Stalker 2 Optimization: Best Graphics Settings for FPS on PC (2025)

Following repeated delays, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally out on Steam, Epic Games, GOG, and Xbox Game Pass. The post-apocalyptic survival shooter costs $60 on PC, though you may want to wait a while. Despite the postponed release, Stalker 2 is riddled with bugs and performance issues. Although the game is perfectly playable, it’s far from ideal. Our optimization guide analyzes the impact of each graphics setting, providing you with the optimal settings for your PC.

Windows/System Settings to Optimize

• Enable Resizable BAR.
• Turn on Game Mode.
• Enable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) and Windowed Optimizations.
• Use the Windows “High Performance” power profile and set your GPU power management mode to the same.
• Disable Memory Integrity. Windows Menu->VBS->Device Security.
• Ensure you use the proper XMP/EXPO memory profile (if available).
• Overclock your GPU if you’re narrowly missing the 60 FPS mark.
• Here’s a guide with more detailed instructions.

Stalker 2: PC System Requirements

Contents & Testing Methodology

• Contents:
  1. Resolution & Graphics Presets.
  2. Object Detail, Materials & Effects Quality.
  3. Post Processing & Light Shafts.
  4. Global Illumination, Reflections, Shading & Shadow Quality.
  5. Clouds, Fog & Sky Quality.
  6. Foliage & Draw Distance.
  7. Upscaling & Frame Generation.
  8. VRAM usage.
  9. CPU bottlenecks.
  10. Performance Summary.
  11. Stalker 2: Best Graphics Settings for FPS on PC.
• Hardware setup used:
  • CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K @ 5.4 GHz (P-core).
  • Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420.
  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4090 FE.
  • Motherboard: MSI PRO Z790-P WIFI.
  • Memory: 16 GB x2 @ 6000 MT/s CL30.

Stalker 2: Resolution & Graphics Presets

Stalker 2 averages a paltry 42 FPS at 4K “Epic” on the GeForce RTX 4090 without upscaling. Even at 1440p, the Lovelace flagship fails to hit the 60 FPS mark, with 1080p averaging 67 FPS at the highest quality preset with DLAA. Limited resolution scaling like this indicates a CPU bottleneck.

Stalker 2 scales better with the graphics settings. From 55 FPS at 4K “Epic,” we recorded an average of 65 FPS and 71 FPS at the medium and low-quality presets, respectively. These benchmarks were conducted with DLSS set to quality mode.

Object Detail, Materials & Effects Quality

Object Detail sets the mesh complexity of different objects in the “Zone.” Since Stalker 2 leverages Nanite, it can render the highest perceivable detail at the best performance. Consequently, we see a negligible FPS drop even when set to the highest setting.

Effects Quality adjusts the resolution of various lighting shaders, most notably ambient shadows which can have a pronounced impact indoors. It only marginally affects the game’s performance.

The Nanite geometry engine is among the core highlights of Unreal Engine 5. It has allowed for an unprecedented increase in geometric detail without unrealistic polygon counts or memory budgets. This is achieved by adopting cluster-based LOD scaling. Different cluster groups of varying detail are generated for a given mesh. The different parts of the mesh are rendered at different LODs.

The viewing angle or viewport determines the LOD to ensure that the highest perceptible detail is rendered for each part of the mesh. This involves using high-resolution cluster groups for some (in-focus) and simpler, low-resolution groups for the rest (distant or partially visible).

As the viewport changes, so does the LOD. The updated cluster groups are streamed in and out of storage in real time.

The screen resolution is also used to determine the LOD as the subtlest details are often lost on small or low-resolution displays. These minute triangles are culled to save resources without a (noticeable) loss in detail.

Nanite pre-calculates all the cluster LOD hierarchies beforehand, storing them in the memory. The GPU accesses this data using DMA (Direct Memory Access) to avoid pipeline stalls or pop-ups.

Materials define the surface properties of different objects in Stalker 2. They affect the surfaces, making them appear darker or lighter per the environmental lighting. Fortunately, the performance hit is marginal, ranging from 2-3% at the “Epic” quality setting.

Hair sets the quality of NPC hair in Stalker 2. Higher-quality settings enable fine-grained shadows for different hair patches without affecting the density. It nominally impacts the game’s performance.

Post Processing & Light Shafts

Post-processing sets the quality of late pipeline shaders, most notably motion blur, depth of field, and bloom. It doesn’t have a pronounced impact on performance.

