How to Optimize settings & Improve FPS significantly in Starfield

[Sethioz]

Regardless what many say, Starfield is very poorly optimized, it runs about 4x worse than other modern games with similar graphics. Some other games run fine even on GTX 980 (1080p 60fps) and can be installed on slow HDD (such as far cry 6, dying light 2, resident evil village, cyberpunk 2077, forza horizon 5 ..etc). don't forget that Starfield development started before 2018, i believe they first showcased it in 2018, so considering that, it should run 1080p 60fps on 2016 - 2018 mid-range gaming PC, but people are having problems even with RTX 3000 series cards.

If you're having poor performance in Starfield, then here are some guides that will make it more bareable. By poor performance, i'm talking about below 60fps in 1080p with low settings. Some people who are used to slow consoles are probably ok with 20-30fps and say it runs "fine", but to me 20-30fps is like riding a horse and chariot instead of driving a car and therefore not acceptable.

Starfield crashes in same spot / unable to proceed with mission / stuck in same spot

<<< BUG >>>
game crashes in same exact spot, every time. sometimes making it impossible to proceed with mission.
in my case, this happened when i had to talk to some person and it was mission critical, so i was unable to proceed.

<<< FIX >>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuAqL_Xts-0

Further performance optimization by editing config files

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNyjMyexPsI

Black / blank shadows on low/medium settings

<<< BUG >>>
right at start of the game, everything seems very dark and black and glitched. shadows seem to be extremely dark and you can't really see anything.
aka black shadows aka blank shadows.

<<< FIX >>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-1ki4caQik

How to significantly improve FPS on higher resolutions

<<< BUG >>>
Starfield doesn't have exclusive fullscreen and does not let you change resolution below what your desktop resolution is set to. so if you have 4k monitor like me, you're forced to playing in 4k. if you try to change it to 1440p or 1080p, then it will just make a smaller window in middle with big black borders around it (image won't stretch).

<<< FIX >>>
it's actually more of a bypass, but it will significantly improve performance in higher resolutions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pM2Tfr7ts (alternatively you can change your desktop resolution before playing, but i find it way too annoying to do).

Low resolution texture packs (boosts FPS) aka potato mode

i don't have a video on it, but it's quite easy, just grab the mods from nexus mods.
like these:
Performance texture pack for Starfield[www.nexusmods.com]
Starfield optimized textures[www.nexusmods.com]

search nexus mods for textures, there's also some potato mod (literally), which claims it has super low resolution textures, however from experience, lowering texture resolution doesn't really improve frame rate, but it's good for graphics cards that have less VRAM.
it helps a little, but not by much. it's enough to grab half size texture packs, they're about 12gb total and still look decent, but will reduce VRAM usage.
I tried quarter size texture packs and they look quite jagged and don't really improve frame rates, it still often drops to 30-35 due poor optimization, but it may help. won't hurt to try!

if your VRAM is constantly 99 - 100%, then you should definetely grab one of those low res texture packs.

Other tips that may help

• If you have weak CPU and lag in crowded places, then you can change amount of crowd by changing the following:
  
  [Crowd]
  fCrowdActorPlatformSpecificSpawnScalar=0.400
  uMaxCrowdActorCount=80
  
  in low.ini medium.ini high.ini and ultra.ini files that are located in root folder of Starfield installation folder (where starfield.exe is). Higher values are more CPU and GPU intensive. I have not tried, but i think you can completely disable crowd by setting values to 0.0 and 0. After you change the values in named files, you must switch between low / medium / high / ultra graphics presets in game settings for changes to take effect. Then you can customize your preset to your liking.
  
  
• If you're playing via steam, in steam settings set steam to low performance and low bandwidth mode, you can also try disabling steam overlay or any other overlays you may have. Close all other background programs aswell.
  
  
• Get "process explorer" and set all Steam processes to "background" which will significantly reduce CPU and Memory usage. if you have any other background programs running that you need, but require lot of resources to run, you can do same for those.
  Then set Starfield.exe as high priority.

[Silverlight]

Make sure:
- to curve optimize your CPU

-that your ram is running in the right frequency

-to go into windows settings > system > display > graphics and set Starfield to high performance

-to upgrade your BIOS

-that your GPU isn't using 4x Pcie lanes by accident.

