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Here is my very long and detailed optimization guide for Escape from Tarkov. I hope this will help you find the right settings for your game.
If you want me to personally optimize your PC (Benchmark, update, debloat, overclock and tuning) you can schedule an appointment ->here<-. If you need guidance don't hesitate to consult me, services are available ->here<-
Recommended specs
32GB of ram is recommended for this game, otherwise you might get stutters and or crashes. Since patch 0.16 32gb of ram seems MANDATORY for you to load on some maps.
This game is very CPU dependent, so a good CPU will go a long way. BEST CPU for the game right now -> 9800x3D
BEST AM4 CPU: 5700X3D / 5800x3D BEST AM5 CPU: 7800x3D / 9800x3D
BEST INTEL CPU: 14900k (Only if cooled and tuned properly) -> Let me help you with that
Intel 12th gen (12600k/12700k/12900k), 13th gen (13600k/13700k/13900k) and 14th gen CONTINUE HERE (14600k/14700k/14900k) can work pretty well if tuned properly -> Let me help you with that Ryzen 5900x 5950x 7900x 7900x3d 7950x 7950x3D 9900x 9950x processors will yield a lot more performance when tuned properly -> Let me help you with that
For example, running a 4090 in 1440p is useless in EFT if you are not running a very good CPU. Even a 9800x3D will bottleneck a 4090 but you may see still good usage depending on the map you are playing.
I am using a 9800x3D with a 4080 Super in 1440p and I get near 99% GPU usage in some areas which is great news but my overall usage hover around 60-90% most of the time.
Consider upgrading your CPU if you see very low GPU usage or switch to a 1440p monitor if you are still on 1080p.
And always, if you need my services for guidance -> click here Or if you wan't to get a full overview of your PC + Tuning -> click here
If you are looking to buy a PC right now, I would highly recommend going with the AM5 platform. Intel current offering is nowhere near competitive in gaming (for now). You can look at my guide here -> AM5 BUYING GUIDE HERE
In game settings
*Checking the "Only use physical cores" option might yield more FPS, you have to test it on and off in game and see if you get an increase in FPS.
Graphics settings (Nvidia/AMD Radeon)
The latest build of the game seems to be optimized for Borderless. You can try Borderless or Fullscreen and see which one gives you the most FPS.
These settings will offer best FPS possible with some sacrifices in details. Disabling "Volumetric light" can help with FPS if you have a very low end PC but it makes the game extremely dark in general (not recommended).
Settings for best overall visibility/performance
If you have a very powerful GPU with 12GB of VRAM or more you can try those more balanced settings which will not always give you the best FPS but will look better and have more details from further away. If you have access to DLSS, you can also set it to quality with the latest preset (K as of now). Anything less than 12GB of VRAM I would keep textures to low.
Enabling unlimited FPS for Nvidia and AMD Radeon GPUs
If you are running an Nvidia GPU you should use either "on" or "on+boost" for NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency. This should unlock FPS and give you the best latency/performance. Try both settings and see which one gives you the most FPS. Note that using G-Sync might limit your FPS to your monitor refresh rate.
If you have an AMD Radeon GPU simply tick "Disable game FPS limit".
Using Nvidia DLSS4, or not...
DLSS4 is a very powerful feature which can greatly help make the game look better and also help with performance. If you have a low end video card this can help with FPS, this works by leveraging AI to take a lower resolution of the game and upscaling it.
Benefits of using DLSS4
It overrides the TERRIBLE antialiasing of the base game (less shimmering, clearer edges)
Makes FPS better depending of your resolution and GPU
Cons
Can cause ghosting/trailings on fast moving objects/scenes
In cases where you are limited by your CPU you may see no performance gains and may even experience worse latency
Might over-sharpen some scenes/objects
might not give a great result on 1080p due to added blurriness
When to consider the use of DLSS4 ?
If you see gains in FPS by activating it then it is probably better for your performance/latency
If you personnaly think the game looks better with it (try it!)
If you are playing at 1440p/4k it will probably help with FPS
You should definitely try out DLSS4 if you have an Nvidia 20 series and up graphics card with the latest DLSS model and see for yourself if you have gains in performance and that you prefer how the game looks with it.
Nvidia Control Panel settings and monitor filter
*Never use Nvidia automatic game optimizer in GeForce Experience and Nvidia App (JUST DON'T).
*If you intend to use DLSS you can skip the sharpening setting and just install and setup the .ICC profile from my video to make the game a lot brighter
If you are not using DLSS, you can try the hidden "Image Sharpening" option to make your game look sharper without impacting FPS, this option is disabled by default between driver updates. To enable it, you are going to execute this .reg file which will add it back replacing "Image scaling" for "Image sharpening" .
Direct link to the .reg to add sharpening (if after download it says it's an .mp3 just change file extension to .reg) and execute it.
