DayZ: Increase your FPS/Performance efficiently. (20-30 fps boost)

In this guide you'll learn how to increase your FPS efficiently, these improvements will let you gain about 20-30+ fps in game. You'll also learn how to properly configure game settings.

If you find this guide helpful, please rate it and share it.

/14/01
Updated -maxVram parameter;
/15/01
Corrected some errors;
Added Suggestions section;
Added Author's system specs;
Fixed winx,winy mistake;
/16/01
Fixed missing DayZ.cfg location (accidentally deleted it yesterday, sorry);
/17/01
Added some clarifications;
Fixed -high parameter not working, thank you for reporting it;
/18/01
Reorganized it to make it more understandable;
/23/01
Updated terrainGrid;
/29/03
Updated viewDistance description and added Intel test system;
/31/03
Updated postprocess quality setting description;
/17/05
Updated antialiasing and author's system specs;
/29/09
Minor corrections;
/11/03/16
Added -newui;
/19/04/16
Linked Quick Video Guide;

Introduction

Hello, in this guide you'll learn how to properly set your game options, gain a FPS boost and fix some issues with your mouse for example, without losing graphic quality.

Note: i'm not responsible if the settings you apply to the game will cause its malfunction. However these problems can commonly be solved by reinstalling the game or cleaning the settings files. Follow this guide at your own risk.

Said that, i hope this guide will work for you too, good luck fixing your issues and improving your FPS!

Here's a quick video that summs the guide.

Game Launch Parameters

First of all, open Steam, then click Library, find DayZ and right click on it. Select Properties, under the General tab click Set launch options. There you will add the Game launch parameters.

Now you can add multiple commands which will help improving game performance.

-winxp
# This command might increase your FPS a lot. Warning: If you're already using Windows Xp don't use this command. Sometimes it could make the game crash (for example if you press Alt+Tab and then reopen it), but it will grant you about 10 fps in cities and 20 fps in the other places. If you encounter this problem, just remove the parameter. This command will make the game run in windows xp compatibility mode.If the game crashes, try lowering the HDR to very low, by starting the game without the parameter, and setting the hdr in the rendering options. Then try to add the -winxp parameter again and start the game. If you encounter any problem and your game doesn't start anymore, just remove it. Also, remember to not change any settings while you're ingame or the game will crash. If you want to change your settings, just exit the game, remove the parameter, run the game, change the settings, exit again and re add -winxp.
If -winxp parameter still makes your game crash, you may try running it in windows xp compatibility mode manually. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\DayZ, program files x86 if your system is 64 bit. Then locate DayZ.exe, right click on it, Properties, click on the Compatibility Tab, then Run this program in compatibility mode for:, select Windows Xp, and press OK.

-newui: Enables the new ui and improves fps by ~10.

With and without -winxp parameter comparison:
37 FPS
46 FPS

-cpuCount=#
# How many cores your CPU has, for example: for a dual core cpu the number 2 (-cpuCount=2), for a quadcore 4 (4 is the maximum value). If you got a CPU which has more than 4 cores, see -exThreads parameter info.
-exThreads=#
# How many extra cores/threads your CPU has, see the list below:
Amd cpus:
-Dual Core: -cpuCount=2, -exThreads=1
-Quad Core: -cpuCount=4, -exThreads=3
-Six Cores: -cpuCount=4, -exThreads=5
-Eight Cores: -cpuCount=4, -exThreads=7
Intel cpus:
-Dual Core: -cpuCount=2, -exThreads=1
-Dual Core with 4 threads: -cpuCount=2, -exThreads=3
-Quad Core: -cpuCount=4, -exThreads=3
-Quad Core with 8 threads: -cpuCount=4, -exThreads=7
-maxMem=#
# The amount of Ram the game can use, if you got 2GB of Ram set it to 2048 - 1024(-maxMem=1024), 4GB 3072, 8GB 7168 and so on. By the way, the game shouldn't use more than 2048 mb of ram, so it's up to you to decide.
-maxVram=#
# How much ram your GPU has, 512MB, 1024MB, 2048MB, etc (-maxVram=1024 for example).
-nosplash and -noPause
# Will simply remove the splashscreen at game start and let the game work in background.

