Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCrashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteStart with the High preset, confirm the game is installed on an SSD, and measure GPU usage, CPU load, frame time and VRAM while reproducing the hitch. Use DLSS or FSR in Quality mode first, then Balanced if the GPU is the limit. Lower Shadows and Vegetation before dropping the entire preset. If the GPU is underused in crowded settlements, the problem is probably CPU-side and a lower resolution will not repair the 1% lows. Verify files, update the game and graphics driver, and remove mods and overlays while testing.
What usually fixes KCD2 stutter
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can run smoothly on a wide range of systems, but its frame-time behavior changes with the processor, graphics card, memory, storage, resolution, preset and location. Published tests found smooth traversal on one configuration, while other testing found CPU-limited towns and occasional video-memory stutter on a 6 GB laptop GPU. There is no universal setting or hardware part that fixes every report.
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The most reliable order is:
- Confirm the game and Windows installation meet the baseline and that the game is on an SSD.
- Update the game and graphics driver, verify files, and temporarily remove mods, ReShade and overlays.
- Record a repeatable baseline with the same save, location, resolution, preset and upscaler.
- Use High, then reduce Shadows and Vegetation detail if necessary.
- Choose DLSS or FSR according to the measured bottleneck rather than guessing.
- Upgrade storage, graphics or processor hardware only after monitoring shows which component is limiting performance.
Check your PC against the official requirements
Steam lists the following requirements for the PC edition. They describe supported targets, not a guaranteed frame rate or stutter-free experience.
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| Tier | Processor | Memory | Graphics | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | 16 GB RAM | GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or Radeon RX 580 | 100 GB on an SSD |
| Recommended | Intel Core i7-13700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D | 32 GB RAM | GeForce RTX 4070 or Radeon RX 7800 XT | SSD |
Windows 10 64-bit or newer is required. The 100 GB figure is the listed capacity; leave additional free space so Windows, shader caches and updates are not forced onto a nearly full volume.
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Why the SSD requirement matters
An SSD helps the game stream its large world and assets. A 1 TB NVMe drive is a sensible upgrade when the game is still on a hard disk, an aging SATA SSD, a failing drive or a volume with very little free space. It will not compensate for a processor that is saturated in a town or a graphics card that is already rendering at full utilization. Move the installation to a healthy SSD before interpreting storage-related hitching as a CPU or GPU defect.
What 16 GB versus 32 GB means
Sixteen gigabytes meets the minimum, but the recommended specification is 32 GB. If Windows and background applications consume most of available memory, paging can add hitching. Close unnecessary applications and watch memory use during a repeatable test. More RAM is useful when the system is paging; it does not raise performance when the processor or graphics card is the active limit.
Establish a useful baseline before changing settings
Do not compare a crowded settlement with an empty field or judge a fix from one unusually smooth camera pan. Reproduce the problem in the same save and place, then record:
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- Preset and individual settings, especially Shadows, Vegetation detail and texture quality.
- DLSS or FSR mode, or native rendering/DLAA.
- Average frame rate, 1% low frame rate and frame-time spikes.
- GPU utilization, VRAM allocation, system memory use and per-core CPU utilization.
- Whether the hitch appears while turning quickly, entering a settlement, opening a book or inventory, or traversing outdoors.
Use an in-game or trusted hardware overlay and capture at least 60 seconds of the same route. A high average FPS can hide poor 1% lows; frame-time spikes are what you feel as a pause or hitch.
Use High as the starting preset
PC Gamer’s 2025 comparative testing identified High as the best general balance. In that test set, moving from High to Ultra reduced average frame rate by roughly 20%, while High kept most tested systems at 60 fps or more at 1080p and 1440p. Start here even if your hardware is marketed as high-end, then spend performance on the settings that matter most to you.
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| Preset choice | What testing found | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| High | Best balance in PC Gamer’s 2025 testing; most tested systems reached at least 60 fps at 1080p and 1440p. | Default starting point. Tune individual options from here. |
| Ultra | About a 26% average performance hit versus High in the same testing; only some GPUs held 60 fps at 1440p. | Use after your frame-time target is already met and you accept the cost. |
| Experimental | Only a modest visual improvement over Ultra, with about 30% additional performance loss in the tested systems. | Reserve for very fast hardware and a deliberate image-quality preference. |
Lower Shadows before sacrificing the whole image
If High is close but not stable, lower Shadows first. Shadow quality can cost substantial GPU time without changing the clarity of characters or menus. Test the same route after one change so you can tell whether frame time actually improved.