CPU-Z can help check most of these processes and numbers

And here's how to easily overclock GPU with safeties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=axa2P6l5zgk


Afterburner also has an ingame overlay to compare changes in performance and system usage

[Sethioz]

Originally posted by Bellen:

Make sure:
- to curve optimize your CPU

-that your ram is running in the right frequency

-to go into windows settings > system > display > graphics and set Starfield to high performance

-to upgrade your BIOS

-that your GPU isn't using 4x Pcie lanes by accident.

CPU-Z can help check most of these processes and numbers

And here's how to easily overclock GPU with safeties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=axa2P6l5zgk


Afterburner also has an ingame overlay to compare changes in performance and system usage

only good if you wanna burn your card quick. most aftermarket cards already come overclocked, you can add a bit more to them, but it's really not worth the 2-3fps boost by risk burning your card.
i rather have my GPU temp below 70c than burn it for that 2-3fps boost.

[Silverlight]

Originally posted by Sethioz:

Originally posted by Bellen:

Make sure:
- to curve optimize your CPU

-that your ram is running in the right frequency

-to go into windows settings > system > display > graphics and set Starfield to high performance

-to upgrade your BIOS

-that your GPU isn't using 4x Pcie lanes by accident.

CPU-Z can help check most of these processes and numbers

And here's how to easily overclock GPU with safeties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=axa2P6l5zgk


Afterburner also has an ingame overlay to compare changes in performance and system usage

only good if you wanna burn your card quick. most aftermarket cards already come overclocked, you can add a bit more to them, but it's really not worth the 2-3fps boost by risk burning your card.
i rather have my GPU temp below 70c than burn it for that 2-3fps boost.

You aren't going to burn your card with an overclock. This isnt 2003.
If it hits hardware limit the card will shutter itself with a safety. The worst that will happen is you crash your game.

My card doesn't even get hotter and it boosts 5-10 percent in performance.

[Sethioz]

Originally posted by Crusader:

Have to become a master tech-wizard just to get this game to run on PC...

ah ah pretty much yeah .. if you wanna get above 20fps then you need to apply some tweaks and mods.

[Silverlight]

Originally posted by Sethioz:

Originally posted by Crusader:

Have to become a master tech-wizard just to get this game to run on PC...

ah ah pretty much yeah .. if you wanna get above 20fps then you need to apply some tweaks and mods.

If you have a 40 series card it runs great

[Sethioz]

Originally posted by Bellen:

Originally posted by Sethioz:

ah ah pretty much yeah .. if you wanna get above 20fps then you need to apply some tweaks and mods.

If you have a 40 series card it runs great

ok give me money to buy 40 series card just for ONE game, because all other modern optimized games with similar or even better graphics run 1440p or 4k at 60fps on gtx 1080, installed on 5400rpm hdd.

it's like making a road that only accepts ferraries and saying "if you have ferrari road works fine". starfield graphics are nothing amazing, there are games from 2012-2015 that have better graphics and run like a dream on 10 year old computer.

now please stop derailing the topic, it's against steam community guidelines as stated in their rules:

• Derailing a discussion or topic
  
  my topic is about how to optimize and improve starfield for a computer that can run all other games just fine, it's not about rich people owning super computers. thank you.

[Silverlight]

Originally posted by Sethioz:

Originally posted by Bellen:

If you have a 40 series card it runs great

ok give me money to buy 40 series card just for ONE game, because all other modern optimized games with similar or even better graphics run 1440p or 4k at 60fps on gtx 1080, installed on 5400rpm hdd.

it's like making a road that only accepts ferraries and saying "if you have ferrari road works fine". starfield graphics are nothing amazing, there are games from 2012-2015 that have better graphics and run like a dream on 10 year old computer.

now please stop derailing the topic, it's against steam community guidelines as stated in their rules:

• Derailing a discussion or topic
  
  my topic is about how to optimize and improve starfield for a computer that can run all other games just fine, it's not about rich people owning super computers. thank you.

You are just mad that the game runs at 20 fps for you.

[daug]

Originally posted by Sethioz:

Originally posted by Bellen:

If you have a 40 series card it runs great

ok give me money to buy 40 series card just for ONE game, because all other modern optimized games with similar or even better graphics run 1440p or 4k at 60fps on gtx 1080, installed on 5400rpm hdd.

it's like making a road that only accepts ferraries and saying "if you have ferrari road works fine". starfield graphics are nothing amazing, there are games from 2012-2015 that have better graphics and run like a dream on 10 year old computer.

now please stop derailing the topic, it's against steam community guidelines as stated in their rules:

• Derailing a discussion or topic
  
  my topic is about how to optimize and improve starfield for a computer that can run all other games just fine, it's not about rich people owning super computers. thank you.

