VRChat
113 ratings
VRChat Optimization Guide
By Grobi
In this Guide, you will learn how to optimize your game, that allows you to play smoothly without problems.

You can gain an up to 30% Frame rate increase over the Board while using the methods listed in this guide.
The mentioned Settings work wonders in worlds with A lot of people.

This Guide has been tested in VR and on Desktop Mode.


Please note:
Everyone's Hardware is different, and you can get different results depending on your hardware!

Last Update: 25.08.2024
Changelog:
Reworked the whole Layout of the Guide and added more Content!
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NVIDIA Control Panel
NVIDIA Control Panel
The NVIDIA Control Panel serves as a comprehensive software interface for users to manage and tailor settings related to their NVIDIA graphics card. Within this application, users can fine-tune display configurations, optimize 3D settings for various applications, and enhance overall system performance. It offers a centralized platform for adjusting parameters such as resolution, refresh rate, and color settings, enabling users to customize their graphics experience based on individual preferences and system requirements. In essence, the NVIDIA Control Panel functions as a tool for graphics optimization and personalization.

Please note, that this will only work on Nvidia GPU's! AMD have their own tools, Since i don't have an AMD GPU, please let me know the AMD settings, so I may add them down the line.


Step 1
Right-click on your desktop and then select “NVIDIA Control Panel”.

Step 2
Click on "Configure Surround and PhysX" category and then select your graphics card in the drop-down menu.

Step 3
Click on “Manage 3D settings” and then on “Program settings”.
Select the VRChat program. And apply the same parameters as those present on the images below. Don't forget to hit "apply".
Windows set High Priority with EAC
Windows set High Priority with EAC
As you might have noticed, you can't give Priority to games that are running Easy Anti Cheat in the Task Manager. The following steps will explain how to make anything run with high Priority on your system every time u start said application!
Please make sure you only edit the registry if you know what you are doing!


Step 1
Press your Windows Button and type "regedit" and press Enter.

Step 2
Navigate to this line: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options".

Step 3
Right click on "Image File Execution Options"> New> Key.

Step 4
Name the new Key as "VRChat.exe". MAKE SURE the key name is the same as the game executable, in our case "VRChat.exe"

Step 5
Right click on the new key "VRChat.exe">New>Key
Name the new Key "PerfOptions".

Step 6
Select "PerfOptions" then right click>New>DWORD 32bit
Name the new DWORD "CpuPriorityClass"

Step 7
Open the newly created DWORD with the name "CpuPriorityClass" set the Value data to 3 make sure hexadecimal is selected and hit OK.

Step 8
Start your game, open task manager, right click on VrChat.exe, and it should be set automatically to High.

Side Notes
*"Process.exe" is valid for any game running EAC, simply repeat the steps from 3. replacing "VRChat.exe" with "YourEACgame.exe".

The Value 3 is equal to "High" priority, if you desire to set something else, this is the table:1 Idle, 2 Normal, 3 High, 4 RealTime (n.a.), 5 Below Normal, 6 Above Normal.
IMPORTANT: 4 (RealTime) should NEVER be used as it will result into system instability.
Priority Launch Options
Priority Launch Options
VRChat has Launch Options for the Performance Priorities.


Step 1
Right click VR Chat in your Steam Library and select propperties.

Step 2
Navigate to the "General" tab. There you will see a tab for launch options.

Step 3
Paste the following arguments separated by space:
"--process-priority=<ARG> --main-thread-priority=<ARG>"

Replace the <ARG> with the Priority you want to set:

- -2: Lowest priority
- -1: Below Normal priority
- 0: Normal priority
- 1: Above Normal priority
- 2: Highest priority


What theese do
"--process-priority=<ARG>" Manually sets the process priority of VRChat to the specified level.
"--main-thread-priority=<ARG>" Manually sets the priority of the main Unity thread that VRChat runs on to the specified level.

Please Note
The operating system uses the priority level of a process to decide how to schedule processor time to it relative to all of the other processes it's running.

