PC Optimization & Tools

Guides for optimizing your system and using third-party tools to get the best Star Citizen experience.

System Requirements

Hardware Recommendations

Critical: An SSD is mandatory. Star Citizen on HDD will result in 45+ minute load times and constant asset streaming issues.

Windows Optimization

Pagefile Configuration

Never disable the pagefile, even with 64GB+ RAM. Star Citizen requires it.

1. Open System Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings
2. Go to Advanced tab > Virtual Memory > Change
3. Set to System Managed or manually set 16-32GB on your SSD

Disable Game Bar & Background Recording

These features consume resources and can cause stuttering.

1. Settings > Gaming > Game Bar > Off
2. Settings > Gaming > Captures > Background recording: Off

Power Settings

1. Open Control Panel > Power Options
2. Select High Performance (or create Ultimate Performance plan)
3. In advanced settings, set PCI Express Link State Power Management to Off

Graphics Driver Settings

Nvidia

1. Open Nvidia Control Panel
2. Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > Add StarCitizen.exe
3. Set:
   • Power management mode: Prefer maximum performance
   • Shader Cache Size: 10GB (helps with stuttering)
   • Threaded optimization: On
   • Low Latency Mode: On or Ultra
4. For frame limiting, set Max Frame Rate to your target (e.g., 60 for frame gen)

AMD

1. Open AMD Software
2. Go to Gaming > Star Citizen
3. Set:
   • Radeon Anti-Lag: Enabled
   • Radeon Chill: Disabled
   • Wait for Vertical Refresh: Off
4. Update to driver 25.12.1 or newer for best compatibility

In-Game Settings

Star Citizen is CPU-bound. Higher graphics settings can actually improve performance by shifting load to the GPU.

Recommended Settings

Graphics API

To switch API, edit GraphicsSettings.json in %localappdata%\Star Citizen\

Lossless Scaling (Frame Generation)

Lossless Scaling is a paid tool on Steam that adds frame generation to any game. It can significantly improve perceived smoothness in Star Citizen.

How It Works

Lossless Scaling generates intermediate frames between real rendered frames. If your game runs at 40 FPS, 2x frame gen displays 80 FPS. This adds minimal input latency compared to native frame generation.

Setup Guide

1. Configure your target frame rate

The key is maintaining a perfectly stable base frame rate. Frame generation works best with consistent input.

• Determine a stable FPS you can maintain everywhere (e.g., 30, 40, or 60)
• Use Nvidia Control Panel or Rivatuner (RTSS) to cap your frame rate
• Your cap should be a clean fraction of your monitor refresh rate:
  • 120Hz monitor: cap at 40 FPS (3x) or 60 FPS (2x)
  • 144Hz monitor: cap at 48 FPS (3x) or 72 FPS (2x)
  • 165Hz monitor: Create a custom 160Hz profile, cap at 40 or 80 FPS

2. Star Citizen settings

• Set display mode to Borderless Windowed (required)
• Enable Reflex or low latency mode if available
• Optional: Use FSR/NIS for upscaling to free up GPU headroom

3. Lossless Scaling settings

• Frame Generation: LSFG 2.3 or LSFG 3.0
• Scaling Type: None (unless you want upscaling)
• Capture API: DXGI
• Disable VRR Support and HDR Support (known to cause issues)
• Enable Draw FPS to monitor frame gen status

4. Launch sequence

1. Start Star Citizen
2. Once in-game, click Scale in Lossless Scaling
3. Click on the Star Citizen window to activate
4. Verify frame gen is working (Draw FPS shows both base and generated FPS)

Example Configurations

Troubleshooting

• HUD artifacts: Caused by uneven frame pacing. Ensure your base FPS is rock solid
• Doesn’t activate: Make sure you’re in Borderless Windowed mode
• Ctrl+Alt+S not working: Use the Scale button in the app instead

Linux Setup (LUG)

Star Citizen runs on Linux via Wine/Proton. The Linux Users Group (LUG) maintains tools and documentation.

Quick Links

• LUG Wiki - Full setup guide and troubleshooting
• LUG Helper Script - Automated setup tool
• LUG Knowledge Base - Technical documentation
• LUG Discord - Community support

LUG Helper Installation

The LUG Helper script automates Wine prefix setup, dependencies, and optimizations.

Arch Linux:

yay -S lug-helper

Fedora:

sudo dnf copr enable jackgreiner/lug-helper
sudo dnf install lug-helper

NixOS: See nix-citizen

Manual:

git clone https://github.com/starcitizen-lug/lug-helper.git
cd lug-helper
./lug-helper.sh

Required System Settings

The LUG Helper’s Preflight Check configures these automatically, but for reference:

Memory Map Areas:

sudo sysctl -w vm.max_map_count=16777216

File Descriptors Limit: Ensure hard limit is at least 524288 in /etc/security/limits.conf

Graphics API on Linux

As of January 2026, Vulkan works properly on Linux (smurf mode fixed in 4.6). If you were using DX11 as a workaround, you can switch back to Vulkan in your USER.cfg.

Community

• RSI Org Page
• Discord
• Matrix

Console Commands

Useful commands for optimization and debugging. Open console with ~ (tilde).

Network Optimization

General Tips

• Wired ethernet strongly preferred over WiFi
• Close bandwidth-heavy applications (streaming, downloads)
• Try different server regions if experiencing desync

Router Settings

• Enable QoS and prioritize your gaming PC
• Disable SIP ALG if experiencing voice chat issues
• Consider port forwarding if behind strict NAT

External Tools & Resources

Performance Tools

• Lossless Scaling - Frame generation (Steam, paid)
• Rivatuner (RTSS) - Frame limiter and OSD
• HWiNFO - Hardware monitoring

Star Citizen Tools

• Erkul DPS Calculator - Ship loadout planning
• UEX Corp - Trading, mining, refining data
• SC Trade Tools - Trade routes and commodity prices
• Star Citizen Wiki - Community wiki

Official Resources

• RSI Knowledge Base - Official support
• RSI Issue Council - Bug tracking
• RSI Telemetry - Performance data by hardware