Just upgrade your rig. an internal ssd isn't even that expensive, and you don't need a 40 series, I only have a 3060, not even the ti just a plane old 3060 and my game runs smooth on 4k with high settings.

[Silverlight]

Originally posted by daug:

Originally posted by Sethioz:

ok give me money to buy 40 series card just for ONE game, because all other modern optimized games with similar or even better graphics run 1440p or 4k at 60fps on gtx 1080, installed on 5400rpm hdd.

it's like making a road that only accepts ferraries and saying "if you have ferrari road works fine". starfield graphics are nothing amazing, there are games from 2012-2015 that have better graphics and run like a dream on 10 year old computer.

now please stop derailing the topic, it's against steam community guidelines as stated in their rules:

• Derailing a discussion or topic
  
  my topic is about how to optimize and improve starfield for a computer that can run all other games just fine, it's not about rich people owning super computers. thank you.

Just upgrade your rig. an internal ssd isn't even that expensive, and you don't need a 40 series, I only have a 3060, not even the ti just a plane old 3060 and my game runs smooth on 4k with high settings.

Todd was absolutely right on this one. Went from turing to ada Lovelace and the game smoothed right up.

[daug]

Originally posted by Bellen:

Originally posted by daug:

Just upgrade your rig. an internal ssd isn't even that expensive, and you don't need a 40 series, I only have a 3060, not even the ti just a plane old 3060 and my game runs smooth on 4k with high settings.

Todd was absolutely right on this one. Went from turing to ada Lovelace and the game smoothed right up.

this is the same video card I have
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming OC 12G (REV2.0) Graphics Card, 3X WINDFORCE Fans, 12GB 192-bit GDDR6, GV-N3060GAMING OC-12GD Video Card
on Amazon for $304.99

This is a better SSD than I have, I have the 1TB 850 Pro
SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive + 2mo Adobe CC Photography, Heat Control, Max Speed, PS5 Compatible (MZ-V8P1T0CW)
on Amazon for $69.99

under $400 for both and bam, his PC is upgraded

[Sethioz]

Originally posted by daug:

Originally posted by Bellen:

Todd was absolutely right on this one. Went from turing to ada Lovelace and the game smoothed right up.

this is the same video card I have
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming OC 12G (REV2.0) Graphics Card, 3X WINDFORCE Fans, 12GB 192-bit GDDR6, GV-N3060GAMING OC-12GD Video Card
on Amazon for $304.99

This is a better SSD than I have, I have the 1TB 850 Pro
SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive + 2mo Adobe CC Photography, Heat Control, Max Speed, PS5 Compatible (MZ-V8P1T0CW)
on Amazon for $69.99

under $400 for both and bam, his PC is upgraded

first off, you are breaking steam community guidelines by knowingly derailing a topic, this is not a PC discussion forum or topic, please read topic title and my original post. your reply has nothing to do with this topic. This post has nothing to do with my PC at all, did you even read my post? There's nothing about my PC at all, i own multiple computers and I do this for living. I make tutorial and videos to help others.

second of, RTX 3060 is beaten by GTX 1080. Why would anyone want to downgrade and pay money for it?

I posted these tutorials to help those who are interested in optimizing Starfield and not fall victim to poorly informed players who keep saying "bad pc". this "bad" PC is able to run all other modern games in 4k or 1440p 60fps.
why would anyone want to buy new PC for one badly optimized game? it makes no sense.
Now i'm going to block you. so don't bother replying as i will not see it. thank you for not understanding.

[MeGa]

Originally posted by daug:

Originally posted by Sethioz:

ok give me money to buy 40 series card just for ONE game, because all other modern optimized games with similar or even better graphics run 1440p or 4k at 60fps on gtx 1080, installed on 5400rpm hdd.

it's like making a road that only accepts ferraries and saying "if you have ferrari road works fine". starfield graphics are nothing amazing, there are games from 2012-2015 that have better graphics and run like a dream on 10 year old computer.

now please stop derailing the topic, it's against steam community guidelines as stated in their rules:

• Derailing a discussion or topic
  
  my topic is about how to optimize and improve starfield for a computer that can run all other games just fine, it's not about rich people owning super computers. thank you.

