Help! Baldur's Gate 3 is crashing and lagging after 60+ smooth hours

[Petra the Bookicorn]

Hello,

I really need help, please. I’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 for 60+ hours on ultra and it went completely smoothly. And then suddenly it either crashes during loading (at 50% in the first loading screen or 100% in the second one) or it loads but lags so much that when I start walking, my party just teleports in front of me. Since 60% in the second loading screen, it even has trouble loading the paintings and icons like Hide. So I’ve got no idea why my favourite game of all time became unplayable.

I’m playing on Alienware Area-51m R2 (laptop). These are the specs:

CPU: Intel i9-10900
RAM: 8 GB with 7,76 GB usable
Operating system: Win 11 64-bit
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 2080 Super
HDD (I have BG3 installed here together with Steam): 1 TB with 684 GB free
SSD (Documents, AppData, therefore saves and such were put here automatically): 218 GB with 26,4 GB free

If you need more info, feel free to ask. My computer has been recently completely reinstalled.

Here’s everything I tried based on my endless Googling:

I’ve done everything on these sites:
https://larian.com/support/faqs/crashing-upon-startup-pc_59
https://larian.com/support/faqs/errors-or-crashes-when-loading-saves_82

I’ve changed settings for BG3 executables through Nvidia control panel to make it focus on performance. This worked for 3 hours and it got back to lagging in the middle of session.

I’ve played it through the exe and it worked for multiple sessions. Then for no apparent reason, next session lagged again and ever since, I’ve tried a lot of things but with no luck.

Here are all the things (I can remember right now) I’ve done without any success:

I updated everything through Windows Updates, Microsoft Store, and SupportAssist (I always keep everything updated);

have done all the performance tuning through SupportAssist;

have done hardware test through Dell website and it came out completely ok;

updated graphic drivers through Device Manager and GeForce Experience (I always keep those updated as well);

reinstalled / updated .NET runtime versions 6, 7, and 8;

reinstalled / updated all the versions of C++ redistributable;

cleared my PC from temps, cache, registries and such (as I do monthly);

deactivated Steam cloud;

in launcher, I opted out from sending data;

did the --skip-launcher thing;

in game, I tried setting the lowest graphics, VSync off, FPS cap on 60, crowds setting off, slow HDD on and many more;

checked performance through Task Manager during loading and my RAM never runs at 100%, occasionally HDD does;

reinstalled Baldur’s Gate 3 during which I completely wiped all the files except my latest save. The crashes and lags happen even in a new game though.

I’m tech savvy enough that none of the above was at all difficult to do and I can do more difficult stuff if you give me a walkthrough but I’m not tech savvy enough to think of any other solutions myself. At this point, I almost hope I’ve done some obvious mistake and the fix is easy so feel free to assume I’ve done some of the fixes wrong and tell me how I should repeat them.

Just please, PLEASE, you brilliant nerds, help me. I’m tired of troubleshooting for days without any luck.

[juliejayne]

Apart from working through the following guide.

8GB is not a lot, as in not enough.
Installed on a HDD, not a good idea, swap it to your SSD, if possible.

Have you checked if your CPU or GPU are running at 100% HDD is just working as it does.
A Laptop is likely to get too hot, and that can cause crashes, have you checked your GPU and CPU temperatures.

Finally Savegames, how many do your have, BG3 with Autosaves and Quicksaves, can create quite a few quite quickly. Try to keep them trimmed down to the fewest that you REALLY need. Every day I copy my old Savegames from my SSD ( where I am running the game) to my HDD and delete any Auto- or Quick- saves that I will not be needing.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3027526886

[TwinCats]

You are literally running out of RAM. Try increasing the swap file.

[Petra the Bookicorn]

Originally posted by juliejayne:

Apart from working through the following guide.

8GB is not a lot, as in not enough.
Installed on a HDD, not a good idea, swap it to your SSD, if possible.

Have you checked if your CPU or GPU are running at 100% HDD is just working as it does.
A Laptop is likely to get too hot, and that can cause crashes, have you checked your GPU and CPU temperatures.

Finally Savegames, how many do your have, BG3 with Autosaves and Quicksaves, can create quite a few quite quickly. Try to keep them trimmed down to the fewest that you REALLY need. Every day I copy my old Savegames from my SSD ( where I am running the game) to my HDD and delete any Auto- or Quick- saves that I will not be needing.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3027526886

Thank you so much.

How do I fix the RAM problem? Do I have to buy a new part and let a professional put it in or is there a workaround? I'm confused why it worked smoothly the whole time on 8 GB RAM but I'm trusting you that this is the most probable problem.