Lower Vegetation detail for outdoor dips
Vegetation detail affects the amount of world geometry and foliage being processed. It is a practical second reduction when outdoor traversal or forested areas dip below your target. Keep the rest of High unchanged while testing so the result is attributable.
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Ultra is a visual-quality choice, not a fix. If you are already seeing spikes, moving from High to Ultra adds load and can expose VRAM pressure. Return to High while diagnosing the cause.
Choose DLSS or FSR deliberately
NVIDIA documents DLSS Super Resolution support for the game. Users of the NVIDIA app can apply the DLSS 4 transformer model override, and the game can also use DLAA. PC Gamer found both DLSS and FSR implementations clean in its testing.
| Mode | When to try it | Likely trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Native rendering or DLAA | GPU has spare headroom and you want maximum detail. | Highest GPU workload; no upscaling performance gain. |
| DLSS/FSR Quality | First choice when the GPU is limiting performance. | Smallest image-quality compromise among the upscaling modes. |
| DLSS/FSR Balanced | Use when Quality does not reach the desired frame time. | More reconstruction artifacts, but a larger GPU saving. |
| DLSS/FSR Performance | Only when you accept a major internal-resolution reduction. | At 1080p, text in books and inventory can become visibly blurry. |
At 1080p, PC Gamer warns that Performance mode starts from an unusually low internal resolution, making small text in books and inventory difficult to read. Begin with Quality. Move to Balanced only when monitoring shows the GPU is saturated and the extra performance is needed.
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Why upscaling may not cure town stutter
Upscaling reduces GPU work; it cannot remove a processor bottleneck. In PC Gamer’s Radeon RX 7800 XT test, FSR increased average FPS by as much as 36%, but 1% lows improved only 21% because the system became CPU-limited. A lower resolution can therefore raise the headline average while leaving the hitch you notice in a busy settlement almost unchanged.
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Identify the bottleneck with an overlay
Use the measurements from your baseline rather than buying a component on the basis of average FPS alone.
| What you observe during the hitch | Likely limit | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| GPU utilization stays near 95–100%; lowering resolution or switching Quality to Balanced reduces frame time. | GPU | Keep High, reduce Shadows or Vegetation, then use Quality/Balanced upscaling. Consider a faster GPU only if the load remains sustained. |
| GPU utilization falls while one or more CPU threads are saturated; lowering resolution barely changes the hitch. | CPU or game-thread workload | Reduce CPU-heavy world-detail or crowd options where available. A faster CPU platform is more relevant than a higher-tier GPU. |
| VRAM allocation is close to the card’s capacity and spikes occur after raising settings above High. | Video-memory pressure | Return to High, reduce texture-related options if exposed, and retest at the same resolution. |
| System memory is nearly full and disk activity rises as the hitch occurs. | RAM pressure or paging | Close background applications, confirm 32 GB is available where possible, and ensure the SSD has free space. |
| Frame-time spikes appear during asset streaming and the game is on a hard disk or unhealthy drive. | Storage | Move the game to a healthy SSD and verify the installation. |
PC Gamer describes KCD2 as “quite CPU-heavy” in its 2025 testing. That explains why a lower resolution can leave settlement 1% lows largely unchanged: the graphics card finishes its work sooner, but the game thread still takes the same time.
Account for VRAM-related stutter
PC Gamer observed occasional stutter on a 6 GB GeForce RTX 4050 laptop at presets above High and suspected that more than 8 GB of VRAM may be needed for 1440p High or higher. This is a test observation, not a universal threshold. Treat VRAM pressure as a possibility when hitching begins only after raising quality, when the overlay shows allocation near the card’s limit, or when texture detail changes the behavior.
Use High as the control condition. Change one texture or quality option at a time, repeat the same route, and compare 1% lows and frame-time graphs. If the stutter disappears without a meaningful CPU or GPU-utilization change, memory pressure was likely contributing.
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Clean up software and installation problems
- Update the game. Install the latest build offered by Steam or your launcher before testing.
- Update the graphics driver. Use the current driver for your GPU, then reboot if the installer requests it.
- Disable modifications. Remove or disable mods, ReShade files and custom injectors temporarily. A clean, unmodified launch is the control test.
- Disable overlays. Turn off third-party overlays and recording hooks one at a time while reproducing the hitch.
- Verify files. Run Steam’s file-verification command, or the equivalent repair option in the launcher you use.
- Retest the original route. Keep the same save, resolution and preset so the comparison remains meaningful.
