Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - PC Tweak Guide
Is your computer going to hell in a handbasket? Here's how to get the most out of Oblivion
Oblivion loads data almost constantly. Every time you pass through a door or gate into a different area, the game grabs your new surroundings from the hard drive. If you're running an older (but very common) 5,400RPM hard drive, you'll wind up watching the loading bar more often than you swing your sword. We highly recommend replacing that old IDE drive with a new Serial ATA drive (usually just called SATA), which is the latest standard. If you're not sure which kind of hard drive you have, just open the side of the case and look. If the HD has a two-inch wide ribbon cable attached to it, it's an older IDE drive. If it's got just one thin cable coming out of it, you're already running SATA, and Oblivion should be just fine.
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