The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PC Settings Guide
Skyrim Special Edition is over a decade old and runs effortlessly on virtually any modern GPU at max settings. The real performance variable isn't hardware — it's your mod list. A vanilla install pulls 200+ FPS on a mid-range card; a heavily-modded setup with ENB and 4K textures can crawl to 30 FPS on a flagship.
For vanilla or lightly modded play, max everything at 1440p or 4K and call it done. For ENB users, the single biggest performance lever is ENB's Indirect Lighting setting — drop one preset tier for a 30–40% FPS gain with minimal visual loss.
Scope and assumptions
Separates vanilla Special Edition from heavily modded installs, which have very different hardware profiles.
- • Vanilla 1080p: Ultra on virtually any modern GPU.
- • Modded: texture and ENB mods shift the load onto VRAM and the GPU.
- • High refresh: the engine is tied to frame rate; cap it to avoid physics issues.
Troubleshooting checks
- • Do not run uncapped above 60 FPS without a physics fix; it breaks the engine.
- • Stutter in modded installs is usually VRAM exhaustion from texture packs.
Reviewed by GameOptimizer Editorial · August 2, 2026
Your Hardware
Best The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Settings for NVIDIA RTX 4060
Core Settings
Tips & Notes
- Vanilla runs on anything — heavy mod lists can change requirements drastically
Based on benchmark data and community reports for this hardware combination — treat as an estimate, not a guarantee. How we calculate this.
Still stuttering after applying these? See what's holding your PC back — or read our graphics settings guide to understand what each option costs.
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Your GPU is limiting FPS here
NVIDIA RTX 4060 is holding back your AMD Ryzen 5 7600 at 1440p in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. A better GPU could get you closer to ~64 fps at these settings.
Estimate only — based on a 20% uplift for a moderate GPU bottleneck, not a measured benchmark.
Suggested upgrade
NVIDIA RTX 5070
Comfortable 1440p high settings in most modern titles.
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Tap a resolution to see how the NVIDIA RTX 4060 handles The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition at that target.
Want Better FPS for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition?
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NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti 16GB
~20% more performance · 16GB VRAM
Intel Core Ultra 5 245K
Fewer CPU bottlenecks at high refresh rates
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Save These Settings
Download a free, printable settings pack with the tuned values, hardware targets, and troubleshooting notes.
What's Next?
Settings and FPS figures are algorithmic estimates rather than measured benchmarks. Drivers, patches, cooling, background tasks, and individual scenes can change actual performance. Verify the result in game.