Setting priority levels inappropriately can degrade VRChat's performance or cause your system to become unresponsive. Carefully try out these options, don't set priority levels manually unless you know what you're doing!
Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
Hardware accelerated GPU scheduling can improve performance and system latency in certain workloads by reducing CPU utilization (or, more specifically, by reducing the overhead of GPU scheduling).

Step 1
Right-click on your desktop and then select “Display Settings”.

Step 2
Scroll down to the Bottom and select Graphic settings and click it. (You should find this below the Multiple displays category.

Step 3
Enable the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling under the Graphics settings.

Step 4
Below you can find the category Graphics performance preference. Select the "VR Dashboard" and set it to "High Performance". If you cant select "VR Dashbord" you can manually add it via under -> steamVR/bin/win64/vrdahboard.exe




High-Performance Power Plan
High-Performance Power Plan
Changing power plan may help you to optimize Windows 10 for gaming since power plans are designed to better manage battery use on portable devices. And many Windows 10 desktop users say that this solution helps them to improve game performance.

Step 1
Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.

Step 2
In the pop-up window, choose System to continue.

Step 3
Then navigate to the Power & Sleep tab and click Additional power settings.

Step 4
In the Power Options window, check the option High Performance.
Windows Visual Effects
Windows Visual Effects
Many background graphics are turned on by default, which will affect the available processing power of your PC when playing games on the computer in the foreground.

Step 1
Type View advanced system settings in the search box of Windows and choose the best-matched one.

Step 2
In the pop-up window, switch to the Advanced tab.

Step 3
Then click Settings under Performance section to continue.

Step 4
In the pop-up window, in the Visual Effects tab, copy the settings from the following screenshots. Then click Apply and OK to confirm the changes.
Ingame Settings / Optimization
Ingame Settings / Optimization tips
In-game settings refer to configurable options within a video game that allow players to customize various aspects such as graphics, controls, and audio to suit their preferences and system capabilities. To optimize game performance, follow the following steps.

Pro Tip: VRChat has a search feature for the Settings


Graphics
Navigate to the Settings Menu and select Graphics.
I personally recommend using the following settings due to the noticeable decline in Quality if you go any lower. Please note that if you have turned off Anti-Aliasing via the Nvidia Control Panel the setting for anti Anti-Aliasing in the VRChat settings will become redundant.

Graphics Quality: Medium

Common
I recommend having the Particle limiter on, as it saves you from malicious content and saves you performance. Depending on your PC, you may adjust the Pixel light count.
You should cap the FPS at your Headsets / Monitor's refresh rate (in my case, 120 Hz).
Please note that some people reported performance drops when having an in-game fps cap in combination with the Nvidia control panel FPS cap. I recommend just using one of the two.



Avatars
Navigate to the Settings Menu and select Avatars.

Avatar Interactions
This setting influences if your Ears / Tail / Oppai / Hair etc. can be touched by others. While this is a nice feature for cuddles and other activities, it may impact your performance on weaker PC's. Experiment with it.

Avatar Optimizations
Here you can choose to block Very Poor Avatars and set a limit for avatar download size.
I personally don't like having this on, but it's a guaranteed performance boost on weaker PC's. On a side note, this setting can be overridden by clicking show Avatar on a hidden user!

Avatar Culling
Avatar culling hides / does not load Avatars beyond the limits you set, which results in a performance gain. The settings I found most suitable for myself are listed below, feel free to adjust them to your liking.

Avatar Download Prioritization
This is quality of life, but you can set it up so the Avatars you want to see load first.


Debug

Managed Cached Data
I recommend clearing your Cache on a regular basis, which can lead to a performance gain.
Alternatively, there are external tools like VRCX[github.com], which can, among other features, clean your cache for you. Please note that VRCX is an external third party tool not related to VRChat in any way or form.


