Lag when looking around (Skyrim)

I know I have another thread but I'd like to start this one with a new issue that has popped up (and is annoying me greatly).

I have monitored my GPU (7970m) and it only reaches 86% usage max, as well as only 1750 mb of VRAM usage, yet when I look around sometimes, there is lag for a few seconds. It usually happens if I look around quickly or turn 180 degrees with my character.

I am running many mods but again, it doesn't seem to be a VRAM issue because I'm not exceeding the 2 GB limit, nor am I reaching 100% usage. So I'm kind of stumped as to what could be happening here.

Is there some setting to allow Skyrim to use more resources or something? I have 8 GB of RAM and I have 5 free gigs when Skyrim is running.

I am playing in windowed mode to remove some other problems I was having with the game (see my other thread for those), and the game is basically unplayable for me in fullscreen mode. I'm getting around 30-40 FPS even with a lot of graphical mods running, and the game is pretty much smooth other than this lag.

So, any ideas of what I can do about this? I hate lagging all over the place and it really is quite frequent. Any ideas?

 

Last i heard skyrim was a CPU intensive game, maybe you can check the usage of your CPU?

 

shadows, turn them down. it's a killer if you have an enduro laptop

 

Get ENBoost and Skyrim Project Optimization if you don't use them already.

 

@Captmario - I will check my CPU usage and report back.

@kookiesandmilf - I will try turning down shadows as well, but I have Enduro disabled and am only using the 7970m.

@Getawayfrommelucas - Thanks, downloading those now! I just recently optimized all my textures and it runs slightly better, but still getting enough lag to be bothersome. Hopefully ENBoost fixes it. We'll see.

 

It was shadows. Once I turned them to high the lag disappeared. Yay! Thanks for the help all!