Skyrim Graphics Mods Blow Consoles Out Of The Water

Gamers Nexus: "We had to put together the best possible comparison of Skyrim graphics mods to truly showcase the wondrous power of the modding community; this visual comparison experiment uses a native PC copy of Skyrim set to the maximum settings and an ultra-modded, heavily-tweaked version of Skyrim that is otherwise "beyond max." We'll let the pictures do the talking -- the mods used are described in depth below. If you want to make Skyrim less gray, this is your ticket."

[BioWareShocker]

I wonder how Wii U Skyrim would look in comparison.

[5yN4MWQU]

In comparison to what? The modded version? Nothing like it. The native version? It'll come close -- Skyrim is not natively very stressing on systems.

Edit.: We're not even sure if the Wii will get the game. I don't think it will.

[BioWareShocker]

Just in general to the current consoles. That is if Wii U even gets the game.

[killcycle]

I disagree about it being natively stressing, it's a sandbox game. They all push the engine they're running on which push's the console the engines running on.

[Ocelot525]

the Wii U has no HDD and thus no option to install games therefore the wii U version would suffer from lot's of pop-up and ridiculous long load times

[Sarcasm]

Ugh, jacking up the contrast and changing color saturation isn't an upgrade. In each of those pictures the original looks better.

[bruddahmanmatt]

Raise your hand if you're sick and tired of pathetic basement bloggers using sensationalist headlines in a desperate attempt for hits. What's wrong with saying "Skyrim Graphics Mods Look Amazing"? Why the need to throw the word "consoles" in there? Oh that's right, crappy website needs to pay its bills. SMH

[DarkBlood]

@Ocelot

while im sure it has some form of harddrive maybe just not big

your forgetting that it can use an external harddrive of your choice so the option to install is there

[Iroquois_Pliskin]

Skyrim only stresses the RAM. Have you guys seen that article about memory leak?

[bozebo]

OK.

[T900]

Poor console gamers, they obviously dont have access to mods because:

A: they are stuck with old hardware

B: How will MS and Sony make money of the DLCs if there are mods available for every game. Mind you this does have a spillover effect. When devs see console gamers are willing to pay for DLCs they tend to take away mod capability from PC games too, so they can milk both the community.

Bottomline console gamers need to grow a spine and stand up for their rights. They need to drop the fanboisim which normaly does take over to defend their favorite company, instead they should demand freedom for Mods etc, that way they get more free content and they ensure the future of gaming wont be gamers being controlled by these corporations. Currently PC is the only platform where gamers have a say in how they want things. Console gaming is completely under the control of their overlords.

[lumley666]

these arguments are just pointless, better graphics dont make the game any better, iv been playing on pc, i modded it about 20 hours into my game and im enjoying it no more or less then before

[milohighclub]

But just look at how many great games consoles have compared to pc also we get the games on release and don't have to wait a month or 2 after release to play the game.

[slayorofgods]

The wii u will only be slightly better then current then current gen consoles...

Lets compare
quad core @ 3GHz, it is a fine possessor but not a huge leap over Sony's Cell processor (Sony might still have the lead), The 360 has a tri-core clocked at 3.2 GHz. So it has a higher overall speed, most analysts also believe 3 cores are as much as you need in gaming. These figures are well in line with average gaming pc's cpu.

Memory, for simplicity I will say both Sony and MS use 512 mb of ram.... The Wii U will have 768MB. Average gaming pc's have 4Gb of ram. So, the Wii U is going very low and will be very close to current consoles.

GPU - All I can tell you is the Wii U will use a low factor form GPU, that is ati's specialty. The GPU should be slightly better then the 360 and PS3, but very similar since they both use very similar GPU's. This isn't going to be a 200$ + GPU that you see in high end PC's.

Conclusion; The Wii U will not look better then the current generation consoles. Nintendo is really just going for a new gimmick by using ipad like controllers.

edit- why the dressage's? I don't care if I'm wrong, but I'd like to know why.

[Arnon]

"quad core @ 3GHz, it is a fine possessor but not a huge leap over Sony's Cell processor (Sony might still have the lead)"

Uhh...no. Four independent cores are much more functional than a single core with 7 SPE's (6 available for gaming) that are dependent on a single core to execute all commands. Also, most PC games that you've noticed to stand out above the rest, such as The Witcher 2, Crysis, and Battlefield 3 all recommend a quad-core processor. The game's visuals are a testament to why, and most of the top developers on PC are pushing for quad-core support.

