I had some issues with my cpu cooling fan - replaced it now running 40 degrees cooler! YAY!! - but in doing so, and in making sure all my drivers are up to date - I seem to have maybe changed some settings? Or maybe my PC is aging out? The game previously ran so much better/smoother

Actual "Load Screen" times are fine - BUT when I enter any new zone - after initial log- on OR simply traveling (wayshrines-- or even running and entering a new area) the PROBLEM is this: It seems the game is loading the graphics info for the area much slower than I am traveling - so I get approx 30 secs of SEVERE stuttering while the area slowly loads the visual info and "builds" the scenario --every time I transition to a new "cell" or whatever the technical term is. It is worse in busy areas as it loads the other players rendering info as well. I tried adjusting in-game settings WAY down (UserSettings.txt) - game looked like crap - BUT I STILL HAD STUTTERING. I believe I also still had stuttering with NO add-ons.

The longer I play, and the more info that gets temporarily stored on cells I visit/revisit - the BETTER the game runs - but the stuttering never goes away completely

So, my QUESTION translates to this - is there any way I can help my PC handle the info dump when entering a new cell?? Either Game settings, GPU settings, or Windows settings? Are there any cache sizes I can adjust? Any way to keep more info stored about the game permanently? I have 16 GB of Ram and 16 virtual. I have PLENTY of room on my harddrive... As I said, severely turning down UserSettings based on Alcast recommendations seemed to have NO effect on the stuttering -- tho, of course, my FPS did greatly increase

I know this question is a bit general - but I do not know quite enough about it all to ask a more intelligent question -- Feel free to ask ME questions to help narrow it down. One OBVIOUS fix is to just stop and wait and let the area load, but that completely negates all the recent in-game speed tweaks that let my character run faster. Plus -- BORING and time consuming - especially when running my multiple Crafting Alts...

I am also aware that my system, built in 2017 specifically to play this game, may be aging out - and there IS no fix. These problems SEEM to have started LAST major update...

Any ideas??