Hi everyone, let me first say I've tried lots of solution posted all over the internet right now, I'll list all those later but here are my specs first.

Anthlon X2 Dual Core 4400+ 2.30Ghz
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870
4GB of DDR2 RAM
Windows 7 64bit

I know my CPU is absolute [censored], but the system requirements said dual core 2.0ghz and higher. So... I'm expecting to at LEAST run this game at 30fps. I have the latest AMD graphics, absolutely NO other programs or processes running other than steam and necessary windows files. Once i was running FRAPS to measure my frames, but before that it still had the same results. I even re-formatted my entire PC. Which means all I have on here are some basic programs and the game Skyrim.

When I first opened the game It set all my stuff to High because of my GPU but I knew my CPU couldn't handle it. I decided to try it on High and of course I got like 5-15 frames. So, I restarted it, set everything to Low, no AA or AF, and running at the resolution 1680x1050 (Native to my monitor). Booted it up, got about 18-25 frames. Playable... but still an annoyance. I also looked up some more stuff and tried http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/332396-15-6950-issues-skyrim-possible-solution-inside

Same amount of frames if everything was on low too. So I even tried putting the resolution on 800x600... Same amount of frames. Windowed mode 800x600... Same thing.

I read the post that this is a CPU based game because of the shadows, which lots of games seem to be now. I would really like to play this game even if it means playing it on some Ultra low settings. Which Oblivion had, but I can't seem to find anything like it. Oblivion had something called ToggleLightBright (tlb) which essentially made it have no shadows. Which I'm OK playing like that, but i tried it in console and nothing happened. It actually did NOT say, "this command is invalid" but nothing still happened.

Now before anyone posts, "Get a better CPU." I am... eventually. I'm soon to be getting the i3 2100 3.1ghz which should suffice with this game (hopefully). But as for now I just want to play it with at LEAST 30 frames minimum. Does anyone know any settings to make it go even LOWER past the Low setting? Or any other solution I could attempt? ALL help is appreciated! Thanks!

i would say it is your cpu as you also are thinking. especially because you have the same fps when you decrease screen resolution. try setting the affinity of skyrim to be above normal from task manager. you can google the steps if you are not sure.

this will put skyrim on the one of the highest priority for CPU time. but chances are based on your post that this wont help much also... best bet for the short term would be over clocking that cpu to 3.0Ghz if possible (double check if this is attainable with your processor). and that should boost your frames to be playable. just a reference i have a q6600 @ 3Ghz (quad core) and the cores are all utilized over 50% while playing skyrim.

Turn shadows to low. Or turn them off completely with the .ini file. The difference between low and ultra shadows is very, very minimal anyway. The rest you should be able to run at mediumish without problem. Turn off AA, AF to 4, check FXAA. Give those settings a shot.

My machine auto-detects at High while my dad's PC with a 5770 auto-detects at Ultra. It may be an issue with the card? There are a few other cards out there that are having problems too.

Definitely processor. See http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074-9.html article.

As per Xzi's recommendation, try turning shadows down. You won't lose a lot, see other threads on the topic.

Also guessing you have socket AM2 motherboard, long-term you may be able to swap your Athalon X2 out for a Phenom for cheap. You'll have to research the details, but could be a (relatively) inexpensive upgrade that will help your GPU shine in other games as well.

I'll probably just end up getting a new motherboard with 1155 sockets for the i3, but getting a cheap Phenom right now would be nice. Does anyone know a relatively decent Phenom AM2 socket processor that's pretty cheap? Thanks for any suggestions.