"This isn't going to be a 200$ + GPU that you see in high end PC's."

Even if it was a $50 current GPU, it would be better than current gen consoles such as the 360 and PS3. You don't need much to outdo what's in those things. And to top it off, if the Wii U is going to have over 512 MB of RAM, you can be guaranteed it will outdo the consoles.

Conclusion:

I have no doubt that if the Wii U has a Quad-Core CPU running at 3.0GHz, with a current ATI card costing anywhere from $50-$150, and at least 1GB of RAM, it will significantly outdo the PS3 and 360. It's just right there on paper.

Also, I know people are constantly stating that the Wii U will not have a HDD, but I'm also hearing that you can simply plug in any of your HDD's into it. I also doubt that it doesn't have an HDD, as the system needs memory outside of the RAM to execute the setup and OS, as well as any updates required for the system.

[slayorofgods]

First off, thanks for a good reply. But I disagree.

Comparing the cell processor with a quad core is a little more complicated then that (also note that there is nothing like the cell on a pc for various reasons unrelated to gaming). The quad can handle multiple processes better, but the cell can handle linear processes better. The end result; the cell can run games just as well, but it is a lot harder to code for. On the PS3 the GPU and memory is what hold it back.

Comparing a tri core (360) vs a quad core is much easier. Tom's hardware has done plenty of cpu tests and gaming efficiency peaks with 3 cores, and most other pc functions (not gaming related) peak at 4 cores. So the CPU won't be a huge step up from the 360.

But all this doesn't really matter, because really we are getting the same gaming performance from all 3; and the performance here is good.

The memory is also going from current generation 512, not a next generation 768. Yeah it's more, but its not next generation more.

The GPU is the more questionable, some report that it is only twice as good as the wii.

Overall, the Wii U is a next generation console and will compete mostly against the PS4 and next xbox. The specs aren't that impressive, the only thing you can say is that it is a little more powerful then the current generation.

It's success really depends on its ipad like controller. That will be what makes it stand out, not its hardware capabilities.

[fr0sty]

who the hell wants to go through all that trouble for a slight increase in quality? that's why i like consoles. no need to meddle with settings or worrying about if your gear is fast enough to run it at a stable frame rate.

[atticus14]

if mods were available for consoles most people here would probably take advantage of them even if it took some work. Some console games let you store huge chucks on info on an HD just to save a few seconds of loading time and many console players love that feature no matter how minimal the gain is.

Most people like squeezing more out of their systems and games for free.

[kevnb]

comment makes no sense, you dont have to do this... And the consoles sure as heck dont guarantee a good framerate.

[fr0sty]

not guaranteed, but usually playable and steady. with pc's, unless you spend a lot on them you never know if you'll run it right or not. not to mention the poor quality ports on pc.

[RedDead]

Why do people care about the very minor difference between the Ps3 and 360?

[death2smoochie]

Play L4D 2 on the PC FOR EXAMPLE and you will know why FREE MODS/MAPS are great. It might have a learning curve but it adds YEAR to your games.

[RurouniKaze]

I think stupid nerds forcing high end graphis hurt games this gen really badly. I mean look at the huuge library the ps2 had and how many different types of games. All the games feel the same and its really tough for new studios to show off their ideas with things being already complicated enough as they are. We dont need better graphics 'noobs', we need a wider library of games .. games that dont take 3years+ to make just to 'polish graphics' and BS. I also want to see the return of fun JRPGs and crash and all those silly games I used to enjoy coming from devs trying make it out there ! Look how many JRPGs and stuff the PSP & DS gets .. its cuz theyre EASIER CONSOLES TO DEV FOR !

[bobrea]

Yea, because modding a game is SOOOO much work...

[EchozProdigy]

show me those realistiic tiittes

[5yN4MWQU]

The lighting and shading effects that these mods produced are phenomenal. I guess the only reason Bethesda didn't put more focus in things like this was because they wanted universal functionality, but the mods certainly make it insanely good looking ;)

[Kahvipannu]

Yeah, and it will just get better, the gears of the community have just started to move.. :)

[mugoldeneagle03]

How come these don't come to PS3. I played the hell out of UT3 almost all because of mod support. Don't know why we haven't seen more games do this

[kramun]

Because UT mods only dealt with maps and models and gametypes, you couldn't add visual improvements because the ps3 is limited by its hardware.

