I've modified my ini to look like his mostly and the game looks really good now though I've taken a FPS hit as a result, but its worth it at this point





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCdX5oM2euw


His modified Ultra INI as follows:

[General]
fBrightLightColorB=1.0000
fBrightLightColorG=1.0000
fBrightLightColorR=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
[Imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
iRadialBlurLevel=2
[Display]
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fShadowDistance=2500.0000
iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=2048
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowSplitCount=2
iMaxAnisotropy=16
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000
fGamma=1.0000
iShadowFilter=3
fDecalLOD2=1500.0000
fDecalLOD1=1000.0000
fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000
fShadowLODStartFade=1000.0000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000
iTexMipMapMinimum=0
iTexMipMapSkip=0
bTransparencyMultisampling=1
iWaterMultiSamples=4
iMultiSample=4
iShadowMode=3
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
bFull Screen=1
iSize H=1200
iSize W=1920
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=3072.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=4096.0000
iScreenShotIndex=2
bShadowMaskZPrepass=0
bMainZPrepass=0
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=3
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=10
sD3DDevice="ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series"
iActorShadowCountInt=6
iActorShadowCountExt=6
iShadowMapResolution=4096
iAdapter=0
iPresentInterval=1
fShadowBiasScale=1.0000
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
bFXAAEnabled=0
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=1
fGrassStartFadeDistance=8000.0000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=8000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=400.0000
[Water]
iWaterReflectHeight=1024
iWaterReflectWidth=1024
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterDepth=1
bForceHighDetailReflections=1
bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=0
bUseWaterReflectionBlur=1
iWaterBlurAmount=4
[MAIN]
bGamepadEnable=1
bCrosshairEnabled=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
bSaveOnPause=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
bSaveOnRest=1
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=2
[Interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=0
bGeneralSubtitles=0
bShowCompass=1
[Controls]
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bInvertYValues=0
bGamePadRumble=1
bMouseAcceleration=1
[Particles]
iMaxDesired=1000
[SaveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000
[AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal7=1.0000
uID7=0
fVal6=1.0000
uID6=0
fVal5=1.0000
uID5=0
fVal4=1.0000
uID4=0
fVal3=1.0000
uID3=94881
fVal2=0.4000
uID2=466532
fVal1=1.0000
uID1=554685
fVal0=0.8000
uID0=1007612
[Clouds]
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000
[TerrainManager]
fTreeLoadDistance=40000.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=100000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fBlockLevel0Distance=20480.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000
bShowLODInEditor=0
fBlockLoadDistanceLow=50000
[NavMesh]
fObstacleAlpha=0.5000
fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000
fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500
fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000
fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500
fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000
fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000
fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500
fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000
fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000
fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000
fEdgeThickness=10.0000
fPointSize=2.5000
[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=40
[Decals]
uMaxDecals=100
[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=20.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=20.0000
fLODFadeOutMultActors=20.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
bUseWaterReflectionBlur=1
bReflectExplosions=1
iWaterBlurAmount=4
bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=0
bForceHighDetailReflections=1
fBlockLoadDistanceLow=50000.0000
fBlockLoadDistance=125000.0000
fHighBlockLoadDistanceLow=20000.0000
bShowAllResolutions=1
uLastAspectRatio=4
[BlurShaderHDR]
bDoHighDynamicRange=1
[BlurShader]
bUseBlurShader=0
bUseWaterReflectionBlur=1
bReflectExplosions=1
iWaterBlurAmount=4
bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=0
bForceHighDetailReflections=1
fBlockLoadDistanceLow=50000.0000
fBlockLoadDistance=125000.0000
fHighBlockLoadDistanceLow=20000.0000

I Tried to activate the ambient occlusion but my options in nvidia inspector is nothing like what the guide in the first post has?

bhk1004

I Tried to activate the ambient occlusion but my options in nvidia inspector is nothing like what the guide in the first post has?

It's in there, I promise. Amient Occlusion option is at the very top, then further down are the options for Ambient Occlusion.

Thanks for the tweaks.  
 
However, I'm having a pretty bad framerate issue. I'm using 2x 460 SC EEs. If I use a single card with these settings I'm getting 20-30fps.  If I enable SLI (with newest beta drivers) I get no improvement and it shows GPU 2 at 0% usage.  
 
Does anyone know how to get SLI working properly?  Or is this something Bethesda needs to patch? 

Still gotta diddle with the tweaks, obviously.  There is one sure way to make Skyrim look better, even without Bethesda's support-
Let the fools have their tartar sauce...

I am running the new beta drivers...  the first option that you have in compatibility is the only one that I have available.  And that one is in the common section.

xanderf


What video card and driver version are you using?

It should look like this:

Beta 285.79 does not look the same.  The whole top section is missing, is that only available when creating a custom profile for TESV.exe from the NVCP?  Now that it is defined in the beta, is that even possible?  I messed around with it for a while and couldn't get AO to work.  Too bad, it is such a nice effect.

xanderf

Does the nVidia Control Panel let you directly set 'ambient occlusion' for Skyrim, then?  In the WHQL driver, the ambient occlusion value is 'disabled', which is why nVidia inspector is needed.

 
At this point, not directly without hacking/tweaking it, so I haven't bothered.

Well, some folks swear by the config files made by this site:
 
http://donotargue.com/cfg-makers/skyrim/
 
(Combining with the external-to-the-game 'ambient occlusion' tweaks)
 
...on the other hand, I'm just using the changes outlined in the original post in this thread.  I've been keeping it up to date with tweaks I find that seem to help improve the experience in the game, so...just follow that, and you should be fine!

That's...odd.  I don't remember Skyrim ever using more than about 1.5gb of ram, and usually it's closer to 500mb-700mb (I run two monitors, so usually have task manager up on my second monitor when I'm not doing anything more productive with it).
 
It's true that I'm kind of surprised they didn't compile the game with 'large address awareness' set, but the game really doesn't seem to need it.  I've certainly never seen it go high enough to run out of 2gb address space.

some of the dungeons have a bug glitch that keeps flashing blue or brown when your walking around and makes the water sound. Dunno whats causing it.
 
its an annoying bug cause it disables weapons when it happens, since weapons don't work under water.
 
if anyone wants to know where its happening. its inside the Alftand Cathedral a bit southwest of Winterhold.  

Yeah, I went after a REdguard guy in a cave and damn, I was having glitching that included casting spells which were basically "Frozen" in place, graphical glitches, horrendous frame rates going up and down, it was a mess....

xanderf

Only that dungeon?  I'm using only the tweaks in the first post, and I've not seen anything like that, yet.

 
no it happened in quite a few areas, thats just the one I was in when I noticed it the worst,

Comparison of the 'exterior shadow' range shots...

Reduced to 4000:

 
Default 8000:

 
Increased to 16000:

It sounds like SSAO is broken in the beta drivers - I'd strongly suggest rolling back to the WHQL to get it.  It REALLY improves image quality a LOT, and when set to 'performance' isn't actually as dreadful on framerate as the original recommendations.