Here are my System specs: Am2 Athlon 4200 X2 @ 2.2 ghz(stock), Corsair XMS 2 - 2 GB DDR2 800 MHZ-6400(stock), xfx 9800 GTX 512 MB Ram 675-2200-1688(stock), M2N4 Sli Motherboard, 450 watt PSU don't know brand. (50 bucks back in late 06), Windows XP Service Pack 2, x64 bit edition. ( I think the version of windows I'm using is my problem if there is a problem to begin with.)

I had high hopes to run oblivion at high fps and have it looks amazing as well. I run the game at 1280x1024, Everything maxxed out with HDR On, no AA or Bloom. I currently get low of 12 fps-30-35 average outside, and during fighting outside.(in dungeons 35 fps when I'm fighting monsters and npcs) 62 fps max(mainly in dungeons not fighting anything). I have to say I honestly expected more performance. I currently use these mods: OOO v1.33, Natural Environments Mod, Get Wet Mod, operation optimization mod(suppose to significantly increase fps without sacrificing quality), streamline 3.0(suppose to have faster ram cleaning during the game to increase performance). I have patch 1.2 installed as well. Is there anything that I could do to fix my performance without sacrificing quality? Input is greatly appreciated.

Heres some benches OC'd. Good luck.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2452&p=5

Your GPU is sure as hell good enough to run the game maxed.

I guess that would mean it would have to be your cpu.

Lets just say your GPU is out of your CPU's league LOL!

That could hardly be true though, Oblivion is a GPU based game. I honestly don't think that it's my CPU even though it is not that good compared to my GPU.

I used to game on 2400x2 and yes it will be holding you back a little....not too bad, but a fair bit. I would advice that your try to OC....but i wouldn't do anything before you upgrade your PSU.

Chuck a tiny increment of voltage at the CPU and push the FBS up to 220 ... you might not have to increase the voltage at all.

11X200 = 2200
11X220 = 2420

See if the difference is felt in the games.

You can push it quite a bit further ... these seem to overclock quite well.


http://www.legitreviews.com/article/373/1/

Here is a nice little overclocking guide from Legitreviews ... not bad.

They got just short of 3Ghz ... so you should be able to easily get it up to 2.6 or so If you want.

If that increases the performance playing your games enough then great.

You could get a 6000+ (2 X 1Mb cache) cpu really cheap if you don't want to tinker / overclock.

Note the 4200+ has the 2X512Kb cache ....

Here is the scoop on Oblivion. Its a great overall game. Great graphics (even till today and with the right mods even better graphics), great story and even more open ended gameplay than Crysis could shake Nomad at.

But here is the problem. It is very poorly optimized. I would suggest tuning down your view distance a bit as well to see if that helps along with the grass. From what I heard those are the two biggest FPS drainers on the game.

Man I haven't played that game in a while. Took me 90 hours to finish everything (and I mean everything including the main quests) and I still didn't explore the whole map. I also beat the expansion in another 10 hours. Its a time sucker I say.

As for mods, check out the "Pretty People" mod. It makes people look purdy.

I have an E6750 and 2GB DDR2 800 mhz RAM and a 7600 GT and I have no problems playing oblivion the way you do at a similar res... odd.

The thing is, I shouldn't have to sacrifice graphical quality with my set up at all. I want to play this game at max settings with mods without having any slow down, and I should effing be able to. So it's making me really mad. =/ And no real suggestions other than buying a new processor or overclocked(i cant oc my mobo isn't an ocing mobo really) I don't really know what the deal is because it should run perfectly....

i would have to fire it up again to check but that seems low fps to be getting, 12 fps was what i used to get if it tried it with only one card.

still, having some AI on screen will lower your fps and that is just how oblivion is.

cymus why dont you find out what your bottleneck is first? Have you tried running cpu-z whilst playing? Because if your not completely loading the cpu, theres no point in buying another one. If you do load it and gameplay dies off after 100% load then its time for an upgrade. You have a good gpu, and if you want upgrade to a Q9450 and get some decent ram and a new psu.

Check out this test AnandTech did with both an X2 4200+ and Oblivion...

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2747&p=1

Try using their in-game settings...

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2747&p=2

And see how your results compare with theirs...

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2747&p=3

Your graphics card is obviously better than what they used, but this test is still useful. If your performance is about the same as theirs or worse, it might say something about the mods, drivers and/or patches you are using.

I did a fresh install with no mods, same exact performance as stated above. This is pretty much ****, I feel like I wasted my money. My system should run this game at max, no problems, everything on.. Ugh. Any other suggestions?

You system should run Oblivion better...

Nevertheless, still try the AnandTech test I hyperlinked in my previous post (having the exact settings are key) and let me know how many frames you get in each of the three scenarios AnandTech performed. If the results are similar, you might be somewhat computer bound. While Oblivion relies on a strong graphics card, some environments, such as cities, are more computer bound than others (see link below).

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2747&p=4

Here's a fun fact... I get THE SAME EXACT PERFORMANCE whether or not I have settings all the way high or all the way low, high to low resolutions, everything!!! WTF?! I max out at 60 fps and it will drop just like if I had the settings all the way to high. I'm starting to think my gfx card may need to be replaced or my cpu really is a pos for oblivion.

I ran CPU-Z and it says my DRAM frequency is at 368.8 mhz and the timings table says my ram max bandwidth is at PC2-6400(400) mhz, on my ram box it says its suppose to run at 800 mhz and my motherboard is suppose to support up to 800 mhz frequency. my frequency for each ram chip says 270 and 400 according to cpu-z. I'm really confused about why it's running slower then it should be(if it is). In the bios I put my ram voltage to 1.9 but cpu-z only says my ram is running at 1.8v... Another question. Could my slow down ram affect my performance that much? If so, how do I fix this? I went into bios and put my ram frequency to 800 from auto and it still didn't change anything. I would upload the cpu-z pics but I don't know how to on here, still real new to this forum.