Introduction
Tarnished, are you experiencing the agonizing frustration of freezes, stutters, and performance hiccups in the Lands Between? Elden Ring, the critically acclaimed action role-playing game from FromSoftware, has captivated millions with its expansive open world, challenging combat, and intricate lore. However, its demanding nature on hardware can often lead to frustrating performance issues, leaving players yearning for a smoother, more immersive experience.
If you’re grappling with Elden Ring freezing and stuttering, you’re not alone. This article is your comprehensive guide to identifying the common culprits behind these performance woes and, more importantly, providing you with practical, actionable solutions to optimize your game and reclaim the seamless gameplay you deserve. Whether you’re a seasoned PC gamer or new to the world of Elden Ring, this guide will empower you to diagnose and address performance bottlenecks, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the epic adventure.
Understanding the Problem: Why is Elden Ring Behaving This Way?
Before diving into fixes, it’s crucial to understand the potential root causes of Elden Ring’s performance issues. Several factors can contribute to freezing and stuttering, and identifying the primary source is the first step toward resolving the problem.
Hardware Limitations: Are You Meeting the Requirements?
Elden Ring, like many modern AAA titles, has minimum and recommended system requirements. If your PC doesn’t meet at least the minimum specifications, you’re likely to experience significant performance issues, including frequent freezes and stutters.
The Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), and Random Access Memory (RAM) all play critical roles in delivering a smooth gaming experience. The CPU handles game logic, artificial intelligence, and physics calculations. The GPU is responsible for rendering the visuals, including textures, lighting, and effects. RAM provides temporary storage for game data, allowing for quick access and efficient processing.
If any of these components are underpowered relative to Elden Ring’s demands, the game will struggle to run smoothly. Even if you meet the minimum specifications, running the game at higher resolutions or graphical settings can push your hardware beyond its limits, leading to performance degradation.
Driver Issues: Keeping Things Up to Date
Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers are a frequent cause of performance problems in games. Graphics drivers are software programs that allow your operating system and games to communicate effectively with your GPU. These drivers are constantly being updated by manufacturers like NVIDIA and AMD to improve performance, fix bugs, and add support for new games.
Using outdated drivers can lead to compatibility issues, graphical glitches, and, of course, freezing and stuttering. Similarly, corrupted drivers can also cause instability and performance problems. It’s therefore essential to ensure that you have the latest and most stable drivers installed for your GPU. Regularly updating these drivers can dramatically improve your performance in Elden Ring.
In-Game Settings: Finding the Right Balance
Elden Ring offers a wide range of graphical settings that allow you to customize the game’s visual fidelity. However, cranking up all the settings to maximum can overwhelm your hardware, resulting in significant performance drops.
Certain graphical settings are particularly demanding on system resources. Shadows, for example, require complex calculations and can significantly impact performance. Similarly, lighting effects, particle effects, and anti-aliasing can also contribute to performance bottlenecks.
Experimenting with different graphics settings and finding the right balance between visual quality and performance is crucial. Consider lowering settings like shadows, lighting, and effects to see if it improves the game’s performance. Also, investigate the use of upscaling technologies like NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) or AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). These technologies can render the game at a lower resolution and then upscale it to your display resolution, effectively boosting performance with minimal visual quality loss.
Background Processes: Minimizing Interference
Other programs running in the background can consume system resources and interfere with Elden Ring’s performance. Anti-virus scans, streaming software, and unnecessary background applications can all steal processing power and memory from the game, leading to freezing and stuttering.
Before launching Elden Ring, close any unnecessary programs that are running in the background. This will free up system resources and allow the game to run more smoothly.
Overheating: Keeping Things Cool
Overheating can cause your CPU or GPU to throttle their performance, resulting in significant performance drops and potential system instability. Thermal throttling is a mechanism that reduces the clock speed of your components to prevent them from overheating and causing damage.
If your system is overheating, you may notice high fan speeds, a hot case, and a significant drop in performance. Monitoring your CPU and GPU temperatures is essential to ensure that they are within safe operating ranges. If you suspect that your system is overheating, take steps to improve cooling, such as cleaning dust from fans and heatsinks, reapplying thermal paste, or upgrading to a better cooler.
Storage Issues: HDD Versus SSD
The type of storage device you use to store Elden Ring can also affect performance. Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) are significantly slower than Solid State Drives (SSDs) in terms of read and write speeds.
