After what has felt like an eternity, Elden Ring has finally had its official release, and has been met with near-universal acclaim. But that doesn't mean it is flawless, and already some players have encountered performance issues. Elden Ring framerate drops and stuttering seem to be the most common of these performance issues. And they're the sort of issue that, while they don't necessarily break the game, can be distracting, irritating, and in certain situations, could mean the difference between life and death in the game.
So we've put together some advice to give you the best chance of minimising these problems on Elden Ring. By following these steps, you will hopefully have a smoother experience, and can truly see the best of what Elden Ring has to offer.
How To Fix Elden Ring Framerate Drops
The Elden Ring framerate drops issue seems to occur most frequently during boss fights, or when new effects or enemies appear on the screen. Although it has also been known to arise when you are just meandering through the vast open world. When this happens, the framerate is dropping below 60fps, sometimes as low as the 40fps range.
Before we delve into the details, the first step is to ensure your computer meets the demands of Elden Ring. The minimum specifications for the game are as follows:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: INTEL CORE I5-8400 or AMD RYZEN 3 3300X
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 3 GB or AMD RADEON RX 580 4 GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 60 GB available space
- Sound Card: Windows Compatible Audio Device
If your computer doesn't meet these requirements, then it will always struggle with delivering satisfactory performance. So let's assume your computer is more than capable of coping with Elden Ring. Here's what to try next.
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Improve Framerate Performance
- Start with simple fixes, such as lowering your graphics settings.
- Make sure your graphics card drivers are fully up to date. If you have an AMD graphics card, check here. For Intel, go here and for GeForce, go here. This is a suggestion endorsed by BandaiNamco while they continue to try to improve performance, who state that doing this may "significantly improve performance".
- If your PC has more than one graphics card, make sure you are using the dedicated graphics card, as opposed to the integrated graphics card.
- Check your DLSS settings. In theory DLSS is meant to improve performance, but in some cases actually has the opposite effect. So try turning it on or off, and see whether this makes a difference.
- Close any unecessary background processes that may be drawing resources away from the game.
- Check the Steam Guide for a list of software that may interfere with Steam. Notable examples include Antivirus software, software for managing drivers, and VPN programs. Disable any that might be causing an issue.
- Setting your PC to run Elden Ring in high performance mode may also help. To do this:
- Go to Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics Settings
- Enable Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
- Select the Elden Ring executable file and select High Performance
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How To Fix Stuttering
If Elden Ring is suffering from stutter, you'll notice the screen freezing for a second or two. Once again, while it can happen at any point, it seems to be most prevalent when you are tackling bosses, or if you are in areas where there is a lot going on. Happily, there are a few steps you can take to try to reduce this issue as well.
- As above, lowering your graphics settings may help.
- Check for any pending updates to graphics drivers, and updates to your operating system and the game itself.
- Check your VSync settings. As with DLSS, VSync is intended to improve performance, but doesn't always work as intended. Try turning it on or off, and check to see whether this improves things or not.
By trying these steps, hopefully, you will see an improvement in performance on Elden Ring and a reduction in those glitches that can be so jarring.