My System:

i7-2700K @3.5GHz
16 GB 1800 DDR3 Memory
AMD HD6950 2GB

My FPS:

12 - 33

My Workload:

CPU Usage 13 %
RAM Usage 1.5 - 3.2 GB


Whats wrong with this Game??? I run BF3 on ultra setting with constants 50 FPS.

What could I do for more FPS? I get headache if I play longer then 30 minutes.

Please help me

try the high preset from the launcher, if its not smooth enough drop shadows to medium

I think everyone will need to know what settings you are currently playing the game on, high, ultra? Also, what mods if any, do you have installed?

Your system definitely seems like it should not have a problem running this game.

Im playing on Ultra without any Mods.

If I play on high, it will increase the FPS by 2

I fail to see that I have to play the game on settings under ultra. Every game runs without a problem in ultra, except skyrim.

because your computers not fast enough

simply put if you run the shadow setting too high for your CPU it'll hold the games engine up from passing instructions to your graphics cards at 60FPS

also i already know your graphics card cant run ultra shadows without the graphics card running out of headroom, i had 2 of them and 2 wasnt enough for ultra shadows, maybe it would be OK for 10% of the time in small spaces like indoor cells, but thats only a small area of where you experience skyrim

as skyrim uses a different engine to BF3, you cant compare apples to oranges. And because of the way skyrims programmed, ie shadows being linked to CPU speed you'll need to configure it to your hardware

if you dont want to see a moment's lag, and experience a perfectly smooth skyrim with no performance dips i'd use the high preset and drop shadows to medium (if you overclocked your CPU you could run high shadows perfectly)

goto markarth to configure the game. Markarths a high geometry high shadow area if you can run it there with not a microsecond of stutter you'll be good for any other area around skyrim and you wont see any dips in performance

Ok, and why are my CPU usage just by 13%, ther are 87% space for the ultra shadows.
If I set shadows on low, I have 14 FPS instead of 11. This cannot be the problem.

I have ca. 22 FPS In Markarth. The biggest performance collapse are in the open land, with many flower, tress, streams, ...

My brother runs skyrim on a pretty similar system. i7-920 / HD6950 / 6 GB 1200 DDR-3 and it runs with round about 50 FPS (with ultra shadows)

What version of the Game are you running?...when in game hit ESC...look to bottom left the Version is listed there.

With the specs in the first post , and the current version of the game, you should be locked at a constant 60 FPS.

I use Nvidia (don't know amd) but with Nvidia it is best to set....AA & AF both to 2 in the launcher ...then use Nvidia inspector to get 8x AA and 16 x AF.

But again, I know nothing about AMD.

lower shadows would allow you CPU to run the games engine at 60FPS smoothly it doesnt mean your CPU's going to do your graphics cards job

if your running low FPS you have configured your graphics setting too high,

hit the high preset and then lower antialliasing to non, and put shadows on medium

if that dont work try the low preset in markarth and say if it runs at 60fps according to fraps

Here's what I suggest (keep in mind I have a very similar setup):

1) Set the shadow setting in the launcher to Ultra.

2)Go into your ini settings and switch your shadow resolution from 4096 to 2048 (shadows will have ultra settings but with a lower resolution)

3)Tweak the shadow blur to reduce shadow blockiness

4)Overclock that CPU -- why buy an unlocked processor and NOT overclock it?? that's the whole point of an unlocked CPU

Skyrim is highly CPU dependent. The higher that clock speed, the better your performance in this game.

I personally get 60 FPS everywhere in the game, with similar specs.

@camaro:
1.4.27.0.4

@Shiva:
I understand, but my CPU usage is by 13% not my graphic card usage. My brother run the game on ultra with a similar system on 50 FPS, so the settings cant be configured to high.
In Markarth I have 22 FPS, this is high for me. In a forrest I have 12 FPS

@immortal:
I overclockt my CPU from 3.5 to 4.6 GHz, set the shadows, ... but no effect.
Skyrim use only 13% of my CPU, so the CPU is not the Problem --> MY HARDWARE IS NOT THE PROBLEM

I think the program/game is the problem, but how can I fix it???

I suggest 2 things mate.

Clean boot into windows. Try the game.

Uninstall skyrim completely, delete the skyrim folder found in steamapps/common. Delete the skyrim folder found in Documents/My Games (copy to somewhere else if you want to keep your saves). Use ccleaner to clean your registry of anything leftover after the complete removal of the game. Reboot, reinstall. Select High for your graphics when you start the game.

Edit: Also try using the AMD 12.1 preview driver.

This sound like a solution.

But yesterday I have installed some Mods (with the Nexus Mod Manager). Is it possible to get the same version of Skyrim(with all the mods) after I reinstall the game? I have installed a new home (Dragon Fall Manor) and stored some usefull items in it. I wont lose the items ( a transfer would take to much time)?

Must I download skyrim again?

As long as the save you use after reinstalling is used with all the same mods installed, it should be fine.

I'd suggest starting a new game to begin with, before adding any mods or using previous saves.

The 6950 is a dual card iirc, so try using the AMD 12.1 driver first before reinstalling.

If youre getting low fps and almost no CPU usage, then it's the gpu that's the bottleneck.