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To fix stuttering and low FPS in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on PC, first turn off ray-traced reflections, enable DLSS 2.3 or FSR 1, and make sure the game is using the dedicated GPU. Then update or clean-install the graphics driver, disable overlays, verify the game files, and check whether 8 GB of RAM is paging to disk. A low average frame rate is usually a GPU/settings limit; a high average with hitching is usually a frame-time problem caused by DX12 shader compilation, memory pressure, overlays, thermals, or a refresh-rate mismatch. GTX 900-series Maxwell cards are a special case: the game can remain near 15–20 fps even at low settings, so changing options may not be enough.
What is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on PC?
This is Eidos-Montréal’s 2021 single-player third-person action game, built on the Dawn Engine and released for Windows on 26 October 2021. The PC version uses Direct3D 12 only, has a 144 fps cap by default, and includes ray-traced reflections, DLSS 2.3, FSR 1 and forced TAA. Steam lists App ID 1088850 and says the game incorporates Denuvo Anti-tamper. Those details matter because the fixes below target this specific renderer and configuration, not the separate episodic series.
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The game’s Steam English review score was 93% positive from 19,032 reviews at access on 29 October 2026; recent reviews were 88% positive from 204 reviews. Those ratings do not predict performance on your hardware, so diagnose the frame-time symptom first.
Is the problem low average FPS, hitching, or a crash?
Use the symptom to choose the fix. Changing every setting at once makes it impossible to identify the cause.
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- Low average FPS or a slideshow: the GPU is normally saturated. If GPU usage is near 99% while CPU usage is lower, reduce ray tracing, resolution, textures and shadows, then use an upscaler.
- High average FPS with regular hitches: inconsistent frame times point to shader compilation, RAM paging, an overlay or injector, thermal throttling, or a V-Sync/variable-refresh mismatch.
- FPS is good for 10–20 minutes, then falls: check CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds, dust and airflow. That pattern is more consistent with thermals than with a fixed graphics setting.
- Hitches around a cutscene or scripted event: Intel Community user Shanrya reported most hitches before or after cutscenes and game events. DX12 may also compile shaders when entering a new area or when a character changes outfit.
- Audio-only stutter: unplug extra controllers and test again. PCGamingWiki specifically notes reports involving additional gamepads, including DualSense.
- Crash to desktop when ray tracing is enabled: disable ray tracing first. Running the executable as administrator or using the NVIDIA Profile Inspector scheduler workaround are secondary options.
Does your PC meet the official requirements?
Steam’s requirements are the authoritative baseline. The Windows 10 Build 1903 and 80 GB figures below remain the official listing in 2026; some secondary pages print 150 GB, but that conflicts with Steam and PCGamingWiki.
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 64-bit, Build 1903 | Windows 10 64-bit, Build 1903 |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 5 1600 or Intel Core i7-4790 |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 570 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 590 |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Storage | 80 GB available space | 80 GB available space |
Press Win+R, enter dxdiag, and check the CPU, memory, GPU and DirectX fields. On a laptop, open Settings > System > Display > Graphics, add gotg.exe, choose High performance, and restart the game. Otherwise Windows can launch it on the integrated GPU. A 4 GB laptop GPU can run out of VRAM even at low textures; a GTX 1650 4 GB example documented by a Steam user reached a stable 30 fps only after reducing memory-heavy options.
What should I change first to raise FPS?
Apply these changes in order, restarting the game after driver or configuration changes.
- Disable ray-traced reflections. Set both ray-traced reflections and transparent reflections to Off. HowManyFPS calls ray tracing the game’s biggest FPS killer, and PCGamingWiki records random NVIDIA crashes with it enabled.
- Use the appropriate upscaler. NVIDIA cards should start with DLSS 2.3 on Quality or Balanced. AMD cards should use FSR 1. Native resolution is the heaviest option. If image quality is acceptable, Balanced is a practical choice for cards near the minimum specification.
- Lower textures when VRAM is limited. Use Medium or Low textures on 4–6 GB cards. Texture allocation can exhaust VRAM even when the GPU’s shader workload is otherwise manageable.
- Reduce shadows. Medium or Low is a sensible baseline for GTX 1060/RX 570-class hardware. Keep other settings higher only after frame times are stable.
- Switch display mode if exclusive fullscreen is unstable. Choose Borderless Windowed. AMD support reports and secondary troubleshooting guides associate borderless mode with fewer crashes on unstable systems.
- Match the game refresh rate to the monitor. In the video menu, select the monitor’s actual refresh rate rather than leaving an incorrect value. PCGamingWiki notes that an unset or excessive refresh selection can add input delay. The default frame-rate cap is 144 fps.
