SCUM – Ultimate Performance Guide

Guide to Performance

Desync

Falling through the map, vehicles clipping through fences or buildings, etc.

• Increasing Streaming Speed in the game graphics settings (the speed at which assets and areas are loaded) is the best way to improve desync.
• Desync results in slow rendering (causing you to fall through or get stuck in textures, etc. especially while moving fast such as in a vehicle).
• Turn this setting up as high as your system can handle without performance loss (start at Epic and go down a level at a time until it feels good, but the higher the better).

FPS Drops

In the game graphics settings:

• Lower FOV’s for first/third person.
• Lower render resolution.
• Lower cloud quality.
• Turn off DFAO.

Low GPU Utilization

If you are having low (or lower than normal) GPU usage, check your power management settings:

• Go to NVidia Control Panel.
• Select “Manage 3D Settings”.
• Click on the “Program Settings” tab.
• Search for SCUM.exe in the Steam folder.
• Apply “Prefer Maximum Performance” in the Power Management Mode option.
• Your GPU should now run at full potential while playing SCUM (settings will remain unchanged for other programs).
• If you are using a laptop, make sure it is plugged into power when playing.

Server Lag

May have multiple causes, the most common are listed below:

• Increasing any server values (such as puppets, loot, vehicles, base elements, etc.) over default may cause your server to lag.
• This game is not yet fully optimized, as it is still under heavy development.
• When modifying server settings, proceed with caution.

GPU Switching on Laptops

Can cause some Timeout issues

• Laptops can experience some trouble with switching between the iGPU (onboard graphics) and the dGPU (dedicated graphics) due to the process involved.
• We have seen this occasionally in some players’ SCUM.log where the hand-off from iGPU to dGPU has caused issues such as Timeouts.
• This hand-off process involves extra steps using a MUX (multiplexer) switch, and can cause lower FPS and higher latency.
• Microsoft has introduced a feature for Windows 11, compatible with Nvidia and AMD GPUs, called CASO (cross adapter scan-out) which improves the situation.

Graphics Settings

Streaming Speed (ESC > Options > Graphics)

Streaming Speed is how fast assets load, such as fences, buildings, bridges, and similar throughout the world.

The general rule of this setting is “turn up to reduce desync, turn down to reduce hardware lag”.

• If you have a system that meets or exceeds Recommended Specifications, you may able to set this to Very High or Epic, providing the best results in reducing or eliminating desync.
• If you have a system that is around the level of Minimum Specifications, you may have to lower this setting, but keeping it as high as your system can tolerate without noticeable negative effects (such as lag due to the extra strain on your hardware) will still help to reduce desync.
• Check the System Requirements to check your PC against the game requirements.

The possible settings for Streaming Speed are Very Low, Low, High, Very High, and Epic. High and above is recommended, even if you have to sacrifice a little on other graphics settings, simply because losing your vehicle, inventory, and character due to desync is more painful than reducing some graphics settings!