Light Shafts enable volumetric lighting or godrays. They are most evident in the morning or evening when the sun rises/sets. Once again, the framerate penalty of this setting is trivial.

Global Illumination, Reflections, Shading & Shadow Quality

Stalker 2 leverages the Lumen Global Illumination engine at the “Epic” quality setting, offering a substantial quality boost indoors. It can reduce the average FPS by 4-5%, with nights being more performance-intensive than the day.

Reflection sets the resolution of specular reflections cast on water, metal, and glass surfaces. Barring the lowest setting, the different quality options look nearly identical and deliver similar framerates.

Shadow Quality sets the resolution of object shadows. The higher settings produce contact-hardened shadows, versus blurry, undefined silhouettes at the lower quality settings. Turing it down to “Low” grants a 4% performance boost at 4K.

Shading Quality enables different lighting shaders, including ambient occlusion and screen space shadows. It can significantly impact performance, reducing framerates by up to 5% after sunset.

Clouds, Fog & Sky Quality

Clouds and sky set the quality of volumetric clouds and sky, respectively. Their performance impact is trivial since they remain out of view most of the time.

Fog sets the density and resolution of volumetric fog in Stalker 2. At night, it can reduce the average framerate by over 4%. Certain late-game regions feature denser fog cover which will likely have a more severe performance penalty.

Foliage & Draw Distance

Foliage Quality sets the density and draw distance of grass, trees, and other in-game vegetation. Lower-quality settings render fewer trees with 2D grass patches and low-quality vegetation shadows. It can reduce the game’s performance by over 10%.

Environmental Draw Distance defines the render distance of distant geometry in Stalker 2. It nominally impacts visual fidelity, with an FPS penalty of 3-5% at 4K.

Upscaling & Frame Generation

Stalker 2 features four upscaling technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3, Intel XeSS 1.3, and Unreal’s TSR. They deliver roughly similar performance gains, but DLSS produces the cleanest image, and it’s not even close. FSR and TSR produce significant noise in performance mod, with XeSS being the only open-source (comparable) rival to DLSS.

The quality, balanced, and performance presets grant a 31%, 40%, and 46% performance boost at 4K, indicating a CPU limitation that can be offset using frame generation.

Frame generation grants a 2x, 2.2x, and 2.3x FPS boost over native 4K, but the 1% lows remain less than satisfactory, maxing out at 63 FPS even with upscaling and frame generation.

Stalker 2: VRAM Usage

Stalker 2 manages its graphics memory consumption well. The game uses under 9 GB VRAM at 1080p, 9.1 GB at 1440p, and up to 10 GB at 4K using the Epic quality graphics settings. Frame generation increases the VRAM usage to nearly 12 GB when used at 4K alongside DLAA. You’ll need at least 8 GB of graphics memory to play Stalker 2 comfortably.

Stalker 2: CPU Bottlenecks

The Nanite engine varies the mesh complexity with resolution, outputting more detailed geometry at higher resolutions. Consequently, Stalker 2 is about as CPU-bound at 4K as at 1080p. We observed a GPU-Busy deviation of 12-17% at 4K “Epic” with DLSS set to quality mode.

Stalker 2: Performance Summary

• Foliage Quality is the most taxing graphics setting in Stalker 2, reducing the average framerates by over 10% at the highest quality.
• Shading Quality comes second with an average FPS tax of ~7% or higher at the epic quality setting.
• Global Illumination can also be quite draining indoors with artificial lighting when set to the highest value, decreasing the average by 6%.

• Fog|Environmental Draw Distance can also prominently impact the game’s performance, reducing framerates by 3-5% at epic quality.

Stalker 2: Best Graphics Settings for FPS on PC

Stalker 2: Best Graphics Settings for Low-end PC

Stalker 2 runs admirably on budget PCs, primarily due to frame generation. The game includes DLSS and FSR 3-based frame interpolation which is a must for most gamers as it circumvents CPU limitations. Using a mix of Epic and High graphics settings even an RTX 3060 Ti or an RTX 4060 can run Stalker 2 at 4K, producing a (mostly) smooth 60 FPS+ gameplay.

Stalker 2 uses 8-9 GB of graphics memory at 1080p and 1440p on the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB, and even hex-core CPUs like the Core i5-12400 don’t have trouble keeping the GPU fed with minimal bottlenecks.