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Everything you need to know about Stalker 2’s PC optimization, including the best settings for all possible PC configurations.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, much like any other Unreal Engine 5 game, is quite demanding on PC. While the game’s minimum system requirements will have you believe it’s easy to run on most PC configurations, that cannot be farther from the truth. Given the game’s use of Unreal Engine 5’s toolset, it’s incredibly taxing on both GPU and CPU resources. That’s not to mention the game’s reliance on faster storage bandwidth for smoother texture streaming, with minimal pop-in. Furthermore, as is the case with any UE4/5 title, the game gets more demanding in terms of VRAM as you increase the resolution, with 1440p and 4K settings easily surpassing the 10 GB VRAM limit.
Thankfully, to help players get a perfect balance between performance and visuals, the game does come with a robust graphics settings menu. The graphics settings here are similar to any other UE5 title, such as Black Myth Wukong or Silent Hill 2, albeit with a few more options, as well as support for both DLSS3 and FSR3 at launch. Here’s a comprehensive optimization guide for Stalker 2 on PC, including the best settings for optimal performance.
Stalker 2 PC System Requirements
Stalker 2, much like other recent Unreal Engine 5 games, is mostly GPU-bound, with the game’s minimum VRAM requirement being 8 GB. However, at 1080p, the game never exceeds 6 GB of VRAM usage, at Medium settings with DLSS Quality. However, if you plan on playing the game at native 1080p or 1440p, you will need more than 8 GB of VRAM, as well as a much beefier CPU than the one mentioned in the recommended system requirements. That being said, here are the minimum and recommended PC system requirements for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl:
Minimum
- OS: Windows 10, Windows 11
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X / Intel Core i5-7600K
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
- Storage: 150 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10, Windows 11
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel Core i7-9700K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
- Storage: 150 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD
It should be noted that, while the game is playable from a HDD, developer GSC Game World highly recommends using an SSD instead.
Best Settings for Stalker 2 on PC
The most demanding settings in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl are Post-processing, Antialiasing, Shadows Quality, and Shading Quality. Furthermore, the Texture Quality setting is also quite heavy on GPU resources. Unlike other Unreal Engine 5 games, the Texture Quality setting in Stalker 2 actually has noticeable differences across various presets. Setting the Texture Quality to High and Epic is only recommended if you have at least 8 GB (or more) VRAM. If you’re playing the game on a 6 GB VRAM GPU, it’s best to keep the Texture Quality Low. Although Low does look noticeably worse, it does keep the VRAM usage in check.
That being said, here are the best settings to use for Stalker 2:
| Settings | Low (6 GB VRAM GPUs) | Recommended (8 GB VRAM GPUs) | Ultra (8 GB and above VRAM GPUs) |
| Texture Quality | Low | High | Epic |
| Hair | Medium | High | High |
| Object Details | Low | Medium | Epic |
| Effects Quality | Low | Medium | Epic |
| Materials | Medium | High | Epic |
| Post-Processing | Medium | High | Epic |
| Antialiasing | Medium | High | High |
| Motion Blur Strength | High | High | High |
| Depth of Field | Low | Low | High |
| Light Shafts | Disabled | Enabled | Enabled |
| Sharpness | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Upscaling Method | DLSS | DLSS | DLSS |
| Upscaling Quality | Quality (or Balanced) | Quality | Quality |
| DLSS Frame Generation | On | Off | Off |
| FSR3 Frame Generation | Off | Off | Off |
| Shading Quality | Low | Medium | High |
| Global Illumination | Low | High | High |
| Reflections | Low | High | High |
| Shadow Quality | Low | Medium | Epic |
| Clouds | Low | High | High |
| Fog | Low | High | Epic |
| Sky | Medium | High | Epic |
| Foliage Quality | Low | High | Epic |
| Environment Draw Distance | Near | Far | Far |
Also, note that you can choose to play the game at native resolution if you have GPU resources to spare. However, Stalker 2, much like any other Unreal Engine 5 title, is built with upscaling in mind. As such, not using DLSS or FSR, especially at 1440p, will result in performance degradation.
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