Performance Issues

[SMoss 2101]

Hey everyone,

 

Regardless of hardware setup, we will all be affected by performance issues while DayZ is under development. This should of course get better as DayZ gets farther on into the development cycle. For now, try out the following suggestions, posted by Reaper (source), on how to improve the ingame fps and see if it helps.

 

 

 

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 500000 (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.

 

 

 

For a look at the original guide, please have a look here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=216291078

 

Please keep in mind though that the old launch parameters mentioned in the guide are no longer supported. The only two launch parameters that are currently supported are "-newui" and "-dologs".

Edited June 22, 2015 by kichilron

[Max Planck 7174]

Hi SMoss.

 

 

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.

 

Could you explain how this will affect my game, and what the different values (1,2,3,4) do?

 

I will be linking to this guide a lot, thanks for making it.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Max Planck

[SMoss 2101]

Hi SMoss.

 

 

 

Could you explain how this will affect my game, and what the different values (1,2,3,4) do?

 

I will be linking to this guide a lot, thanks for making it.

It was posted originally by Reaper on the Steam forums, so I can't take credit for this.

 

Following that trend, the following explanation is blatantly stolen from one of Kichi's posts:

Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames:  If available, this option - previously known as 'Max Frames to Render Ahead' - controls the number of frames the CPU prepares in advanced of being rendered by the GPU. The default value is 3 - higher values tend to result in smoother but more laggy gameplay, while lower values can help reduce mouse and keyboard lag. However extremely low values such as 0 may hurt performance, so I recommend this option be kept at its default of 3 globally, and only adjusted downwards in specific game profiles. Remember, in most cases mouse lag is due to low framerates, so adjusting this option is not an automatic cure to lag issues, nor should it be the first thing you try. Finally, it only works in DirectX games, not OpenGL games.

 

Le post is here: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/186888-what-does-maxframesahead-settings-actually-do/

[ColdAtrophy 1850]

Praise RNGesus. Thanks SMoss for posting this. I found a lot of old stuff when I started playing this game three months ago and it wasn't always easy to tell what was meant for the mod and what was meant for the SA.  :beans:  :beans:  :beans:  :beans:

 

EDIT: Can you clarify this?

 

"VSync disabled if you don't have a 120Hz monitor."

 

Wouldn't it be harder for a system to maintain Vsync at 120hz than 60?

Edited May 4, 2015 by ColdAtrophy

[therunningmanz 255]

Thanks for taking the time SMoss. I'd love to reduce shadow distance but it makes lakes and stream look like a little "1990s" graphics wise so I can't do it! Went through the guide and have tweaked a couple of things. Hopefully I will see a difference tonight!

 

The burning question is... will it improve my survival rate at the prison island? :P

[SaveMeJebus 164]

Isn't scene complexity in config file and the objects quality option the same thing? Why tell people to change it in 2 places, this is the reason people that don't know what they are doing get confused.  Otherwise is a good guide for those that need help.

[kichilron 8550]

Following that trend, the following explanation is blatantly stolen from one of Kichi's posts:

 

Finally my work here is worth something. :D :P

[BeefBacon 1185]

I always crank up the resolution and turned down antialiasing. Never tried it the other way round. Might hop on now and play around with settings.

 

Clouds I turn off. I get a good 10fps boost that way. I also keep shadows off but turn on AO to compensate. AO seems to be less demanding than very low shadows.

 

View distance is another hog, which is a shame because being able to see for miles looks awesome. It can be pretty difficult to navigate when you can only see 1000m or so ahead, but given that each players' 'bubble' is only 1000 meters (or so I heard) it's not too impactful on gameplay.

Edited May 4, 2015 by BeefBacon

[SMoss 2101]

Thanks for taking the time SMoss. I'd love to reduce shadow distance but it makes lakes and stream look like a little "1990s" graphics wise so I can't do it! Went through the guide and have tweaked a couple of things. Hopefully I will see a difference tonight!

 

The burning question is... will it improve my survival rate at the prison island? :P

I'll put in a request for a pair of ingame inflatable armbands and meet you at prison island, haha.