[SnotyTheRocket]

@kramun well, I think the PS3 could do a lot of these mods, I just think not AS well as the PC (duhhh) but, still, it would look better. And I bet the PS3 could contribute to the modding community.

[Kahvipannu]

Well, if there would be modding tools for PS3, modders for PS3, all content xhould not go for approval for Sony, If mod overheats your PS3, whos in responsible, heh, etc...

It's not simple unfortunatelly. Just get PC version for mods.

"And I bet the PS3 could contribute to the modding community. "

To be honest, I doubt it. Modding a real game isn't playing around with LBP2 editor. The eprsons who actually are interested/capable in modding, propably play with PC already, and the persons who play consoles propably lack the knowledge to do modding.

I know not all, but that would propably be the case here..

[Persistantthug]

And because Microsoft payed Bethesda extra for timed DLC, that pretty much sealed the deal.

Microsoft botched Console mods for Skyrim...basically.

[one2thr]

@Persistant
Your right, because I while back there was a article about Microsoft stating that they wouldn't distribute any games on their system if it wasn't of the same quality and if it didn't have the same features that other consoles are capable of doing..... There's more stuff that the article mentioned but its not worth mentioning it in this current topic

[frostypants]

The pictures tell me that the mod just made all the lighting more orange-y...

[nilamo]

Piss filter all over my face

[theonlylolking]

I think that mod makes the game look worse instead of better.

[Velox]

boobs.

too bad you cant marry that girl in the screenshot

[Grip]

u can't marry any beauty in this game expect aela the huntress

[Velox]

any other hot pixels to marry other then her? i only saw aela, but her voice is annoying

[Grip]

nothing in the list will at least right now.. chicks in the mods are so hot

[DarkBlood]

its Mjoll the Lioness for me that im going to marry if she shall accept a Dunmer lol

[mrsatan]

Aela the huntress looks like a man compared to some of the other women in the game.

[Brownghost]

the sad part is you guys are chatting about marrying digital girls

[NarcolepZZZZZZ]

I married Senna from the Temple of Dibella. The whole temple is all about hotness.

[HardCover]

Yes you can.

~
*click*
Addtofaction 19809 1

[Bolts]

You can marry her on the PC.

[adamant715]

Ewww... waaaaayyy too much contrast.

[5yN4MWQU]

Contrast and bloom can be easily modified by selecting a different preset than I did with the FXAA Post-Process Injector mod. I chose Preset 4 and used a high-contrast setting as it works better with my 3D gaming setup. For those who'd like lower-contrast but to maintain the high-texture resolution, that's easily done by changing a few toggles :)

[LouisSantiago]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Seriously, taking contrast way, way out of line doesn't make graphics better. All if does is kill the mood Bethesda set. This mod makes this game look a lot more like Majora's Mask now, not Skyrim.

[frostypants]

My thoughts as well. Some of the textures are a LITTLE better, but the majority of the change is just blowing out the contrast and adding orange tint to every light source.

[dc1]

The PC native version blows the ps3/360 version out of the water. I had the ps3 version ...but had to buy it on PC (taking the hit of the trade in). Mods = Awesome. Esp the 4gb memory buffer ( needed untilled the leak is fixed)

Doesn't matter what your console of choice is ....you need to buy this game.

[admiralthrawn87]

i like the new contrast but i prefer the umodded version of some of the sky shots. way too much purple.

[HardCover]

They aren't the best examples of the mod. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[admiralthrawn87]

thanks for link. that is a much improved sky when out in the main world

[Chuk5]

Cool story. PCs look better than consoles. Somehow I doubt I will lose sleep over this.

[spicelicka]

The sky looks amazing, other than that all i really see is just a change in contrast and colour heat.

[kma2k]

Im sure the diagress will be plentiful but yea they look a little better but its not making me rush out & make a gaming rig. Marginal upgrade as far as im concerned of course that is imo

[Hassassin]

it changes the contrast and hue, so the only diff is the HD texture, which u can't see on the small 540p images.
Besides games like The Witcher 2 (and others) justify rushing out and making yourself a gaming rig XD.
But any console/plataform is good enough for any gaming (except maybe mac and linux).

