Best Graphics Card for a heavy modded Skyrim SE?

[EddieVanQks]

I was thinking of getting the gtx1650 but, i was thinking if i can save money buying another gpu that gives 40~60 fps with a heavy modded (2k textures)

[Protagoras]

You want a card that will give you stable fps, you dont want your frames fluctuating because you will notice it.

40-60 is too much, even 55-60 would be noticeable. Get a card that will be well over 60, so you ensure your frames are stable.

If your monitor can show more than 60, get a card that will give you more than your monitor can show.

[Double]

You can probably do that with a 1650 at 1080p depending on your other system specs (with some settings turned down/off and additional tweaking) but if you're at 1440p or higher, I'd consider getting at least a 2060. Anything less is going to limit your experience.

[StreamWhenGuy]

Keep in mind that your hardware isn't everything, sadly. There's that thing called engine. And it's crap. Yes, 64-bit, but still crap. Basically the engine doesn't like too many polygons and AI scripts to process... or just too many scripts running at the same time.
Example: full SMIM installation plus 3D Trees plus High Poly Project plus Interesting NPC plus DynDOLOD. Expect some dips even on RTX 3080.
GTX 1650 is all right, I'd even say enough for modding the game but be prepared for a lot of tinkering around to get that stable framerate.

[Double]

Originally posted by StreamWhenGuy:

Example: full SMIM installation plus 3D Trees plus High Poly Project plus Interesting NPC plus DynDOLOD. Expect some dips even on RTX 3080.

I'll have to check those out sometime. I'm currently installing the Phoenix Flavor modlist on my 3080/i9-10900k build and I noticed that it's a bit smaller in size compared to some of the other modlists (using Wabbajack). Last time I played SE was on my 7700k/1080Ti build, so it'll be interesting to see how it performs now.

[StreamWhenGuy]

Originally posted by Ancient Blue Gatorade:

I'll have to check those out sometime. I'm currently installing the Phoenix Flavor modlist on my 3080/i9-10900k build and I noticed that it's a bit smaller in size compared to some of the other modlists (using Wabbajack). Last time I played SE was on my 7700k/1080Ti build, so it'll be interesting to see how it performs now.

I'm on GTX 1660 and generally don't have any issues with the framerate except one area near Falkreath. I narrowed it down to be a heavy polygon count from High Poly Project, SMIM farmhouses and DynDOLOD medium preset with distant tree billboards. If I disable HPP I get stable 60 FPS but I love those round objects
I'd be happy to test out how the game performs with a beefy hardware myself, but I'm quite sure there's still some limitations given how many posts I've read from people with NASA PCs and all those fancy crazy mods.

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by EddieVanQks:

I was thinking of getting the gtx1650 but, i was thinking if i can save money buying another gpu that gives 40~60 fps with a heavy modded (2k textures)

you're on the right track simply by understanding you very well may be in the 40's with mods.

I have a RTX 2070 with an i7-8700 which is not a beast but can run this old engine with over 500 mods and enb, full smim, interesting npc's, 4k and 8k textures, trees galore, DyndoLOD, etc. and although it does not live in the 40's it's there the majority of the time with occasional dips to 34-37fps. And I'm playing at 2560x1440

The real trick once you have a decent pc is how you choose and set up your mods.

[rallicknom]

With even the most powerful build you can get to the point with mods where your system can handle them but the game engine cannot.

I believe the best answer is Vlad's "The real trick once you have a decent pc is how you choose and set up your mods."

[oChalko]

i play with a 1080 at 1080p and maxed my mods out at 4k with 60 fps