basically i have a quad core i5
Asus gtx 560
500 watt psu
8gb ram
and im getting around 45 fps But it drops to around 2 fps randomly when exploring outside
i updated to the nvidia 2.9beta that was supposed to make the game run better but it didnt fix this issue

any ideas?

If it's related to your hardware, there's more we need to know, so here's the guide to filling in the blanks.

Please fill it all in.

Basic Hardware Specification Chart (Empty so far)

Processor Manufacturer: AMD / Intel
Processor Name / Type: Athlon X2 / Pentium D / C2D / dual core / quad, etc.
Processor Speed: ?.? Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: WindowsXP with SP #?, Win7, Vista ?
System RAM: ? ? GBs (MBs, if less than 1024 ? )
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: ATI / Nvidia (only those two are supported, PERIOD, so please answer which of them you have)
Video Card Model: (examples) Radeon HD 6670 / Geforce GTS 450
Video Card Driver Version: Catalyst ?.? / Nforce ??.??
. . (please use the numbers, and dates, *not* the word "latest")
Video display's default screen resolution
Video Card onboard RAM: ? ? ? MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer:
Sound Card Driver IDs:
Sound Card Model:

(And this is only for the raw hardware & driver variations. Potential software conflicts are far more likely to be game play problems, and developers cannot test for all possible program loads.)

Processor Manufacturer: Intel
Processor Name Intel i5 2500k
Processor Speed: 3.3 Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: Win7
System RAM: 8gb
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: Nvidia
Video Card Model: Gtx 560
Video Card Driver Version: 290.53
Video display's default screen resolution 1920-1080
Video Card onboard RAM: 1024 MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer: Realtek
Sound Card Driver IDs:6.00.0001.5995
Sound Card Model:100?

Power.....Not saying this is the cause of anything...I just know power..

A GTX 560 can and WILL draw 358 watts of Power. Check your power supply is it a brand name? How many AMPS on the 12 volt rail.

MAX draw 358 divided by 12 (volts) = 29.83 AMPS . if your PS has 30 amps (on one of the 12 volt rails) it would be marginal.
If at MAX the GPU is drawing near 400w out of your 500w whats left?

http://www.techspot.com/review/359-nvidia-geforce-gtx-560ti/page11.html for power usage @ idle & MAX.

Look for a PS that is a Brand NAME and has a single 12 volt Rail.

EDIT: flipped a number...lol

its cosiar 500w 12v rail

I looked at specs for the builder series 500 w for corsair.
Output
+3.3V@25A, +5V@20A, +12V@34A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@3A
Check your label...thats still marginal...would think you need at least a 750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 that has about 60 amps on the 12 volt rail.

IF at full load the GPU & or the CPU get low power they will downclock to save your parts! If that is happening you will get very low performance.

just saying my gpu isnt the ti version
and this is my psu
Corsair 500W CX V2 PSU

• - Ultra-quiet 120mm fan delivers excellent airflow
  - 80 PLUS certified to deliver at least 80% efficiency
  - Long fully-sleeved cables support full-tower cases
  - Dedicated single +12V rail
  - 5x SATA hard drive connectors
  - 2x 6pin PCI-Express graphics card connectors

still only 34 amp rail....so any way.

Have you tried the TESVAL (TESV accel layer) that does help things a lot!
Try lowering settings . turn off AA/AF and use Nvidia for those....the Game versions svck.

I run the EXE for extreme peroids 35 - 60 FPS constant. Only time i see it Drop (and have) to 2 FPS is when the HDD is working and the GPU is past its Vram.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee72/camaro_69_327/Skyrim/GPUMemload6hours.png you will notice on far right it shows the GPU using System Ram. this is when it got Choppy, 1-2 second pauses. ALT/TAB clears this up.

Longest run 19 hours..FTW

i installed that mod and it slightly improved i made a video to show you what it is like but obversly its slighty more laggy but only by 10fps i get about 50-60 fps and now it randomly drops to 24 but its really noticable and thats why im making a fuss over it

I have the ti version of the same card. Clean installing the drivers fixed it for me.

I wish it would start to be publicly admitted: in some places Skyrim has the exact same kind of area load stutter that Oblivion had, perhaps even worse in terms of frequency, while maybe better as far as scenery pop-up (much less evident than TES IV, at least on max distance settings on my system).