Maximum Optimization and Microstutter Fix!

My results after a few hours of tweaking settings in order to get this game to run as beautifully as possible. With these settings, I average 60-100 FPS and have NO microstutter and NO screen-tearing!

Introduction

Hello Folks!

I recently spent a few hours tweaking the settings in Metro 2033 Redux because I was having various issues with screen tearing, microstutters, and frame drops. This Is my guide on what I did to maximize the balance between quality and performance on my system. I hit a minimum FPS of 60 in the heaviest of gunfights, and average around 80-90. I have also completely eliminated the microstutter and the screen-tearing for a buttery-smooth experience!

First off, I obviously can't gaurantee that these settings will work for everyone, as everyone's hardware is different. Also, this guide is particularly geared towards Nvidia owners, however I'm sure AMD has a similar program that you could roughly compare to Nvidia Control Panel.

My Hardware:
CPU: Intel i7-4790K @ 4.6Ghz
GPU: EVGA 980Ti Classified ACX 2.0 w/ BP
RAM: 32 GB of PNY XLR8 @ 1600Mhz (9-9-9-24)
Game Running Off: Toshiba RD400 NVMe SSD 256GB (PCIe Adapted).

Here is a short clip I exported in H.265 with my current settings. Notice how my framerates never drop below 60 and there is no microstuttering at all.

Step 1: In-Game Settings

If you already have in-game settings that you like, skip this step

The first thing you should do is open your game and adjust your in game settings. It's important to note that you will want to always do the in game settings first, because adjusting them after adding in your control panel modifications will overwrite them.

I would always suggest setting the settings to their highest value, then work backwards from there.

Motion Blur is purely down to personal preference, and has a minor effect on performance in this game. Also, I believe there is a setting (Probably under game settings) to turn PhysX on or off. This can have a fairly heavy impact on your frames and is really more of a "bells and whistles" sort of gig. So, I wouldn't prioritize PhysX unless you've got your game setup how you like it and have some frames to spare.

With Antialiasing, for some reason the SSAA setting absolutely DESTROYS my framerates, even on as low as 2x, so I recommend keeping it at 0.5x. This essentially means that it's rendering the antialiasing based on half your total resolution. This isn't a big deal however, because the game seems to handle supersampling quite well (rendering your game above your native resolution) and acts as an antialiasing method of its own. You should set the resolution to the highest you have available, and work backwards from that. If you don't see anything above your native resolution, you can check out the section on DSR Factors and Smoothness

NOTE: Your ability to supersample is heavily dependant upon hown much VRAM you have (or, graphics memory). My 980Ti has 6GB which is plently for a single monitor setup even at 4K. However, if you have less than ~3GB of VRAM the supersampling method may not work as well for you.

Step 2: Control Panel Settings

For this step, go ahead and open up your Nvidia Control Panel. Click on Manage 3D Settings then select the Program Settings tab. It normally takes a minute or two to load the programs, so be patient. Once thats done, look for your game on the list. For me, it was called Metro Redux (Metro.exe). The settings that are bolded are the ones I changed for Metro.



Anisotrophic Filtering: Somewhat graphics intensive. Can reduce aliasing and improve the quality of textures.

Antialiasing - FXAA: A very low intensive antialiasing option. A good idea to turn this on regardless of your other settings as it can improve the jagged edges (especially when you're not using supersampling), for very cheap.

Antialiasing - Transparency: I think this is actually off by default. Leave it that way.

Power Management Mode: Setting this to max performance will cause the gpu to run at maximum speed 100% of the time while the game is running. This can help eliminate random frame drops and stutters but also can dramatically increase thermal output. I'd keep this on balanced if you're already approaching your thermal ceiling.

Preferred Refresh Rate: I originally set this to maximum available (144hz for my specific monitor), but was getting odd tracing and tearing issues. Leaving it at application-controlled eliminated that.

Texture Filtering - Anisotrophic Sample Options: Turning this on can provide you with increased performance, but I turned it off due to artifacting. It doesn't hurt to give it a try.

Texture Filtering - Negative LOD Bias: If you do not have Anisotrophic Filtering enabled OR are already extremely tight on framerates, set this to Allow. Otherwise set it to Clamp.

Texture Filtering - Quality: I found High Quality to cause some weird anomalies, but Quality works great. Can be adjusted to your liking.