MAKE SURE TO RESTART AFTER EXECUTING .reg FILE
Here is my youtube video to apply the screen filter (.ICC profile for your monitor).
After watching my video and restarting, head to your Nvidia Control Panel and make sure to check the "Use the advanced 3D image settings" option in "Adjust image settings with preview" task.
To make sure no unintended changes have been made to your Nvidia settings (could be from automatic GeForce/Nvidia App game optimizer or previous changes) I would recommend restoring defaults here.
Head to "Program Settings" now and change the Image Sharpening option or leave it off if you don't want to use it or you are using DLSS. You can use whatever you want here but I would recommend:
0.5 Sharpen and 0.17 ignore film grain for 1080p
0.6-0.65 and 0.17 ignore film grain for 1440p or higher Play with it and see what you prefer
*Additional options that I would recommend in the Global Settings
Finally you can also play with color vibrance (covered in my youtube video earlier) if you want more vibrant colors. This can help make some textures pop out more and help with visibility. This setting is purely to your taste, different monitors will yield different colors, try it and see what you like most.
POSTFX
I would recommend NOT using POSTFX at all, it will effect FPS badly in some situations. We will instead use a combination of Monitor Color Profile and Nvidia Control Panel settings to make the game look better without impacting performance whatsoever (as shown earlier in the tutorial).
SOUND
If you want your microphone to work in game, you must set the correct microphone as default in your sound control panel on windows.
DO NOT USE SURROUND SOUND, THIS GAME DOES NOT SUPPORT IT, YOU WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE. That means turning off Spatial sound on Windows and anything that has to do with surround or "virtual surround". Dolby, SteelSeries, ect... will offer such features, do not activate them when playing EFT or any game that does not have Surround Sound (5.1/7.1) in the game sound options.
You could use an equalizer to make footsteps more audible but you will lose a lot of information with distance, not a good trade off and you will lose a lot of sound quality too.
You can always try Windows Equalization but it's not that great. It will make the sound very loud so watch your ears.
Sometimes, audio will not play. Overlapping sound will make it so that you won't hear some footsteps, the game is like this and there is nothing you can do about it. The developers are the one who can address this.
Right click and set as default the right microphone to use.
Controls
Here are my controls, they differ from the original in game controls. If you want some explanations on the why I did some of the changes go further down.
How to bind two meds on one key (use bandage/hemo in priority and then heals)
If you copied my controls up there you can now press "4" while hovering over a bandage or hemo static and then move your cursor on any medkit and release it. It will show both meds as bound to "4". Now if you press "4", it will use your bandage/hemostatic first if you have blood loss or it will heal you if you have no blood loss.
Examine malfunction and fix it with one key
Pressing "L" and holding it will examine weapon, once the malfunction is identified you can release it and it will fix it.
Always show timer AND extracts with one key
Now if you press "O", it will show the time left to the raid AND your extracts
Change fire mode super quick
If you press "B", fire mode will change instantaneously (faster than normal).
The more you know...
If a key is used more than once in different combinations there is a chance it will have more of a delay. A few places where it could matter is reloading, if you want the action to be instantaneous you need to use a key not in use with any other combination and set it to "Press". You can see how much of a difference it makes with the change fire mode trick (almost glitching the animation).
Additional changes that might help with performance
Close all background applications, this can help more than you think
Removing overlays may help with performance (Nvidia/Radeon overlay, Discord, ect..)
Recording gameplay with any application can impact performance a lot, lower the quality of the record for less impact or turn it off if you don't use it
If you are having bad performance with your browser open or experience stutterings in videos while playing the game, deactivate hardware acceleration in your browser advanced settings
You can try disabling hardware acceleration on Discord too
Graphics settings for WINDOWS10
Search for Graphics settings in your Windows search bar.
On windows 11 GPU scheduling is on by default and will add games by default as High Performance applications, on Windows 10 we have to do this manually.
You can do this for any game, not just Tarkov.
Find your EscapeFromTarkov.exe, it can be accessed from the BattlestateGames launcher in the options to browse installation folder.
Also you can remove fullscreen optimizations and DPI Scaling on the .exe here if you intend to play in fullscreen mode but from my tests on the latest build of the game this yields less fps and no improved latency:
If you want me to personally optimize your PC (Benchmark, update, debloat, overclock and tuning) you can schedule an appointment ->here<-. If you need guidance don't hesitate to consult me, services are available ->here<-
Graphics settings for WINDOWS 11
Search for Graphics settings in your Windows search bar. Tick "Optimizations for windowed games" if you play in Borderless. With the latest build of the game, it seems to help with performance.
Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling can also be beneficial for performance. If you encounter stutters, make sure to disable hardware acceleration in other apps (Web browsers, Discord). If you still get stutters you might want to disable this option altogether.
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