# Oblivion running choppy during combat - whats going on?



## Ironarm1 (Feb 21, 2008)

Hey guys! I recently "upgraded" by getting a new laptop. I havent bought a computer since my 2000 desktop purchase, so I was really excited. The first game I wanted to load on this computer was Oblivion, of course. I know Oblivion is a greedy system hog, so I was prepared to drop the resolution.

Well after a day setting up the game and downloading the mods needed for it, I went into the game. Game was generally choppy, so I downgraded the resolution. I found that whenever I had multiple actors (characters) moving on screen it would create lag and make the game very choppy. Okay, so now I downloaded a mod called "Streamline" for Oblivion. Unfortunately, I'm still getting almost unplayable choppiness during combat. It doesnt seem to go away, and its horrible, I can almost barely play sometimes. 

Whats really odd about the whole thing is that my old 2000 desktop had no problem handling combat. Now I dont have an outstanding, rigged laptop but the specs are respectable and the laptop should handle Oblivion on minimum settings...right? I know laptops should not be used for gaming, but these specs are respectable, to my knowledge. 

Specs: 

2.2 ghz Intel Duo Core
512MG Geforce 8600M GT
2 gig RAM
320GB SATA 5200RPM

Here is some extra information:

- I know its not not a heating issue, since I use a heating pad for the laptop.
- Oddly enough, which may be a problem unto itself, whenever I turn up the volume 80% or higher on the laptop it creates lag for the actual computer, and may cause it to crash. Ive played Oblivion on mute though and it was still choppy. Could it be a power supply problem?
- This is a very recent laptop made by Dell (Inspiron 1520) and I got it about a month ago. 
- I use Oblivion with streamline in 720x480 (widescreen). Disabled far distance and is STILL choppy. Keep in mind that I AM running a couple big mods, most notably FCOM. 
- I think all my drivers are updated, to my knowledge. Running windows XP.

Can anyone shed some light on whats going on? Am I missing a key component to the computer, could it be the power supply, or is Oblivion just a greedy system hog especially combined with big mods?

Any and all help is very much appreciated.


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## ClosedAccount3 (Apr 4, 2007)

In my honest opinion, the 8600 would struggle to run Oblivion well, especially a mobile version. Generally speaking, if you have speed issues in just one game, it's probably specification related.

You might want to take a look at http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_5.html if you're prepared to spend a bit of time - it'll explain which settings to tweak (including some hidden ones) to make the game run as is best possible on systems that aren't up to scratch. It may be a simple problem, like you using very high character detail or shadows that causes the problem, the guide will explain. Some settings have massive impact on performance, like grass shadows, which you might not have noticed in the options - the guide explains better than I can.

If you still have trouble, you could resort to a modification called 'Oldblivion', which changes the graphics in the game to make it playable by older graphics cards - it does lower the minimum requirements.

Hope that helps


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## DeBug (Feb 19, 2008)

Maybe that mod you installed does have bugs, or your computer is running busy with RAM and CPU.


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## Mosquito555 (Apr 25, 2007)

I agree with DeBug, maybe those mods have bugs or they fill your memory too much. Each mod will take more RAM for sure. You could try removing your mods and see if that helps...

I can run Oblivion with my 7600GS 256MB great at medium settings with bloom enabled at 1024x768 so any 8600 should be able to outperform my card. Well it's a mobile version of course and that may change things. Check readme for supported chipsets and try updating oblivion to the latest patch, it makes it support more chipsets/GPUs...

Update your graphics drivers.

Maybe your sound system requires so much CPU power, that's why you get lag when raising volume. Try reducing sound hardware acceleration (for winXP click start - run - type "dxdiag" - select the sound tab and reduce hardware acceleration to none, if that helps play with the settings until you reach acceptable performance) .I used to have a similar issue with my old machine while running pro evolution soccer 3 with my nforce2 integrated sound card - got it fixed that way. I think the steps you have to follow in order to reach these settings are the same on Vista.

Also keep in mind that Oldblivion will force the game to run with DX 8.1 shaders as far as I know. The graphics quality will increase much as already stated before.


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## DeBug (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks, and it's correct the shaders DX 8.1 will increase.

And at 8600 you'll be able to run that game in a higher FPS in High Settings.

I've got an Mobility HD2400 and I run the Oblivion at Medium Settings, but with some crashes.


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## acameron (Dec 20, 2004)

If you don't wan't to dnload and use Oldblivion, try setting the "Grass rendering" settings to their minimum. In my opinion that is the single largest cause of lag when in an outdoor setting. 

I have found that with older graphics cards keeping grass turned off and distance settings to medium usually works well. Also, try turning off some of the shadow rendering options.

Hope that helps.


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