Players can experience poor performance in Darktide for a variety of reasons, so below we’ve listed the most common solutions for improving your FPS. It’s worth remembering that optimisation is a continual process, and your performance will improve with every patch that we release.
Please see our Performance Dev Blog for more information: https://www.playdarktide.com/news/dev-blog-performance
Check 'Video' Options Are Set Appropriately
Navigate to the 'Video' options and check that items such as resolution, DLSS, FSR, and are set appropriately for your PC.
Having DLSS or FSR enabled should boost your performance.
Disable Ray Tracing
Disabling Ray Tracing within Darktide's 'Video' options will boost your performance.
Disable the Steam Overlay
In recent months, the Steam Overlay has been known to result in a substantial drop in performance for some players.
The Steam Overlay can be disabled by unticking the 'Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game' option in the Steam 'Settings' menu, as seen below:
Minimum Requirements
If your PC does not meet the minimum requirements for Darktide, this can result in an unstable experience. Please ensure your PC meets the minimum requirements listed below:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 (64 bit) / Windows 11 (64 bit)
- Processor: Intel i5-6600 (3.30GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (3.4 GHz)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 OR AMD Radeon RX 570
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 50 GB available space
If you aren't sure whether a component meets the minimum requirements, you can use a comparison website such as https://www.userbenchmark.com/.
Verify Integrity of Game Files
The 'Verify Integrity of Game Files' option is accessible via the Steam client and will ensure the installation is complete. An incomplete installation is likely to produce crashes, a loss of performance or other issues.
- Right-click Darktide in your Steam library sidebar
- Select 'Properties'
- Select the 'Local Files' tab
- Select the 'Verify Integrity of Game Files' button
- When complete, close and reopen Steam
Ensure Darktide Uses the Correct GPU
Please see: [PC] How to Resolve Darktide Using the Incorrect GPU
Reinstall Your GPU Drivers
Broken or outdated GPU drivers may cause poor performance in Darktide. When updating your drivers, please perform a clean installation which will ensure all previous versions have been removed. This is particularly important if the GPU has been changed at any point.
[PC] How to Perform a Clean Re-Installation of Your NVIDIA GPU Drivers
[PC] How to Perform a Clean Re-Installation of Your AMD GPU Drivers
However, if your performance issues have arisen after one particular driver update, you may need to roll back a version until a new driver is released.
Disable Background Applications
Background applications - commonly overlays or hooks such as RivaTuner, ShadowPlay, Fraps, ReShade and AMD Chill - can interfere with the workings of Darktide.
A Selective Startup can help identify whether a background application is the cause of your poor performance:
- Press the Windows key
- Type 'msconfig' and select 'System Configuration'
- On the 'General' tab, select 'Selective Startup'
- Deselect 'Load startup Items'
- Reboot your PC
If the issues no longer occur after having performed the Selective Startup, try re-introducing your programs one-by-one to determine which is causing your poor performance.
Lower Your Video Quality
Your PC simply may not be able to handle the level of video quality you’ve chosen. Try lowering your video quality and playing around with more demanding options.
Cap Your Framerate
Although it may sound counter-productive, capping your FPS can lessen stuttering and ensure a smoother, more consistent FPS. You can cap your FPS at 30, 60, or 120 FPS. Play around with this option to determine which works best for you.
Disable Your Overclocks
Unstable overclocks can result in poor performance in Darktide. If any of your components are overclocked, we recommend reverting the component to it's original clock.
Check for Overheating
Whilst overheating components will usually crash the entire PC, occasionally it may present as a loss of performance or crashes-to-desktop.
More information on how to do this can be seen here: [PC] How to Check If Your PC Components Are Overheating
For NVIDIA GPUs Only: Change Your ‘Power Management Mode’
Changing your 'Power management mode' in the NVIDIA Control Panel to 'Prefer maximum performance’ may help improve your performance in Darktide. You can do this by:
- Right-click your desktop
- Select the NVIDIA Control Panel
- Select 'Manage 3D Settings’ > ‘Global Settings'
- Scroll down to 'Power Management Mode'
- Change this to 'Prefer Maximum Performance'