Just upgrade your rig. an internal ssd isn't even that expensive, and you don't need a 40 series, I only have a 3060, not even the ti just a plane old 3060 and my game runs smooth on 4k with high settings.

No, a 3060 cant play the game "smooth" on 4k with high settings. Dont lie.
A 3060ti, with a super optimized pc (rebar and all the bs) struggles to achieve 60 fps on 2k high, at 75 - 80% resolution scale.

[Sethioz]

Originally posted by MeGa:

Originally posted by daug:

Just upgrade your rig. an internal ssd isn't even that expensive, and you don't need a 40 series, I only have a 3060, not even the ti just a plane old 3060 and my game runs smooth on 4k with high settings.

No, a 3060 cant play the game "smooth" on 4k with high settings. Dont lie.
A 3060ti, with a super optimized pc (rebar and all the bs) struggles to achieve 60 fps on 2k high, at 75 - 80% resolution scale.

exactly, i don't understand where people are getting those numbers from. with RTX 3060 in 4k, low settings, you'd get maybe 15-20fps at best. with FSR2 upscaling on 50% you'd get maybe 30-35fps at best, in some areas you might get close to 40, while in other areas below 30.

This is why i made these tutorials, because game is extremely badly optimized and requires serious work to get 60fps even on very good gaming PC, but with my tutorials you can get it running on 3060 or equivelant card in 45-60fps. very rarely you may get below 40fps.

Also not just optimize, but those tutorials also show how to fix known bugs, they probably didn't even read the post, it's so typical that people don't even watch the video and then say some random stuff that is not even related.

[Zalzany]

Originally posted by Sethioz:

Originally posted by Bellen:

Make sure:
- to curve optimize your CPU

-that your ram is running in the right frequency

-to go into windows settings > system > display > graphics and set Starfield to high performance

-to upgrade your BIOS

-that your GPU isn't using 4x Pcie lanes by accident.

CPU-Z can help check most of these processes and numbers

And here's how to easily overclock GPU with safeties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=axa2P6l5zgk


Afterburner also has an ingame overlay to compare changes in performance and system usage

only good if you wanna burn your card quick. most aftermarket cards already come overclocked, you can add a bit more to them, but it's really not worth the 2-3fps boost by risk burning your card.
i rather have my GPU temp below 70c than burn it for that 2-3fps boost.

No no real gaming pc parts are buit for it. If you are burning ♥♥♥♥ up you bough the cheapest one you could or got ripped off and just bought the one with right model number with out looking at the specs. And or you got horrible cooling in your case sigh I do this crap all the time also kiddo most them come SAFELY overclocked they know it can run harder. I mean 3000 series had an update because people like you where they UNDERCLOCKED all the GPUs because you had worse cooling then expected and were frying them on stock "overclock" defualts lol

That was big thing with 3000 series some them had cheapmanfuctures that cut corners on the cooling system, because they thought customers had better coolin so save like 1 dollar a unit with less great part, then it was such an issue NVIDIA had to under clock all the GPUs with an update to stop people refunding their cards they cooked on defualt settings lol

Like that is big deal they "overclock them" but in reality the manfuctures know a good rig can run them hotter, BUT they tone them down defualt wise to be safe, becuase there is always that one guy putting stuff in a premade HP or something case with 1 fan in it made for checking your email and helping boomers run skype better to see their grandkids sigh.

I will not buy a GPU that doesn't run cooler then the "manfacture" default range. And yes they are overclocked to because the default models cooling sucks ass. I get the gaming editions that run like 10c cooler then most the ones with the model version then after I get it I use MSI afterburner and another app toe test it and over clock a touch more but keep it at safe levels still for my cases cooling sigh.

This is what real gamers do we spent the extra 60 bucks on more case fans, buy the nicer CPU cooling system that is 20 bucks more then your store-bought has, and people like you I wonder they are using the heatsink that came with the CPU like a sucker if they built their own pc sigh. I did all that to my PC in 2018 its 2023 almost 2024 its still running fine, and still benchmarking very high for the parts I got in it. Again I just spent 60 bucks on more fans, and got case the cost same as the ugly show cases that has no glass in it, instead it has 6 very large case fans slots lol

[Silverlight]

Oh also if you upgraded CPU for this game check this in windows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lE00nM73E

The comments are a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of people saying he did this to himself, but other said this 'glitch' happened to them too.

Either way cool feature to be wary of gamers™️