If the problem survives a clean installation and current driver, use PLAION’s support hub for PC help, technical FAQs, patch notes and bug reporting. Include your hardware, game build, driver, location, settings, overlay metrics and a description of when the hitch occurs.
What testing says about traversal stutter
TechSpot wrote that “traversal stutter is also completely absent” in its 2025 GPU benchmark configuration and reported no shader-compilation screens. That demonstrates that the engine can stream smoothly on a defined test system; it does not prove that every PC, driver, preset or location will behave identically.
When your symptoms differ from that result, compare the conditions before assuming the game has one universal defect. A 6 GB laptop GPU at a high preset, a CPU-limited market area and a hard-drive installation represent different failure modes and require different remedies.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Patch 1.5.3 and Windows-on-ARM systems
PLAION’s Patch 1.5.3 note says the update expands hardware compatibility for the latest portable and ultrabook hardware. It adds native Windows-on-ARM support for Snapdragon X Elite devices, with improved frame-rate stability, resource allocation, power use and thermal behavior. The note also says the update contains no gameplay changes.
This is a targeted ARM compatibility update, not a blanket fix for desktop stutter. On a Snapdragon X Elite system, install the patch before judging stability; on a conventional Intel or AMD desktop, continue with the bottleneck and software checks above.
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When an upgrade is justified
| Upgrade or change | Evidence that supports it | What it will not fix | Reversibility and cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move to an SSD | Game is on a hard disk, failing drive, nearly full volume or storage activity coincides with streaming hitches. | A saturated CPU or GPU. | Moderate cost; settings and installation move are reversible. |
| Add RAM | Memory is exhausted, paging occurs, or the system falls below the 32 GB recommended target. | A GPU at full utilization or a CPU-limited settlement. | Hardware cost; verify motherboard compatibility. |
| Upgrade GPU | GPU remains saturated after High, Shadows/Vegetation reductions and Quality/Balanced upscaling. | Low-GPU-utilization town hitches caused by the processor. | Higher cost; choose enough VRAM for your resolution and quality target. |
| Upgrade CPU/platform | GPU is underused during hitches, one or more CPU threads are saturated, and lower resolution does not improve 1% lows. | VRAM exhaustion or an installation on a slow drive. | Highest cost and least reversible; may require a new motherboard and memory. |
Steam’s recommended target—32 GB RAM, a Core i7-13700K or Ryzen 7 7800X3D, an RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT, and an SSD—is a useful specification goal, not a promise of a fixed frame rate. Match an upgrade to the measurement that identifies your limit.
Practical troubleshooting branches
Stutter is worst in Kuttenberg or other dense settlements
Watch CPU-thread utilization and GPU load while entering the same area. If the GPU drops below full load and one or more CPU threads are busy, keep the resolution and upscaler unchanged, lower CPU-heavy world-detail or crowd settings if the game exposes them, and avoid buying a faster GPU as the first response. A CPU/platform upgrade is the relevant long-term option when the pattern remains after software cleanup.
The game is smooth outdoors but hitches when turning quickly
Check whether the game is installed on an SSD and whether VRAM or system memory is near capacity. Streaming hitches on a hard drive point to storage; spikes that begin above High on a 6 GB card point to VRAM pressure. Retest at High before changing hardware.
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Confirm that the GPU is actually loaded. Near-full GPU utilization calls for High, lower Shadows or Vegetation and Quality/Balanced upscaling. Low GPU utilization with busy CPU threads calls for processor-focused settings or a faster CPU. Do not infer the cause from the average alone.
Books and inventory look fuzzy
If FSR or DLSS Performance is active at 1080p, switch to Quality. The higher internal resolution preserves small text; Balanced is the next step only when GPU headroom is insufficient.
Stutter began after adding a mod or overlay
Return to an unmodified launch, disable overlays and verify files. Reintroduce additions one at a time after the baseline is stable so the conflicting component is identifiable.
Quick Recap
A repeatable fix checklist
- Windows 10 64-bit or newer is installed.
- The game has at least 100 GB available and is on a healthy SSD.
- The game build and graphics driver are current.
- Mods, ReShade and overlays are disabled for the control test.
- High is selected before Ultra or Experimental is considered.
- Shadows and Vegetation detail are reduced before the entire preset.
- DLSS or FSR starts at Quality, then moves to Balanced only for a measured GPU limit.
- GPU utilization, CPU threads, VRAM, RAM, average FPS and 1% lows are recorded in the same location.
- Hardware replacement follows the measured bottleneck rather than the game’s average FPS.
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