- Start with a 60 fps cap if frame pacing is erratic. A 60 fps cap is a community workaround, not a confirmed engine requirement. The wiki records scripting and physics reports above 60 fps but marks that evidence as needing citation.
- Retest before adding mods. Record whether GPU usage, VRAM usage and hitch frequency changed. Optional registry edits and third-party tools should come only after this baseline works.
How do I update the graphics driver without creating a new problem?
Use the current driver for your GPU generation, and perform a clean installation when the stutter began immediately after a driver change. General troubleshooting guides commonly remove the old package in Safe Mode with Display Driver Uninstaller, then install the vendor package.
NVIDIA GeForce
Install the current Game Ready package from NVIDIA or through the GeForce application. Select the clean-install option when isolating a regression, then enable DLSS and leave ray tracing off until the game is stable. Do not install the historical 471.11 package on RTX or GTX 10-series-and-newer cards.
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AMD Radeon
Use the current Adrenalin package and choose factory reset during installation if you are isolating a driver regression. Temporarily disable Anti-Lag, Chill, Surface Format Optimization and the Adrenalin overlay. Use FSR 1 and avoid exclusive fullscreen while troubleshooting.
At launch, DSOGaming reported Adrenalin 21.10.3 lighting and shadow problems and suggested 21.10.2. A 2023 Steam support post repeated that advice. Treat 21.10.2 as a historical workaround for a confirmed old regression, not as the default driver for modern RX 6000, 7000 or 9000 cards.
Intel Arc
Install the latest WHQL package or use Intel Driver & Support Assistant. In a June 2025 support thread, Intel pointed users toward WHQL 32.0.101.6881, Windows Memory Diagnostic, wmic diskdrive get status and System File Checker. An Intel technician reported no significant stutter on a B580 in their own lab note, so Arc should be diagnosed by system rather than assumed broken or perfect.
Why GTX 900-series Maxwell cards are different
GTX 970, 980 and 980 Ti owners face a documented compatibility and performance problem. PCGamingWiki says modern drivers can make Maxwell cards run around 15 fps. DSOGaming measured 20 fps at 1080p Low on a GeForce GTX 980 Ti and found that card still about 98% GPU-bound at 720p with a 50% resolution scale. In the same launch-era comparison, a Radeon RX 580 averaged 70 fps at 1080p Max.
“Upon launching the game, we witnessed an inexcusable performance on the GTX980Ti. We are talking about 20fps at 1080p/Low Settings.” — DSOGaming
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The developers advised NVIDIA driver 471.11 in February 2022, and PCGamingWiki records reports that it helped some systems. That rollback omits years of security fixes and is not a general solution. Maxwell is also below Steam’s GTX 1060 6 GB minimum, so the durable fix is a newer GPU that meets or exceeds the official specification.
Why does DX12 shader compilation cause stutter?
The first time the game encounters a new area, effect or outfit, Direct3D 12 can compile shaders. ProtonDB users describe slight stuttering when shaders compile, especially on entering new areas or when characters change outfits. A Steam user similarly described “typical dx12 shader compilation stutter moments.” The same locations often become smoother on repeat visits.
Expect extra hitching after a driver update because the driver shader cache may be rebuilt. A cache reset can force another compilation cycle, so it is not a universal cure. If stutter continues in familiar areas after several sessions, investigate RAM, overlays, thermals and storage rather than assuming every hitch is shader work.
How do I remove overlays, file corruption and Windows conflicts?
- Disable the Steam overlay, Discord overlay, GeForce in-game overlay, AMD overlay, Xbox Game Bar and any MSI Afterburner/RTSS, RGB or monitoring injector. Close browsers while testing.
- In Steam, open Library > right-click the game > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files. In the Epic launcher, use Manage > Verify.
- Install Microsoft’s current supported Visual C++ redistributables and update DirectX components. Missing or damaged runtimes can cause launch failures that look like graphics problems.
- If NVIDIA ray-tracing crashes continue, right-click
gotg.exe, open Properties > Compatibility, and test Run this program as administrator. - Temporarily pause active antivirus scanning or allow-list the installation folder, then restore normal protection after the test.
- Use Windows’ High performance power plan and keep 10–20 GB free on the installation drive so shader caches and patches can unpack.
- Disable CPU and GPU overclocks while diagnosing crashes or sudden clock drops.
- On Steam,
-nosplash -nolauncherskips the launcher. Microsoft Store ignores these launch options.
Should I change TAA, ambient occlusion or the refresh cap in the registry?
These are advanced options. Back up the registry key before editing it, and expect a Verify operation or game update to overwrite executable changes.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe configuration key is HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareEidos MontrealGuardians of the Galaxy. In that key:
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- Change
AntiAliasingfrom1to0to disable forced TAA. - Change
AmbOcclusionfrom1to0to disable ambient occlusion. MaxRefreshRate=0uncaps the frame rate instead of using the default 144 fps ceiling.
