6 Ways You Can Fix Elden Ring Stuttering and FPS Drops on a Windows PC

Many Windows PC players have said that Elden Ring stutters an awful lot or has significant FPS (frame per second) drops when playing it. For example, this is what one ER player had to say on Reddit, “I have a problem and can’t solve it; Elden Ring will stutter no matter which settings I choose in-game, other games run smoothly, but ER will stutter like crazy.” Frequent and significant stuttering spoils the Elden Ring experience. These are some of the best ways to fix Elden Ring stuttering or FPS dropping on a Windows 11/10 PC.

Read also: 8 Ways to Fix Elden Ring Not Launching on a Windows PC

Select a High Performance Graphical Setting for Elden Ring

Gaming performance can be compromised if the High Performance graphics setting isn’t set for Elden Ring. Elden Ring could be set to a default Let Windows decide option, which might not be optimizing the game for performance. So, try selecting High Performance for Elden Ring as follows.

1. To utilize the file finder tool, simultaneously press the Windows logo + S keys.
2. Enter graphics settings and select the search result that matches.
3. Select the Desktop app option on the drop-down menu.
4. Next, click Browse.
5. Select the eldenring.exe file within the Elden Ring installation folder and click Add.
6. Click Elden Ring to press its Options button.
   
   

   The Options button

7. Next, select the radio button for High performance and click Save.
   
   

   The High performance option

Set an Unlimited Shader Cache Size

Players with NVIDIA graphics cards have confirmed setting an unlimited shader cache size can fix Elden Ring stuttering. That’s an option available on the NVIDIA Control Panel with which you can expand or reduce the shader cache. You can set an unlimited shader cache size like this.

1. Click on the Windows 11/10 desktop with the right mouse button to select NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Next, click on Manage 3D settings > Program settings.
3. Click Add to select the eldenring.exe file for the Elden Ring game.
4. Press the Add Selected Program button.
5. Select Unlimited for the Shader Cache Size option.
   
   

   The Shader Cache Size setting

6. Press Apply to set the selected setting.

Set Vertical Sync to Fast

In addition, try setting Vertical sync to Fast within the NVIDIA Control Panel. To do this, go through steps one to four of the preceding resolution to select the Elden Ring game. Select Fast for the Vertical sync option and click Apply.

Disable Steam’s Overlay

The Steam overlay and others consume system resources, which can hurt gaming performance. For that reason, it’s recommended to disable the Steam overlay for the sake of better gaming performance, which might at least reduce the Elden Ring stuttering. These are the steps for disabling the Steam overlay.

1. Start your Steam software.
2. Click Steam at the top-left corner of the window and select Settings.
3. Select In-Game to access overlay options.
4. Click on Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game checkbox to turn off that option.
   
   

   The Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option

5. Select OK to exit the Settings window.
6. Disable overlays in any other software packages on your PC that have them. For example, GeForce Experience and Discord include emulator features.
7. You can also disable the Xbox Game Bar overlay in Windows 10.

Disable Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator

Disabling the Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator is one of the more widely confirmed ways to fix Elden Ring stuttering. Disabling this device has little side effect but could affect the functionality of some MIDI and TWAIN (scanner) devices. This is how you can disable the Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator.

1. Hold the Windows logo key and press X to select a Device Manager Power User Menu shortcut.
2. Next, double-click Software devices.
3. Right-click Microsoft Device Association Root Enumerator to select Disable device.
   
   
   

   The Disable device options

4. Select Yes when prompted to confirm.

Select a Balanced Power Plan

1. Activate the file and app search utility and input Choose a power plan.
2. Select Choose a power plan to bring up the Control Panel.
3. Click Balanced (recommended) if an alternative plan is set.
   
   

   The Balanced radio button

Other Possible Ways to Fix Elden Ring Stuttering

There are still more things you can try to fix Elden Ring’s stuttering beyond the potential resolutions above. Try applying these possible remedies:

• Reduce general graphical quality settings in Elden Ring and disable motion blur.
• Close unneeded third-party background apps before playing Elden Ring via Task Manager.
• Install the latest graphical driver for your PC’s GPU.
• Set Elden Ring to run with a higher priority with Task Manager.

The resolutions outlined above have fixed or at least reduced Elden Ring stuttering for many players. There isn’t any magic wand solution for game stuttering, but the potential fixes above are worth a try. Remember that it’s also important your Windows PC adequately meets Elden Ring’s system requirements for the game to run smoothly. So, it’s harder to remedy stuttering on low-specification PCs that barely meet Elden Ring’s minimum system requirements.