[ExposingLames]

graphics mod? i'm not saying a PC isnt more powerful than consoles, but that "graphics mod" is nothing but a "warm" color filter on the game itself and it looks like trash. thats literally all it is, or atleast exactly what it looks like. if i did play on PC i still wouldnt get that particular mod. ever.

[5yN4MWQU]

It also has 4096x4096 and 2048x2048 textures rather than 512x512 textures. Just sayin'

[HardCover]

Screenshots don't do these mods justice, obviously. Go find a friend with a half decent PC, a 1080p monitor, and a copy of Skyrim.

Besides, the game has been out less than a month and the creation kit for modding has NOT been released yet. These modders are probably trying to play the game inbetween improving their mods without the proper tools ;)

And yes, you would probably get that post process injector. It has different settings you can tweak. It is not difficult to set things to a personal preference with a mod like that.

[Somebody]

These modders are just warming up for the real thing (the creation kit). Can't wait to see what mayhem they can do once the kit is out.

[AJKanismajoris]

When did anyone say console graphics were the same, we all know PC's are capable of better graphics, why the un-needed Headline?

[aquamala]

look at the post above you, some fanboys are in denial

[MysticStrummer]

UC3 does look better. Skyrim is of course a huge world and that has to be taken into account if you talk about the games overall, but UC3 wins if the subject is graphics alone.

[Dark_Overlord]

Some of those screenshots look fugly as hell, WTF is going on with the brightness

[_LarZen_]

Dumbest thing I have ever read and seen...gama and color adjusting makes it just look horrible.

And it aint optimizing the gfx at all! It's the same just diffrent gama/colors....what a fu*king joke the writer of this article is.

[5yN4MWQU]

Read the list of mods. It uses 4k and 2k texture packs as well.

Edit.: We just added a few more screenshots with texture comparisons, if that's what you were more worried about than FXAA lighting.

[PCELITE]

Skyrim's console graphics looks pretty good even without the mods. But the gameplay is way more important in my opinion. And the amount of content in the game.

[sizeofyou]

"Skyrim Graphics Mods Blow Consoles Out Of The Water"
Yep - and console graphics probably blow £199 PC's out of the water. But relatively, they're both great!

Why the constant comparisons - when they're different hardware.
"Mondeo ST220 blows away Fiesta 1.1"
NFSS.

[xruiner89]

Actually a £200 PC still makes a console look like a joke. Console still doesn't come close to touching it.

[MysticStrummer]

I play more fun and memorable games in 6 months on my console than I played during my entire 2 year PC gaming experience.

[GentileSlayr]

There was a post on here for a graphics configuration tool not the 4gig one but one that allows u 2 set all your graphics settings. Ive been looking on sykrimnexus 4 hours but can't find it can anyone point me in the right direction?

[mrsatan]

Type "4gb" in the search on Skyrimnexus

[Simco876]

What a surprise! 6 year old hardware can't keep up with the new stuff? This is unheard of!!!

/sarcasm

[Inzo]

Yip, and that old hardware has been schooling the PC at gaming for years as far as gameplay goes, with games like Uncharted, LBP, Infamous and GOW, it just goes to show, it not the tools, its the ones in who's hands it is that counts.

[mrsatan]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHA!

You so funny!

Crysis, a very old game on PC, looks much better than every one of those games you mentioned. The gameplay might not be as good, but there is no console game that even compares to Crysis on maximum.

[shayol33t]

You're right, I guess all those great cs times, 1942 times, MoH times never happened on pc right?

[pucpop]

Skyrim is poop. Bored me insane.

[Bleach]

Why is this crap on the top stories.

[Yukicore]

I'd rather have just HD texture mod and a bit more saturation, Sky and lighting mod. This is a bit too much.
Also weird that on the modded version water looks dull compared to unmodded Skyrim.

[Vames]

Look, I love PC gaming and all them good stuff, but this is BS. All I see is things being made darker and additional brown colors, that's it.

[mrsatan]

This is a poor example. The contrast and brightness settings are horrible on that person's injector profile. I should upload a video of my game, to show people what a truly beautiful modded Skyrim can look like. I have been playing the game for weeks now and I still stop in awe at the landscapes. Mods just keep making it better and better. There is a realistic water mod that makes the water look 100 times better than default. The guy also revises it all the time, so it gets better constantly.