The game has no normal in-game TAA-off switch. A hex edit to bingotg.exe or the Windows Game Patches utility cited by PCGamingWiki can remove it, but executable edits are overwritten by updates. Internal resolution is truncated to multiples of 64 pixels, so a nominal 1920×1080 render can become 1920×1024; that is primarily a sharpness issue, not a meaningful performance fix.
What is the NVIDIA ray-tracing scheduler workaround?
If you need ray-traced reflections and disabling them is unacceptable, NVIDIA Profile Inspector offers a community workaround. Open the Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy profile, go to 06 Rendering Features > Experimental – Raygen Scheduler Override Shader List, change ReflSpec_RG to 0x00000000, and select Apply. PCGamingWiki reports about a 1–2% frame-rate reduction when clearing that entry and says it returns the ray-tracing pipeline to the developer-intended scheduler. This is a stability experiment, not a replacement for meeting the GPU requirement.
What should AMD and Intel users check beyond the driver?
AMD-specific checks
Keep the current Adrenalin package, disable its overlays and latency features during diagnosis, use FSR 1, and choose borderless mode if exclusive fullscreen crashes. Do not spoof an NVIDIA GPU with OptiScaler as a first step: the OptiScaler wiki reports that spoofing can create massive overhead on AMD and Intel, with Dxgi=false required in affected setups.
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If an Arc system hitches around scripted events, run Windows Memory Diagnostic, check drive status with wmic diskdrive get status, and run System File Checker before changing advanced graphics settings. Community reports are mixed, and Intel’s B580 note did not find significant stutter, so confirm the pattern on your own system.
When is a hardware upgrade the honest solution?
Upgrade when the game remains GPU-bound on Low settings with ray tracing disabled and an upscaler enabled, or when memory pressure remains after closing background programs.
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- Memory: Steam lists 8 GB minimum and 16 GB recommended. On an 8 GB machine, paging can produce long loads and hitching even when average FPS appears adequate.
- GPU: A GTX 1660 Super or RX 590 class card is the official recommended tier. GTX 900 Maxwell cards are a particularly poor fit despite their nominal DirectX 12 support.
- Storage: Steam does not require an SSD, but an SSD is sensible when the game is installed on a nearly full or slow hard drive and texture streaming or load times are poor.
- Cooling: If performance decays after 10–20 minutes, clean dust, confirm fan operation and check temperatures before buying parts.
Can the game run through Proton on Linux?
ProtonDB reports that the Steam version works, including at least one recent report of slightly better performance than Windows 11 with GE-Proton. Remaining shader hitches on new areas and outfit changes are still reported, and some NVIDIA users report lower FPS than on Windows. Community launch settings include PROTON_ENABLE_NVAPI and DLSS-related options, but the captured reports do not establish a Valve Gold rating or a universal best configuration.
Which fixes are still unproven?
There is no current official patch or build number shown on the Steam store page, no Digital Foundry settings table in the available coverage, and no measured Denuvo frame-time cost for this executable. No 2026 re-benchmark establishes how Maxwell behaves on current NVIDIA drivers, and NVIDIA’s Advanced Shader Delivery feature in driver 621.01 is not documented as helping gotg.exe. Treat those points as unknowns rather than promises.
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The practical path remains consistent: establish whether the GPU or frame time is the problem, disable ray tracing, use DLSS or FSR, update the correct driver, remove overlays, verify files, and move from 8 GB to 16 GB of RAM when paging is visible. If a GTX 900 card still produces 15–20 fps at low settings, replacing the GPU is more realistic than endlessly editing configuration files.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can deleting the shader cache stop every hitch?
No. Deleting a cache can make the next launch stutter more while shaders are rebuilt. It is useful only when a cache is corrupted; repeated hitches in familiar scenes usually require checking memory, overlays, thermals or storage.
Why does a 1920×1080 selection sometimes render as 1920×1024?
The PC build truncates internal resolution to multiples of 64 pixels unless the executable is patched. Your monitor is not being misidentified; the lower internal height is a game-side scaling behavior that mainly affects image sharpness.
Where are my saves if I need to reinstall?
Steam stores the profile and saves under userdata\<id>\1088850\remote\; the save files are named gotgsavegame*.dat. Epic saves are under %APPDATA%\Epic\Eidos Montreal\Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Copy them before removing the installation.
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No. The default cap is 144 fps, but a lower cap can provide steadier frame times on near-minimum hardware. Because community reports mention scripting or physics issues above 60 fps, a 60 fps cap is a cautious troubleshooting baseline rather than an engine-mandated limit.
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