[Jfiles 439]

I bookmarked this. I have a bunch of friends who experience some problems, maybe this will help them! Thanks SMoss

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Hey everyone,

 

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

 

-snip-

 

 

This statement and some guidance from my new computer savvy friend ColdAtrophy inspired me to buy and install a Crucial MX100 256 gig SSD.

 

Using a dual core E8500 Gigabyte intel mobo @ 3.16Ghz, 8 Gigs of RAM and a 2 gig GTX 750 we're squeezing out every frame we can with your knowledge, his guidance, and some help from Afterburner/Riva Tuner.

 

Major cities still take a huge dip but everything is just much much smoother in general.

 

Installing a relatively small and inexpensive SSD was definitely a great way to improve my Alpha experience.

 

Thank you, SMoss!

 

:thumbsup: :beans:

 

Edited May 14, 2015 by BioHaze

[Schweinsteiger 107]

This statement and some guidance from my new computer savvy friend ColdAtrophy inspired me to buy and install a Crucial MX100 256 gig SSD.

 

Using a dual core E8500 Gigabyte intel mobo @ 3.16Ghz, 8 Gigs of RAM and a 2 gig GTX 750 we're squeezing out every frame we can with your knowledge, his guidance, and some help from Afterburner/Riva Tuner.

 

Major cities still take a huge dip but everything is just much much smoother in general.

 

Installing a relatively small and inexpensive SSD was definitely a great way to improve my Alpha experience.

 

Thank you, SMoss!

 

:thumbsup: :beans:

 

I have similar setup. A friend and I went through our settings together and I got nice boost in FPS and smoothness using this guide and my friend's knowledge of PC's and gaming.

[DannyBoyy 175]

Good guide SMoss i used some of the tips in this the other day and noticed a significant improvement in both performance & quality!

 

Thank you :)

[moeb1us 91]

Hi, 

 

I don't get how you don't link the ingame Object Detail with the config SceneComplexity. It doesn't help with the rest of the guide 'credibility' if you overlook this. Those two are the same setting, identical. Makes no sense to recommend different things.

 

Then the terrainGrid. AFAIK it was discovered quite a while ago, that this setting is fixed server side. Why mention it then?

 

And would you kindly explain how a storage system change (ssd) can improve FPS? Loading times, yes that's clear, but influence the rendering? WTF?

[industria 37]

Somehow it doesnt helps much, my core i5 3570k runs at 4.3 ghz, with 50% overall CPU load (40% for dayz). GPU usage 20-30% and looking on the amount of not used resources i still have only 20-30 fps in cities and random fps drops. And all this with 'Objects' set to low, cause this is the only one setting that is affecting my fps at all...

Whole guide has this remarks: decrease or increase if you have good GPU or CPU. What the point to get better cpu or gpu if they will be not used even on the half.

Edited May 30, 2015 by industria

[toshenbka 1]

Which driver for your video card Nvidia works best?

[Jakwesley 10]

What the default settings are for these:

GPU_DetectedFramesAhead

and

GPU_MaxFramesAhead

I followed a video and changed them to 1 to get better FPS a while ago when I had a terrible graphics card. Now I've upgraded and wanted them to be back to standard if any1 knows or could check it would be a massive help. Cheers :-)

[Bonappetit 117]

What the default settings are for these:

GPU_DetectedFramesAhead

and

GPU_MaxFramesAhead

I followed a video and changed them to 1 to get better FPS a while ago when I had a terrible graphics card. Now I've upgraded and wanted them to be back to standard if any1 knows or could check it would be a massive help. Cheers :-)

 

I don't remember as well but you could try deleting your DayZ config files. Upon login into a game they'll recreate itself again and I assume it's going to be by the default then.

[Hateful (DayZ) 0]

Hello!