Notable Mentions#
  • Group Banners can be disabled for a performance gain.
  • Nametags can be disabled for a performance gain.
  • The Chatbox can be disabled for a performance gain.
Windows Game Mode
Windows Game Mode
This is a Simple thing and should be done anyway for every game you play!
When you use Game Mode, Windows prioritizes your gaming experience by turning things off in the background. When you’re running a game.

Step 1
Press Windows key and I Key together to open Settings.

Step 2
In the Settings page, click Gaming.

Step 3
Disable Game Bar this thing eats performance!

Step 4
On the left side, navigate to Captures.
Disable all capture features, recording features like this eat performance!

Step 5
On the left side, navigate to Game Mode.
Enable Game mode! This will optimize Windows for Gaming performance!

Disclaimer
I have done testing with game mode on and off and came to the conclusion that I have a small performance gain from it. I have received feedback that a small portion of users experience a performance dip with it enabled. So please do your own testing with it on and off.
Optional / Useful Tools.
A list of things and tools I found to make VRChat more enjoyable.

  • VRCX
    VRCX is an assistant/companion application for VRChat that provides information about and helps you accomplish various things related to VRChat in a more convenient fashion than relying on the plain VRChat client (desktop or VR), or website alone. It also includes some other neat features.
    GITHUB[github.com]
  • OVR Toolkit
    OVR Toolkit is a utility application designed to make viewing the desktop in VR simple and fast, it allows for viewing the desktop within VR, placing desktop windows around the world, mouse input, typing with a virtual keyboard, and quickly switching between windows.
    Steam
  • OVR Advanced Settings also known as Playspace Mover
    A Dashboard Application for VR, that allows you to access many settings, and provide a litany of utility features, such as timers, audio settings, push-to-talk and more.
    Steam
Thank you
Thank you for reading this guide.
If you think this was helpful, please make sure to give it a thumbs up Favorite and share it with your friends!

The feedback on this has been amazing so far and motivated me to continue working on this!
34 Comments
Turtelus_Grande 29 Sep @ 2:44am 
thanks it helps <3
Grobi  [author] 25 Aug @ 8:57am 
@Grembiule di Masterchess I added a section on how to set the process priority with steams launch arguments. I hope this helps <3
Grembiule di Masterchess 2 Jul @ 10:47am 
i tried the CPU priority step but when i open the game its still set to normal, any tips?
Grobi  [author] 15 Apr @ 4:47am 
@Oxified Thanks for the kind feedback <3
I am glad i was able to help ^^
Oxified 15 Apr @ 1:17am 
Cheers I noticed some worlds boosting up to 30 more additional frames!
Grobi  [author] 13 Dec, 2023 @ 10:41am 
@Feilen ♡ First of all thanks for saying hi <3
It depends on PCs specs, in my experience on weaker rigs (my old rig and older laptop) it made a huge difference but on my newer rig with better specs I notice a small gain in fps.
Feilen ♡  [developer] 12 Dec, 2023 @ 5:25pm 
I'm curious about the impact of the task priority though. I've avoided touching it thusfar cause it tends to have radically unpredictable results, but if you've measured a benefit that's neat!
Feilen ♡  [developer] 12 Dec, 2023 @ 5:24pm 
Clearing your cache shouldn't have any real impact on performance, unless something is off or your storage is heavily used.
Grobi  [author] 10 Dec, 2023 @ 3:07am 
@S h i r o ツ

- I was not aware of your Guide, nice to see that you made one too.
- I fail to see a screenshot that was stolen, since I took them all myself. Except the rating, which I got from a quick google search.
- Your claim that word for word was copied is invalid, since I seem to fail to see much of the content I provided in your guide.
- This guide consists of various different optimization options you can find across the internet and personal experience.

If there would have been any inspiration by your guide, I would have cross-referenced it and given you credit. Sadly, I only provide the steps and things I did to optimize my game in here!
Prim 8 Dec, 2023 @ 4:37am 
A very clear and organised guide that even i could follow. Thanks for putting your time into this. ^.^