Escape From Tarkov Game Settings Optimization Guide

by 1t0bii

DISCLAIMER: After recent feedback, I have conducted a series of benchmarks in Offline raids on Labs and thusly, some of my recommendations have changed. Below you will find the aggregate of my results. Hopefully these findings may aid in your own search for ideal settings. Additionally, I will provide a few tips and tricks I think everyone can benefit from. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me below and I will do my best to answer them.

IMPORTANT: If you unlock framerate using the “V-Sync” trick (Nvidia=Off, in-game=On), make sure to limit your framerate so as your GPU is not running at 100% usage in the menus and over-heating.

1.) Make sure all of your drivers are up-to-date. Generally, the Windows “Check For Updates” tool will be sufficient. However, there are some instances in which you will need to manually update your drivers. For this, navigate to the manufacturers website for the specific piece of hardware you want to update. For example, GPU, chipset, BIOS, etc.

2.) Next, I would highly recommend clearing your shader caches before making any changes and/or applying optimizations. Use this guide here. Additionally, it is a good idea to periodically clear the game’s cache using the launcher.

3.0) Environment: To conduct this series of benchmarks, I used Offline raids on Labs for the best non-volatile experience. Additionally, I did not enable NPCs (Raiders, etc) during my tests.

3.1) Control: For each benchmark, I only changed one setting/optimization at a time. Furthermore, for each iteration of the test, I started with a fresh load of EFT.

3.2) Method: At the start of each raid, I would enable the in-game FPS counter and navigate to the TerraGroup Labs information board on the 1st floor, the location where I would start my route. I would then track and record the average FPS observed during my route. I did this 5 times for each setting/optimization change, each with a fresh start of EFT.

3.3) Results:

3.4) Comments:

In-Game Settings

Textures=High + Streaming: Decent boost to FPS, I will be using this setting going forward.

Shadows=High: Minor decrease to FPS, however overall stability may be increased depending on system. I.e. lower maximum FPS but higher minimum FPS.

Shadows=Low: Decent boost to FPS.

TAA: Minor decrease to FPS. If you prefer the softer edges over FXAA, go with this setting.

TAA High: Use TAA over this setting.

Borderless: Minor decrease to FPS. No real advantage if using Fullscreen Optimizations.

Only Use Physical Cores: Using this option seems to be hit or miss, it does work, but I do not think it is reliable. Additionally, I seemed to get better results using Process Lasso or by disabling SMT in my BIOS.

Anisotropic Filtering=Per Texture: Did not notice a difference from Off.

Anisotropic Filtering=On: Interestingly, I saw a small increase in FPS which attribute to my GPU being utilized more.

FOV=50: Having a lower field of view significantly increases FPS, however some scopes are not optimized for this FOV and will not perform as intended.

Nvidia Settings

Threaded Optimizations=On: Small increase in FPS, but I would recommend leaving this setting to Auto.

Shader Cache=Off: Decrease in FPS. I recommend leaving this On.

Low-Latency Mode=On: Small hit to FPS, but overall reduction in input latency. I would recommend this setting if you prefer a crisper response time at the cost of 1-2 frames. I only suggest using Ultra if your GPU usage is 98-100%.

Texture Filtering=High Quality: Minor decrease to FPS. I recommend leaving texture filtering to its default setting.

Texture Filtering=High Performance: Minor decrease to FPS. I recommend leaving texture filtering to its default setting.

Windows Settings

Fullscreen Optimizations=Off: Small increase to FPS, but for me, disabling Fullscreen Optimizations eliminated my screen tearing and resulted in much smoother gameplay. I recommend trying this to see how it works for you.

Ultimate Performance Power Plan: Decrease to FPS. I would recommend one of the balanced power plan options.

Ryzen Ultimate Performance Power Plan: Decrease to FPS. I would recommend one of the balanced power plan options.

CPU Settings

EFT Restricted to Physcial Cores Only in Process Lasso: Large increase in FPS. I would suggest using Process Lasso if you have Hyperthreading/Simultaneous Multithreading and do not want to disable in the BIOS.

SMT Disabled in BIOS: Greatest increase in performance besides overclocking.

Precision Boost Overdrive (Ryzen Master): Small boost in performance, decide for yourself if such little gain is worth the added stress to your CPU.

Auto Overclock (Ryzen Master): Largest increase to FPS, however, my CPU temperatures were too high for my liking with my current fan setup. So I will not be personally using any OC.

3.5) Conclusion: Based on my findings, I recommend users with Hyperthreading/Simultaneous Multithreading to restrict EFT to physical cores only using Process Lasso or for better results, disable HT/SMT in the BIOS. I know this may not be ideal for most users, so choose according to your own needs. As for in-game settings, this is more so based upon your own hardware specifications, therefore, below I have provided my own specs and a screenshot of the settings I found to be most optimal. Use this and the Google Sheet document to tailor to your own hardware. If you have any questions as to which settings you should use, feel free to post your specs in response. Lastly, if there are any other settings or optimizations you would like me to test, let me know below. I hope you all find some use in my work!

Specs: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700xGPU: Nvidia RTX 2080SMemory: 32 GB Corsair Vengeance @ 3200MhzPSU: Corsair RM 850x