Loading assets from an HDD can cause stuttering, especially in an open-world game like Elden Ring, where the game constantly needs to stream data from storage. Installing Elden Ring on an SSD can significantly reduce loading times and minimize stuttering, providing a smoother and more responsive gaming experience.
Game Bugs or Optimization Issues: It’s Not Always You
Finally, it’s important to acknowledge that some freezing and stuttering issues may be due to inherent bugs or areas in the game that are poorly optimized. Elden Ring, like any complex software, may have bugs that can cause performance problems.
In some cases, specific areas of the game may be more prone to performance issues due to poor optimization. While you can’t directly fix these issues, knowing that they exist can help you manage your expectations and adjust your settings accordingly. Check the game’s patch history to see if recent updates have addressed any known performance issues.
The Solutions: Fixing Freezing and Stuttering in Elden Ring
Now that we’ve explored the common causes of Elden Ring’s performance issues, let’s delve into the solutions you can implement to improve your gaming experience.
Hardware Upgrades: A Possible Remedy
While it’s not always the first or only solution, upgrading your hardware might be necessary if your system is significantly below the minimum specifications or if you’re aiming for higher resolutions and graphical settings. Consider upgrading your GPU, CPU, or RAM, depending on your budget and the specific bottlenecks you’re experiencing.
Update Your Graphics Drivers: A Must-Do
Updating your graphics drivers is one of the simplest and most effective ways to improve Elden Ring’s performance. Here’s how:
NVIDIA: Visit the NVIDIA website and download the latest drivers for your graphics card. You can also use the NVIDIA GeForce Experience application to automatically check for and install updates.
AMD: Visit the AMD website and download the latest drivers for your graphics card. You can also use the AMD Radeon Software application to manage your drivers.
For a cleaner installation, consider using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove old drivers before installing the new ones.
Optimize In-Game Graphics Settings: Finding the Sweet Spot
Experiment with the in-game graphics settings to find the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. Start with the “Low” preset and gradually increase the settings until you find a point where the game runs smoothly without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.
Pay particular attention to the following settings:
Shadows: Lowering shadow quality or disabling shadows altogether can significantly improve performance.
Lighting: Reducing lighting quality or disabling certain lighting effects can also boost performance.
Effects: Lowering the particle effects density or disabling certain effects can help improve frame rates.
Anti-aliasing: Experiment with different anti-aliasing methods or disable anti-aliasing altogether to reduce GPU load.
Resolution Scaling: If your hardware is struggling to handle the game at your native resolution, consider using resolution scaling to render the game at a lower resolution and then upscale it to your display resolution.
Close Unnecessary Background Programs: Freeing Up Resources
Close any unnecessary programs that are running in the background to free up system resources for Elden Ring. Open Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS, if applicable) and identify any resource-intensive programs that are not essential. Close these programs before launching Elden Ring.
Monitor Temperatures and Improve Cooling: Preventing Overheating
Use software like MSI Afterburner or HWMonitor to monitor your CPU and GPU temperatures. Ensure that your temperatures are within safe operating ranges. If you suspect that your system is overheating, take steps to improve cooling.
Install Elden Ring on an SSD: The Speed Advantage
If you’re currently running Elden Ring from an HDD, consider moving it to an SSD. This will significantly reduce loading times and minimize stuttering.
Verify Game File Integrity: Repairing Corrupted Files
Use Steam’s (or your platform’s) built-in tool to verify the integrity of the game files. This will check for and replace any corrupted or missing files that might be causing issues.
Adjust Power Options: Maximum Performance
In Windows, set your power plan to “High Performance.” This prevents the CPU and GPU from being power-throttled.
Disable Hardware Acceleration
In rare cases, hardware acceleration in certain applications can interfere with game performance. Consider disabling it in programs like Discord or your web browser to see if it improves Elden Ring’s performance.
Update Windows
Make sure your operating system is up to date.
Check your internet connection
A bad internet connection can cause issues with some online games
Conclusion
Experiencing freezing and stuttering in Elden Ring can be incredibly frustrating. By understanding the potential causes and implementing the solutions outlined in this guide, you can significantly improve your gaming experience and fully immerse yourself in the epic world of the Lands Between. Remember to experiment with different settings and solutions to find what works best for your system.
Elden Ring is a complex game, and some performance issues might persist despite your best efforts. If you continue to experience problems, consider checking online forums, consulting with other players, or contacting FromSoftware’s support for further assistance.
Now, go forth, Tarnished, and conquer the Lands Between without the hindrance of freezing or stuttering! Share your experiences and successful fixes in the comments below! Let us know if we can help further.