[GamersRulz]

can I ask a question ? how does mods work ? and why they cannot mod console versions ?

[Bladesfist]

Mods are files that either adjust or extend the original files of a game. They work on pc because of the openess of the platform and the fact that PC Gamers are "Generally" more tech / programming wise. Ask Sony and Microsoft why you can't have mods on consoles? They will probably lie to you and say because it may open the platform to piracy when what they mean to say is mods take a massive chunk out of DLC sales. I mean just look at the dlc for oblivion and then the total conversions. Which would you choose?

[GamersRulz]

I noticed that it usually improve the game beyond what said system is capable of, why is that ? I mean GTA4 iceEnhancer, and Crysis mods.

[Bladesfist]

Ermm, graphics mods are only a small part of the modding scene, however they seem to get a lot of attention here on N4G. If you look at the modding forums for say minecraft or oblivion you will see that there are a lot of other mods that add A LOT of new content to the games. From new Islands and armour to new storylines.

[WetN00dle69]

YAWN!
Not this again. Whats next water is a liquid...GASP!
Say it isnt so!

[cryptkiller]

Heres a link to some fxaa post process injector mod screenshot comparisons i took while playing. Ive been using this mod since it came out i cant play it without it. I like how the mod makes skyrim look but others may not depends what kind of look you like. I think it adds detail, color and takes away the blury and faded look it has without the mod http://420gamer.blogspot.co...

[Horny Melon]

Its funny reading comments from console gamers that have no clue what they are talking about.

[SebastianSB]

I'm all for adding more color to such a gray game but a few of the screenshots just look odd. It's like someone loaded the images up and hit sharpen too many times. The carpet in the room with the wooden floors actually looks less detailed. Huh.

[Ekmez]

I agree, it doesn't really look more "amazing" at this point though I have no doubt that incredible mods will drop especially after the development kit is released. But most of those photos just looked like they over-saturated the colors and crushed the blacks but meh...

[RELIGHT]

I haven't purchase Skyrim on PC yet so based on those pictures in the article, there isn't anything to write home about. It doesn't look better than Mass Effect, Gears, or Uncharted IMO just based on these screens. Now I certainly know that it's a different ballgame when your playing it so I think seeing it in motion would help

[bozebo]

Yes, it is good in motion.

I think they could have gotten skyrim to run better on all 3 platforms though. The engine is Morrowind's engine with some nice updates, if they started from scratch on newer hardware they could reduce fps inconsistencies.

I notice sometimes there is a big wall infront of me but it still renders things that should be completely blocked from view. Maybe they can add occlusion for that in the editor but forgot to (in Markarth big fps drops can happen, it's a buggy quest area too though lol).

I'm gonna play some Skyrim now after being reminded of it.

[listenkids]

The character models look like shit compared to various games of today. Why can't everyone just stfu about consoles.
To the guy who thinks Crysis 1 max still looks good needs to replay.

[kevnb]

crysis max does look good... how can anyone say otherwise?

[listenkids]

Don't get me wrong, it looks great but saying it dicks over every console game is pure ignorance.

[bozebo]

PC version could be tweaked better.
The colour saturation is too pretentious in those screenshots. And give us higher res screens ^_^
It still looks great on the consoles, it doesn't blow them out of the water just yet.

[GrumpyVeteran]

Proves again that consoles are just absolutely shit.

[Old McGroin]

Yeah, I wish my PS3 and 360 could tweak the saturation and contrast as brilliantly as a PC like in the pictures of this article! Boy are console owners losing out! Maybe you should have actually looked at the pics in the article before commenting buddy.

[zero_cool]

Only if more studios was as open minded as epic games was with unreal tournament 3 on console.Epic games granted the community access to the engine's tools to cook mods on pc & allow the community to port the cooked mods over to the console version of unreal tournament 3!

[kevnb]

i dont like this mod, Ill wait for something better. But I actually think skyrim looks awesome as is on my pc.

[ZBlacktt]

The title should say.

Gaming PC total costs blow gaming console's total costs out of the water. What could one get in a "gaming" PC for $249? Anyone.....anyone?

:D

[Bolts]

Those FXAA screens look like shit. Waaay over saturated. I prefer AO and high quality texturing running stock Skyrim, it does wonders for the game's image quality with very little performance hit.