Im having some problems with my game settings. The issue is that i dont know what settings i should use to get a decent amount of fps? I tried it on high, medium, low. The game always runs smooth but with some problem. When i see a town i get mnassive fps drop and the game is unplayeable, but sometimes i also get a massive drop on normal terrain. Sometimes it runs good, and suddenly the light changes a bit, the textures become ugly, like there not rendering, huge fps drop. But when i relog in the same place, or change the settings (even to higher) it runs smooth again.  I tried all the youtube settings guides but they dont work for me.  So maybe someone could guide me through my right settings please? :)

 

 

My hardware is:

 

GeForce GTX 960 4gb

Intel Core i5-4460 3.20Ghz

8GB RAM

Im playing on my TV so the resolution is 1920x1080

 

Thanks for replies, and sorry for my bad english but it not my main language :)

 

EDIT: Problem solved, Had to change -maxMem =8192 – set this to the total amount of RAM your system has, 2048 for 2GB,  4096 for 4GB, 8192 for 8GB,  It was using only 4gb

• -maxMem =8192 – set this to the total amount of RAM your system has, 2048 for 2GB,  4096 for 4GB, 8192 for 8GB.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Hateful

[krecikxxx 0]

Hello Everyone

I know this is aplha 
My rig:

Asus P5q SE PLUS
Intel XEON X5450 (OC to 3300 MHZ per core)
GF 550 TI Palit
WD harddrive 500 GB
WD harddrive 320 GB
8 GB of Kingstone hyperx RAM ddr2
power unit chieftec 750w

I encountered this problem in Dayz SA

Whatever video option i chose i get 35 - 50 FPS outside Towns and 16-25 FPS in towns like Berezino Elektro ETC...
If i change Antialising or object quality i het 2 fps boost no more rest of the settings give me nothing so i get them on normal

I tried changing some CFG files but it was also abbout 2 FPS boost

PLX help

With Regards Grigori Kenzo

[HAZCHEM21 0]

Hiya not sure if im in the right place and im aware there are some other posts but i thought i would just add this with my personal system specs

 

 

i have no problem outside of towns on "Very High" graphics and everything maxed i max out at 40-50 FPS(With V-Sync) outside and it never drops below outside of towns, however when i reach a town it just goes to shit at about 15-20 frames per second. I was able to enable my SLI via nVidiaInspector however towns just go ham and cheese, plus this is my brand new build too. Also when i disable shadows it only really stablizes the fps so its not as fluxuating as much it also kinda gives a bost of 5-10 FPS.

 

 

 

My system specs are currently

nVidia GTX970 sli(latest drivers)

i7 4790k 4.00 GHz

Windows 8.1

Hyper x 8 gig ram

on a MSI KRAIT Edition Z97S SLI Edition mobo.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated :3

 

 

[frosti 2165]

Pro tip: Buy the newest computer ;)

[HAZCHEM21 0]

Pro tip: Buy the newest computer ;)

Screw that xD just built a rig worth $2.580 thought it would be a better experience over buying a pre built pc :)

also mind blowing gameplay after being stuck with a 4 year old HP laptop with an AMD Radeon 5000HD edition and a 2ghz i7 core(it was actually shit i think it was less than 2GHz but im not sure) it was a 2630QM lel and my laptop was getting around 110 degrees celcius just from BF4 on 75% res on a 1080 screen and everything set to low >.<

[kichilron 8550]

 

 

Merged, please search before posting.

[grimsonfart 49]

Pro tip: Buy the newest computer ;)

Yeah, haha, forum post of the year... 5820k (4.6ghz), 980Ti, 16GB DDR4 = about 20-30FPS in towns, 40-80 outside (with a lot of the popular tweaks). Screw this, if my friends i5 and 970 can get 40-50 in towns..... i give up, since the mod i have been pondering upon what makes this game run good on some systems and horrible on some higher end systems. I was hoping that over 3 years after it's original release (yes i'm including mod/SA) something would have been done about it, even if it would have been the smallest most insignificant thing.... I remember running the mod on my i7 3770k and 670 getting better performance than i am now.

 

I don't care what excuses are being made, you have one hell of a mess to clean up. GOOD LUCK!

Edited July 18, 2015 by grimsonfart