Why do I have lag in Skyrim?

[Scaleo]

Hello,

I know this is not a ''beast rig'' but it should be able to run Skyrim with medium/high settings, right?

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7600 @3.06GHz
GPU: GTX 550 TI 1GB GDDR5
RAM: 4GB
PSU: 460 Watt

The game used to run well, but than after 45 minutes it started to lag.
But now it lags as soon as I start playing the game.
I am having lag spikes every 5/10 seconds and sometimes it is even unplayable.
Please helpe me

 

[amuffin]

There might be bottlenecking.

 

[Scaleo]

What exactly is ''bottlenecking''?
And how can I prevent it?

 

[COLGeek]

What version of Windows are you using? Also, are your video and audio drivers up to date?

How hot is your system getting while gaming? If you don't know, google hwmonitor and install it. Run it in the background and let it collect the information for you.

As amuffin indicated, you could have a bottlenecking issue, or you could have a temperature issue (system is slowing down because it is getting too hot), or a driver issue.

Please clarify.

 

[Scaleo]

I am using Windows 7 (64 bits)
And my GPU has the latest drivers.
And yes I have noticed that my GPU (wich is 3 days old) is 75c to 82c, should I be worried? Because if yes I better take the GPU back to the store within its guarentee.
I don't want 4 months of saving money be wasted

 

[COLGeek]

That is fairly warm, but still in the "ok" range. How are your CPU temps?

 

[COLGeek]

BTW, the bottlenecking that amuffin is referring to means that the CPU can process the data fast enough to keep up with the capability of the GPU. Kind of like having a clogged fuel filter on a high performance car, it runs poorly because it can't get enough fuel.

 

[Scaleo]

Here are my CPU temperatures:

CPU temperatures at idle: Core 1= 36c Core 2=38c
CPU temperatures at load: Core 1=44c Core 2=38c

 

[COLGeek]

OK, not a heat issue then.

What make/model of motherboard are you using? To alleviate the bottleneck amuffin referred to, a faster CPU could help.

 

[Scaleo]

I am using the Msi G41M-P25

 

[jonathanrhunter]

Hello,

I know this is not a ''beast rig'' but it should be able to run Skyrim with medium/high settings, right?

CPU: Core 2 Duo E7600 @3.06GHz
GPU: GTX 550 TI 1GB GDDR5
RAM: 4GB
PSU: 460 Watt

The game used to run well, but than after 45 minutes it started to lag.
But now it lags as soon as I start playing the game.
I am having lag spikes every 5/10 seconds and sometimes it is even unplayable.
Please helpe me

What resolution are you playing the game at? What framerate are you getting while you play?

My guess is that you have some programs going on in the background of the game while it's playing that are creating your bottleneck, which probably points to a CPU bottleneck if other programs are stealing your games resources.

I assume you have the latest drivers?

Check out this article, these are the framerates you should be seeing:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074-6.html

 

[COLGeek]

I am using the Msi G41M-P25

This motherboard can support many Core 2 Quad CPUs. See here for more details:

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/G41M-P25.html#/?div=CPUSupport

That being the case, Socket 775 Quad Core CPUs are not cheap. One could argue that you really need a new motherboard, CPU, and memory to make it worth the cost.

 

[Scaleo]

To be honest I only have AVG with Steam and Nvidia runing in the background, and when I look at the CPU usage when I am playing Skyrim it is around 5 percent
And I am having around 45 fps when I am playing Skyrim and everything is normal.
And sometimes it is unplayable as soon as I start to play the game (10 fps and lag spikes)

 

[Scaleo]

To be honest I only have AVG with Steam and Nvidia runing in the background, and when I look at the CPU usage when I am playing Skyrim it is around 5 percent
And I am having around 45 fps when I am playing Skyrim and everything is normal.
And sometimes it is unplayable as soon as I start to play the game (10 fps and lag spikes)

 

[COLGeek]

Have you looked at what is running right when it lags? Do you have anything in your Startup items running that you don't need?

 

[Scaleo]

Except for the Windows services and Steam,AVG and Nvidia control panel I have nothing else

 

[Scaleo]

And another thing that I have noticed is that Skyrim only uses around 604.948 kB of memory and around 5 per cent CPU usage

 

[COLGeek]

Except for the Windows services and Steam,AVG and Nvidia control panel I have nothing else

Understood. I really does sound like you are experiencing the bottleneck amuffin originally referred to.

Are up to upgrading your CPU or your CPU/mobo/RAM?

 

[rush21hit]

I have a bit more profound question than any other people who are trying to help you here, just needs to know, by 4GB memory, do you mean 2x2GB or 1x4GB? Both scenario should puts you on a far different situation.

 

[Scaleo]

It is 2X2GB of RAM

 

[rush21hit]

Now that's interesting. You're right, your spec should capable to go at med-high preset. Plus, it's known that Skyrim doesn't benefit from more than 2 cores as tom's benchmarking stated. So, I suppose somewhere on your spec is damaged somehow. Have you OC them before?

 

[COLGeek]

Now that's interesting. You're right, your spec should capable to go at med-high preset. Plus, it's known that Skyrim doesn't benefit from more than 2 cores as tom's benchmarking stated. So, I suppose somewhere on your spec is damaged somehow. Have you OC them before?

The jury may not necessarily agree with all tests as they relate to Skyrim. The recommended config for the game is:

Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
4GB System RAM
6GB free HDD space
DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).
DirectX compatible sound card
Internet access for Steam activation

Scaleo has all but one of those items.....

 

[Scaleo]

Are there any options?

 

[Scaleo]

Maybe there is something wrong with the PSU?

 

[ziuus1]

I am using Windows 7 (64 bits)
And my GPU has the latest drivers.
And yes I have noticed that my GPU (wich is 3 days old) is 75c to 82c, should I be worried? Because if yes I better take the GPU back to the store within its guarentee.
I don't want 4 months of saving money be wasted

I wouldn't be worried about the temps but I would be concerned. IMO that is a little too high.

Do you have the lastest version of Directx installed? Have you upgraded your Audio drivers?

When you upgraded the GPU drivers, did you uninstall the previous version first before you installed the new version?