RL/ELE fan myself though).

hmm now I have a perfectly stable SLE game ... my "base" builds can run for hundreds of hours with no CTD's or other issues. By Base I mean the Mod's I "don''t play without.. which is about 99 mods... add in my male or fem body textures and specific mod's that go with them.... pop's it up to 109 to 111.. then add in specific mods, houses..armor ( Immersive Armor & ZZjays are constants and don't leave my RP load list) but I often add other armors depending on the character.. my Knight-Priestess is wearing Raven-Witch armor, her "protector" is wearing "Contractor" armor...

I do have some character profiles that are not rock steady.. but.. you know, that's not the games fault... A few of the mod's I use have known issues, but I like them enough to put up with those issues.

Sure sure, I have some large mod's that I use... Immersive Citizens, Inconsequential NPC's... Northern Encounters.. but I also have some very small mods, Facelight, Grow apples and Tomatoes... could I play with SSE mods only...well yeah, I played on 360 for 4 years.. with no mods, but why would I want to do without some of my favorites, Dual Sheath Redux, Deadly Dragons, Immersive Creatures... SSE doesn't run better for me.. should it, yeah probably, but it doesn't..

SSE looks better than Classic out of the box, but Classic looks far better after you've modded it

I sometimes wonder if the reason SSE is supposedly more stable is because there simply aren't the mods available that are capable of making it less stable.