I remember this thread for New Vegas on PC called "Purge Cell Buffers". (http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36805) Do you think this may be what is causing the lag for Skyrim? The 'cell buffers'? Has someone mentioned this already? I'm not entirely sure. If not, it might be something to mention to Bethesda.

Hmm that's an interesting idea, I never picked up on the Fallout series so I didn't know about this issue.

If the symptoms match, there's a possibility. I think most people agree that when you first start playing, the framerate drops don't kick in after long play sessions. Long play sessions only cause framerate drops if your total playtime and/or save file are already exorbitant.

If this is incorrect, feel free to correct me. That's my understanding, anyway. But if people are getting severe stutters in their first or second long play sessions, who knows? Cell buffers could be a problem, whether they're the only cause or not.

Because I'm limiting myself to only the few areas I've found and the great outdoors, I can play for 5+ hours at a time without trouble (45 hours in now, 4.4mbs).

The alternate save file where I did not do so and the file size has increased to the point of unplayability lasts the typical amount of time before the PS3 starts to overheat due to the overtaxing of the RAM.

So my experience indicates differently. The below thread is the testing I did and the results I found. The problem is legitimately related to file size. 1 mb doesn't sound like a lot, but that's 1 mb of text that references items that the PS3 has to actively remember and render. Thats a lot of stuff when a one page document can be just 15kbs.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1284052-i-can-verify-the-problem-and-a-temporary-solution/