Texture Filtering - Trilinear Optimization: Set this to on for better performance at a small cost of visual fidelity. I keep it on as I don't notice a difference.

Threaded Optimization: ON if you have Hyperthreading disabled, OFF if you have it enabled. This is very important and has a massive effect on stuttering.

Triple Buffering: Turn this on if you're using Vsync (In game settings or control panel settings).

Vertical Sync: I have a 144hz monitor and the in game vsync limits the framerate to 60. I use the Fast option which eliminated ALL of my screen tearing without any input lag and still allowed me to get well over 100FPS.

Well, that quite a lot of information... But we're almost done!

Next thing to do is move over to the Global Settings tab. Look for "DSR Factors". DSR (Dynamic Super Resolution) is a method of antialiasing and graphics improvement that works by rendering your gameplay at a higher-than-native resolution and then shrinking it back down to fit your screen. For this option, you can tick as many boxes as you want. Next time when you open up your game and go to the resolution setting, you'll see several more options that you can experiment with. The last setting is the "DSR Smoothness". By default I believe this is set to 33%, but can be adjusted freely. Basically, a lower percentage will increase the "crispness" and clarity of the game, but can severely increase aliasing. Higher percentages remove aliasing but leave the game feeling somewhat blurry and unfocused. I would recommend staying within the range of 20-60%. If you are using a larger DSR factor you generally want to stay towards the bottom of that range, and vice versa.

Step 3: Disable Hyperthreading to Fix Stuttering

Finally, if you're using an Intel i7 or an AMD processor, you may have the ability to treat each physical core on your CPU as two virtual cores. This is a great option if you're video editing or playing a game that can take advantage of all your virtual cores. However, for me it was the cause of the terrible microstuttering. If you aren't sure if your processor has hypertheading, consult the manual for your processor, then the motherboard to figure out how to disable it in the BIOS. Each motherboard is different so the instructions will vary. AMD processors do not have hyperthreading but have their own tech called SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) which acts somewhat similarly. I am no expert on AMD however, and I have no idea if disabling it would be beneficial (Or if it's even possible).

Once you've disabled hyperthreading, make sure you go back and enable "Threaded Optimization" in the control panel settings if you had'nt done so already.


Thanks for checking out my guide! I hope it works for you guys, and feel free to ask any questions in the comment section. I'm happy to help!

[Puppers]

@ArcTheWolf
That's awesome! Glad to have helped! Currently playing through Exodus myself recently since I upgraded my PC. Really liking it so far. Enjoy!

[ArcTheWolf]

@Destroyer, I've actually gone ahead and used this guide currently for 2033, Last Light (worked wonders the same way it did for 2033), and now Exodus Enhanced Edition. Phenomenal guide, cannot recommend it enough.

[Puppers]

@ArcTheWolf
I'm glad you found this to be helpful!
I'm not sure if it would work with Last Light. I don't recall having the same degree of issues as I did with 2033, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try. If you do try it out, don't forget to report back and let us all know if it helped!

[ArcTheWolf]

Holy shit. This is incredible how much of a difference this is making. Was in the mood to play through the Metro games and I was losing my mind because I didn't remember having frame rate issues or micro stuttering. Especially for a game that isn't even using Denuvo. But this right here. It's like playing a completely different game now. Thank you so much for this guide. Is it safe to assume I can apply this same method to Metro Last Light as well?

[Rockstar⭐⭐⭐]

i need this in spanish

[Calderes]

Hyperthreading wasn't the problem for me but it was similar, it was Windows Dynamic Thread Priority Boost which you can disable with Process Lasso once the game is running and you can right click the metro executable and under cpu priority you can deselect the thread boost thing. Bingo!

[Denny Crane]

Yep 2X SSAA also destroy my framerates.

[Papaya]

3060 OC + ryzen 5600 user here, SSAA absolutely destroys my framerate too for some reason. I'll try these out, ty lol

[Puppers]

Are you playing on Borderless/Windowed? That would be my only guess. If so, try setting it to Fullscreen. If you're already in Fullscreen mode, try Windowed or Borderless.

[The Spectre of Communism]

hey dsr factors doesnt work for me, everytime i put a resolution higher than mine it just goes to the window i was in before and basically alt+tabs itself out everytime i try to click the game