The startup line will look like this for example:



After you've finished, click on OK.

In game settings

Now we'll set up the in game settings. At the Main Menu, click on Configure, Video.
Now set the Rendering resolution to your native resolution, the resolution next to 100%. Overall quality to Custom, VSync disabled if you don't have a 120Hz monitor.



Now click on the Quality tab, here you'll see 4 options:
Objects - decrease it if you haven't got a powerful CPU, Very low should be ok for 2-4 cores Amd Cpus and 2 cores Intel Cpus (2 Threads), low and normal for 2-4 cores Intel Cpus (4 Threads) and 6 cores Amd Cpus, high for 8 cores Amd Cpus and 4 cores Intel Cpus (4-8 Threads) and very high for 4+ cores Intel Cpus (8+ Threads).
Terrain - it affects GPU, increase it if you got a powerful video card
Clouds - leave it on Very low or disable it.
Shadows - affects both CPU and GPU, turn it up if you got a powerful GPU.



After you set up the quality settings, click on the Textures tab, here there are 3 settings:
Video Memory - set it to Auto
Texture Detail - If you got a good GPU set it to Very high or high (it doesn't cause FPS drops), otherwise turn it down.
Texture Filtering - This is the anisotropic filter, it doesn't have a high impact on performance, so if you got a good GPU, set it to high or very high.



Now, the last one, click on the Rendering tab
Antialiasing - i suggest keeping it on because it smoothes the game, but if you get low FPS disable it. Disabling it you'll get a good fps boost. For the ones who have a good gpu: You should disable the antialiasing and increase the resolution, this will improve the system usage and grant you some more fps.
Alpha to Coverage - if you didn't disable the antialiasing this option will be available, setting it to All trees + grass will not cause significant FPS drops if you set Antialiasing on low.
Edge Smoothing - Leave it Disabled or set it to whatever you like, it doesn't affect the performance too much.
HDR Quality - Set it on Very low
Ambient Occlusion - Disable it for a good FPS boost in open areas and cities (about 15-20 FPS).
Post Process Quality - I suggest to disable it, it has a medium impact on performance. If you disable it you won't see the blur effects anymore and so you won't be able to understand if your character is healthy or not. You should check how many fps you're getting with it disabled and then enabled to see which value suits best for your system.
Bloom -Set it as you like
Rotation Blur - Disable it or turn it up a little bit, it doesn't affect performance too much.

Cfg settings: video and mouse tweaks

In this section, you'll learn how to properly edit the configuration files, in order to gain some more fps.

Max Frames Ahead. This fix will smooth the game, so open DayZ.cfg with the notepad (you can find it in C:\Users\Username\Documents\DayZ\), find the lines GPU_MaxFramesAhead=# and GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=# and set them to the same value (between 1 and 4) (GPU_MaxFramesAhead=1/2/3/4 and GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=1/2/3/4).
These settings won't increase your FPS but will give you the feeling as the game is running at higher FPS.

Other improvements:
Open the file named YourName (.DAYZPROFILE) located in C:\Users\Username\Documents\DayZ\ with the notepad. Now find the following lines:
sceneComplexity=# - set it to a value between 200000 and 50000 (other values are 1000000, 750000, 250000 but they require a high end cpu), it will draw less elements and reduce CPU load.
viewDistance=# - set it to a value between 1800 and 1200, it reduces the cpu and gpu load.
preferredObjectViewDistance=# - it decreases CPU load, set it to 1000 (or between 800 and 1600);
terrainGrid=# - Set it to one of these values: 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.125. Higher value = Better FPS, Lower value = lower fps but a better graphic quality. I suggest setting it to 25 or 12.5 for the best performance/quality ratio.
shadowZDistance=# - set it to a value between 100 and 200 (100 is the best for me), reduces gpu and cpu load.

