Unofficial Enhanced Lights and FX ELFX SMIM fps patch for SE
⚪ Last updated 2017⚠️ Install Order · 7 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview
🔍 Analysis
- 👍 2.3% endorsement rate — high engagement, a strong quality signal
- 🏆 #208 of 243 Patches mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
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What is this mod Skyrim SSE has much better performance than the original Skryim, but still struggled when ELFX and SMIM got together. The Whiterun Jorrvaskr basement produced 17fps on the original Skyrim vs little over 30fps with SSE. This mod brought it back to consistant 60fps. Some of areas I have patched previously did not need this mod patch, so I removed those on this mod. The latest ELFX v3. 04 lowered the troubled areas to just 3 I have observed, so post if you found a fps unstable area.
I also included some shadow casting light optimization not related to SMIM (colored in green), and those will also boost fps with just ELFX without SMIM or ENB.
Here’s the list of areas that got patched with this mod:
- []Jorrvaskr basement []Solitude Radiant Raiment []Faldars Tooth []=== General ELFX light optimizations === []Whiterun Dragonsreach light on/off flicker as you pan your view. The 3rd GIF picture illustrates this glitch. []Shadow Green Cavern: 46fps to near 60fps on my GTX1070 @2560x1080.
Required files
- EnhancedLightsandFX.esp (Required ELFX for SSE v3. 04 and later)
Translation
How did this mod fix === General shadow light optimization === The shadow calculation in the Skyrim SE engine appears to be still done in CPU, and the shadow ultra setting brought my i7-770 and GTX 1070
This patch optimizes ELFX and SMIM compatibility in four specific Skyrim Special Edition locations, restoring frame rates that drop when both mods are used together. It's a targeted performance fix for players who want the visual enhancements of both mods without the FPS hit in those areas.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Massive community approval – 12,029 endorsements and over half a million downloads show this patch is a must-have for ELFX+SMIM users.
- Targeted fix: doesn't overhaul anything, just smooths out the worst FPS stutters in four known trouble spots.
- Lightweight and simple – no extra bloat, just a performance patch for a specific compatibility issue.
⚠️ Cons
- Only covers four locations – if you have other problem areas, this won't help those.
- Last updated in 2017 – might not be fully compatible with the latest Skyrim SE updates or newer versions of ELFX/SMIM.
- Requires both ELFX and SMIM to be installed – if you don't use both, this patch is useless.
For Skyrim Special Edition players who run both ELFX and SMIM and notice FPS drops in Jorrvaskr basement, Solitude Radiant Raiment, Faldars Tooth, or Shadow Green Cavern. If you're not using both mods, skip this – it won't do anything for you.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Make sure you have both ELFX and SMIM installed and activated before adding this patch, and load it after both in your mod order.
- If you're using a mod manager like Vortex or MO2, let it handle the load order – just place this patch after ELFX and SMIM.
- Test the four patched locations (Jorrvaskr basement, Solitude Radiant Raiment, Faldars Tooth, Shadow Green Cavern) to see the FPS improvement – you should notice smoother performance there.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- Skysan4298
- Version
- 3.06.1
- Downloads
- 533,305
- Endorsements
- 12,029
- Category
- Patches
- Created
- 12/3/2016
- Updated
- 11/20/2017
🧩 Commonly Used Together
Users add these mods to the same collections — a real compatibility signal, not an AI guess.
🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods
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