I don't have enough space for BG3 on my SSD but I've played games on HDDs my whole life and it never was a problem. RAM was though.

I've checked those temperatures and they were like 30 Celsius below the recommended maximum.

I've deleted all but 1 savefile during the reinstall of the game and it didn't help.

[Petra the Bookicorn]

Originally posted by TwinCats:

You are literally running out of RAM. Try increasing the swap file.

Thank you! Could you, please, explain your second sentence more? I'm afraid I didn't understand at all.

[Petra the Bookicorn]

So I've ordered 64 GB RAM which is the maximum for my computer and I have a pro friend who gave me advice which one to get and will put it in. Hopefully, that will solve it. Thank you for figuring it out! If you think there's anything else I should do, I'm always willing to learn.

[TwinCats]

Originally posted by Petra the Bookicorn:

Originally posted by TwinCats:

You are literally running out of RAM. Try increasing the swap file.

Thank you! Could you, please, explain your second sentence more? I'm afraid I didn't understand at all.

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/how-to-manage-virtual-memory-on-windows-11

Originally posted by Petra the Bookicorn:

So I've ordered 64 GB RAM which is the maximum for my computer and I have a pro friend who gave me advice which one to get and will put it in. Hopefully, that will solve it. Thank you for figuring it out! If you think there's anything else I should do, I'm always willing to learn.

Good luck! I hope it's help.

[Petra the Bookicorn]

Originally posted by TwinCats:

Originally posted by Petra the Bookicorn:

Thank you! Could you, please, explain your second sentence more? I'm afraid I didn't understand at all.

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/how-to-manage-virtual-memory-on-windows-11

Originally posted by Petra the Bookicorn:

So I've ordered 64 GB RAM which is the maximum for my computer and I have a pro friend who gave me advice which one to get and will put it in. Hopefully, that will solve it. Thank you for figuring it out! If you think there's anything else I should do, I'm always willing to learn.

Good luck! I hope it's help.

Thank you for the link, I'm going to study it :)

[juliejayne]

Personally I would get a better PC, a desktop rather than a laptop. But I understnad that that is not a practical choice for many.

2nd, yes get more RAM. 64GB is overkill. But 16 or 32, certainly worthwhile.
3rd, get a bigger SSD. If it can't be internal, then an external SSD is also a possibility, though not as good.
4th, learn more about computers. The less you know the easier it is for adverts and salesmen to sell you something that really doesn't do what YOU want.

I have been a PC (desktop) nerd since the 90's but was without a 'decent' PC for 10 years, and have had to relearn things. The guide that I linked to has already taught me a few new tricks, including the Virtual/swap drive issue. With 16GB RAM I didn't think I would need that, but I tried it and it does help.

Most importantly by monitoring my system I have concluded that for modern games a 4-core CPU is not enough and I am switching to 8-core. That means a "new" 2nd hand PC. We live and learn.

[Petra the Bookicorn]

Originally posted by juliejayne:

Personally I would get a better PC, a desktop rather than a laptop. But I understnad that that is not a practical choice for many.

2nd, yes get more RAM. 64GB is overkill. But 16 or 32, certainly worthwhile.
3rd, get a bigger SSD. If it can't be internal, then an external SSD is also a possibility, though not as good.
4th, learn more about computers. The less you know the easier it is for adverts and salesmen to sell you something that really doesn't do what YOU want.

I have been a PC (desktop) nerd since the 90's but was without a 'decent' PC for 10 years, and have had to relearn things. The guide that I linked to has already taught me a few new tricks, including the Virtual/swap drive issue. With 16GB RAM I didn't think I would need that, but I tried it and it does help.

Most importantly by monitoring my system I have concluded that for modern games a 4-core CPU is not enough and I am switching to 8-core. That means a "new" 2nd hand PC. We live and learn.

I know desktops are better but sadly, that's not an option for me financially nor space-wise. Renting a bigger flat because of Baldur's Gate 3 would be a funny story until I'd end up under a bridge 😄

I didn't get advice from a seller but from a lifelong friend so I they didn't sell me anything I don't want. They won't get money at all. But I appreciate you looking out for me. I'm editing videos as well which is difficult for my computer so we decided to go all in.

I'm definitely going to learn more about computers, I've always had fun doing so but not that much reason or time. But I'm going to try to find it.

If the RAM won't be enough, SSD will be my next step. Thank you!

[Petra the Bookicorn]

It runs perfectly with the new RAM! I'm so happy! Thank you again for the tips 😊

[juliejayne]

Originally posted by Petra the Bookicorn:

It runs perfectly with the new RAM! I'm so happy! Thank you again for the tips 😊

Thanks for letting us know. That is great that I can add this to the list of possible fixes for other people.