Anyways, stuff like this is why the PC version rocks. No mod necessary.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[rattletop]

i'm a pc gamer but i hate titles like these. crap site looking for hits.

[Hyperbomb69]

I dont understand why they named the article this way.. personally I own a PC and a PS3 which is the best combination you can have this gen. (xbox 360 is a pathetic console that only morons will buy). PC is great but the PC fanboys are elitist pricks, I might be more of a console gamer, but at least I dont have to jump through hoops to play my games.

[Richdad]

Dude! I own a PS3, PC and Xbox 360. 360 rocks!! It's a damn good console. Worthy of every cent you pay for it.

[Hyperbomb69]

360
>good

lol no.

[Richdad]

Guys if you have any thing less than nvidia 570 gtx or ATI 6970 then you might not be able to try this mods as these are very taxing for hardware. Not mention most of the texture mods are not properly customized and use a lot of RAM plus they are pretty ugly in some areas!!.

This mod was done on high end PC with a Nvidia GTX 580 where it ran at 40-60 fps and switching to 3D mod gave 15-30 fps. Not to mention here Skyrim was tweaked to achieve playable frames. Doing such mod and tweaking takes a lot of time. I am myself modding games from last 1 year but and I am tired of it. Firstly you need to get atleast a god 20-25 attempts or 4-5 days to get the mods working also the game becomes unstable.

Guys play games as they are made by devs, if you want to play. Mods are better for making presentation videos on youtube but for playing meh!. Yeah but I do recommend tweaks as it makes games playable on weak PC's.

[Big_Dom]

Stop talking bollocks. This mod is doing nothing to drain resources from the game. There are no new features in there. Nothing is changed with the shaders or the DX effects whatsoever. It's a hack job tweak performed by someone who doesn't know anything about art direction or has any skills in that department whatsoever.

[shipoffools]

This comment can't be serious. The only mod that taxes your system would be the HD Skyrim one which makes certain areas look much better. Modding Skyrim is incredibly easy as well. Either use a manager or just drop the mods in the data folder. That's it.

[Lionsguard]

The aurora one is a bit much..It's like watching the aurora on acid.

[OpiZA]

You had me at blows.

[koga88]

Oh it definitely blows something alright, but I don't think it is consoles. Those HD textures just look worse overall. Doubt I would even use these if I had the PC version, its like playing a cartoon version of Skyrim with some of those colors you have going on there.

[Big_Dom]

Blows console versions out of the water? Talk about hyperbole of the extreme, which is typical of this wank site anyway. I was expecting something to make me exit this page and jump straight to finding a mod having it blown my balls off with the pictures. But no. Turning up the saturation and adjusting the contrast does not equal "blown out of the water"> The person who made this also must think that by slapping some unsharp mask in Photoshop over the textures = high resolution goodness. It does not. It cheapens the original texture and can actually ruin them in some cases. You want HD textures? Well, you'll have to wait for a capable artist to put some months into doing some, not this shite.

[Old McGroin]

The modded pictures just look like brighter copies of the native pictures, if this what we have to look forward for the next gen of graphics my expectations have just taken a major dip.

[SwampCroc]

a few of these supposed "higher quality" pictures look like crap... the one inside of the wooden floor is probably the best one.. but the others like the waterfall and rocks pic, those look fine regularly

[zero_cool]

Oh please i've seen better on PS3!

[ZBlacktt]

That is SO not on Crushing, lol. Good video still.

[NotSoSilentBob]

If only the game shipped like that would it matter. I buy the game to play it not make it so I can rub it in others faces.

[Indigon]

For me it looses a lot of atmosphere. Skyrim is meant to be greyish and hazy.

[Venjense]

It just looked more colourful to me, still looked nicer but I was expecting more.

[TheCopyNinja]

With or without mods. DS > Skyrim

[shipoffools]

Did anyone even read the article? The screen on the left is taken from the max PC settings. If screens were taken from consoles, the difference would have been much greater. Vanilla Skyrim is bland.

[PersonMan]

Those modded screenshots look worse than the original. The original screenshots look realistic but, the modded screenshots look cartoonish. Too much contrast and saturation.

[ClimateKaren]

If they wanted to title this in such a way that is meaningful and or integrous it would be titled: "Skyrim Graphics Mods Blow PC Release Out of the Water"

But I know it wasn't going for that, it was cheap flamebait. Don't click the link people, it's a trap!