Are you experiencing FPS drops when playing the Steam version of DayZ? This can be due to an issue with your hardware resources, a graphics setting issue, or issues with the game files. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.

DayZ is a zombie survival video game developed by Bohemia Interactive and is released for the Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 platforms. You begin the game with just a few supplies to help you survive. You must scavenge the area for other supplies such as food, water, and weapons in order to help you last longer. During the course of gameplay you will meet other players who you can interact with using voice chats.

How to Fix DayZ FPS Drop Issue

One problem you might encounter when playing DayZ is when the frame rate drops. When this issue occurs you will notice that the game will slow down, stutter, or freezes for a few seconds. This can be an annoying issue that can negatively affect your gaming experience.

Here’s what you can do to fix the DayZ low fps issue.

Solution 1: Check your PC components

The first thing you will want to do is to make sure that your computer is capable of running the game. The Steam store page of DayZ has listed the minimum system requirements and recommended system requirements needed to play the game. Your computer should at least meet the minimum system requirements in order for you to avoid low FPS issues.

DayZ Minimum system requirements:

• OS: Windows 7/8.1 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-4430
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD R9 270X
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 16 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX compatible
• Additional Notes: Internet connection

Recommended system requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD R5 1600X
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD RX 580
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX compatible
• Additional Notes: Internet connection

Solution 2: Update graphics drivers

Another factor that can cause the DayZ low FPS issue is an outdated graphics driver. You need to make sure that your graphics card has the latest drivers installed as this will come with several performance enhancements as well as bug fixes that can make your DayZ game run better.

You can also update the graphics drivers using the Nvidia GeForce Experience app if you have an Nvidia card or the Radeon Software if you are using a Radeon card.

Some computers will have two GPU components. The first GPU is integrated and comes with the processor and the second GPU is a dedicated one from a video card such as Nvidia or Radeon.

You should make sure that the preferred graphics processor you will be using to play DayZ is the Nvidia GPU. Nvidia users can switch to their preferred GPU from the Nvidia control panel.

• Open the NVIDIA control panel.
• Navigate to 3D settings > Manage 3D settings.
• Open the Program settings tab and select your game from the dropdown menu.
• Select Preferred graphics processor for this program from the second dropdown menu. Your NVIDIA GPU should appear as “High-performance NVIDIA processor”
• Save your changes.

Once the graphics driver has been updated you should restart the computer then check if the DayZ FPS drop issue still occurs.

Solution 3: Update your Windows operating system

You will experience the DayZ frame rate dropping issue if your Windows operating system is not updated. Getting the latest update will ensure that DayZ will run on its best performance since the latest components, such as Direct X, will be used. In order to fix this you should get the latest Windows updates.

Manually download Windows updates

• Right click the Start button.
• Click Settings.
• Click Windows Update section found on the bottom left side of the new window that appears.
• Click Check for updates.
• If new updates are found then click on the Install now button.

After the new updates have been installed you will have to restart your computer then check if the DayZ FPS drop issue still occurs.

Solution 4: Change DayZ graphics settings to performance

If your computer does not have a powerful graphics card and only meets the minimum requirements then you should consider lowering the graphics settings of the game. This will squeeze in more frames during your gameplay and provide the best performance.

Go to the DayZ main menu screen then select options then video. Make changes to the following settings.

• Quality: Custom
• Display Mode: Fullscreen
• V-Sync: Disabled
• Object Detail: Medium
• Terrain Detail: Medium
• Texture Detail: Medium
• Shadow Detail: Low
• Texture Filtering: Low
• Terrain Surface Detail: Medium
• Postprocess Antialiasing: Low
• Hardware Antialiasing: Low
• Foliage Smoothing: Disabled
• Ambient Occlusion: Medium
• Postprocess Quality: Medium

Your DayZ game should run smoothly with these settings with minimal to no frames being dropped.

Solution 5: Check if your antivirus is causing the DayZ low fps issue

You will usually experience game stutters if the antivirus program is constantly checking the game files for any threats to the system. You can check if this is the culprit by disabling the antivirus software of your computer then try to launch DayZ and play it. If the game does not lag or have decreased framerates with the antivirus software disabled then you will need to add DayZ to its exception list.

Disable the Windows antivirus software

• Click the Start button.
• Click on Settings.
• Click on Update & Security.
• Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus & threat protection.
• Click on Manage settings.
• Turn off the Real time protection switch.

Adding DayZ to the exception list of antivirus software

• Click the Start button.
• Click on Settings.
• Click on Update & Security.
• Click on Windows Security.
• Click on Virus & threat protection.
• Click on Manage settings.
• Click Add or remove exclusions.
• Click Add an exclusion.
• Click Folder.
• Find the folder location of DayZ or its executable file and select it.

Solution 6: Close background application running when playing DayZ

You will experience the DayZ low FPS issue if there are a lot of application running while you are playing the game. This will usually divide your system resources to all applications that are open, leaving less resources to carry the game smoothly. You need to allocate as much CPU power and memory as possible to DayZ so that it will run smoothly.

Close running applications

Open task manager window by right clicking the Start button then select Task Manager.

Make sure to click on More details.

Click on the Processes tab.

Right click on the apps running and select End task. Do this for all applications except DayZ and Steam.

Try to run DayZ and check if the FPS issue still occurs.

Solution 7: Verify the integrity of game files

There’s a possibility that the FPS dropping issue is caused by a corrupted game cache, wrong configuration files, or missing game files. To fix this you will have to verify the integrity of DayZ using the Steam game client. The client will ay check for any file errors and automatically download the replacement files if errors are found.

Verifying integrity of the files

• Open the Steam client.
• Click on your Steam Library.
• Find DayZ then right click it then click on Properties.
• On the new window that appears click on Local Files tab.
• Click Verify integrity of game files…

Once the game files have been fixed try to play the game and check if the frame rate still drops.

Solution 8: Reinstall the game

If you are still experiencing the DayZ crashing issue at this point the you need to uninstall the game and reinstall it.

Uninstalling the game

• Go to the Steam Library tab.
• Right click on DayZ then click on Manage then uninstall.
• Click on Uninstall again to uninstall the game.

Installing the game

• Go to the Library tab.
• Right click on DayZ then click on install.
• Click next to proceed with the installation.

With the game newly installed, try to play DayZ and check if the FPS drop issue still occurs.

Feel free to visit our YouTube channel for additional troubleshooting guides on various devices.