For example, my parameters are:
(AMD System)
sceneComplexity=150000;
shadowZDistance=100;
viewDistance=1400;
preferredObjectViewDistance=1000;
terrainGrid=3.125;
(Intel System)
sceneComplexity=1000000;
shadowZDistance=150;
viewDistance=3000;
preferredObjectViewDistance=1700;
terrainGrid=3.125;

Mouse X and Y speeds problem fix. Probably you've seen that mouse x and y speeds are different, you can fix this issue by setting the lines mouseSensitivityX=# and mouseSensitivityY=# (located in the YourName .DAYZPROFILE file), to the same value. Also you can disable mouse smoothing.

mouseSmoothing=# - This is optional, set it to 0 to disable mouse smoothing.

Note: After you edit these files, don't change any of the in game settings, otherwise, those settings will overwrite the .cfg ones. You can avoid this by setting read only property to those files when you edit them.

Suggestions

I suggest you to close other programs before playing DayZ, even Steam windows, terminate the processes/applications you know you're not using, this will free up some Ram and CPU power and maybe pause your downloads/uploads. Also you'd better download Fraps and run it before adjusting your settings, to see which config gives you more FPS and update your video drivers.

It's recommended that you put DayZ.exe in high priority mode, so the system will leave all of its CPU power to it. You can do it by starting DayZ, when you're in the main menu press Ctrl+Alt+Del, open the Task Manager, there go to Details (Windows 8) or Processes (Windows 7-Vista), scroll down until you find DayZ.exe, right click on it, Set priority, click on High and then choose Change priority. (Note: this is not suggested for old systems.)

Installing the game on an SSD will improve the loading times and FPS by a lot.

Tested on:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 @3,4 GHz - OC to 4,3 GHz - 7 fps more
MotherBoard: AsRock 870 Extreme 3
GPU: Nvidia GTX 560 non-ti 1024 MB of vram @ OC 950 MHz - 4 fps more
RAM: 8GB @ 1333MHz
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k @3,5 GHz turbo to 3,9GHz
MotherBoard: Asus Sabertooth Z87
GPU: Nvidia GTX 560 non-ti 1024 MB of vram @ OC 970Mhz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB @1600 MHz
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k @3,5 GHz turbo to 3,9GHz
MotherBoard: Asus Sabertooth Z87
GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 770 OC edition 2048 MB of vram
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB @1600 MHz
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit

Conclusion

So thanks for following my guide, for any questions or suggestions post a comment below or add me. I hope it helped you gaining some more FPS, rate and comment it!
Remember that the guide often updates, when I find new commands/fixes or I apply corrections to it. So be sure to check it frequently. If you want to follow me/become a fan: click here.

Check the game i'm developing! https://store.steampowered.com/app/556780/Neptune_Arena_FPS/

Do you play Skyrim? Be sure to check out my new FPS improvement guide! Click here!

[Dutch Viking]

Does this also counts for the steam deck?

[Jean Chretien]

posted 2014 updated 2021.

[Wargamer]

yup guys just spend your entire life saving on a 10 thousand doller pc and become sigma chad gamer man

[Ishija]

People, pay for pc 5k USD and get micro lag like 0,01sec every 1 min, this post explain how to config game to work properly, no what u need to do if ur pc is to weak.

[bryan cooper]

no no no this is all wong the best way to get fps boots is to buy a better pc for 2000usd becuse you and me both know ever one these days got a extra 2000 laying around jk jk

[j03y11]

i dont see a "clouds" option anywhere
please update pictures for newest update 2023

[[Andrew]]

beans

[Junki Alien]

Just buy a 4070Ti like me!!

[?...]

just buy a 3070ti

[PorchBandit]

Or, Hear me out, get a game that the devs optimize and support outside of being a lazy cash grab