PUBG is built on Unreal Engine 4 and has historically been one of the most poorly optimized games on the market. Despite improvements over the years, it's still demanding and very sensitive to system configuration. Unstable FPS in PUBG can cost you your life — and the Chicken Dinner.
PUBG and Unreal Engine: Why It's So Demanding
UE4 uses periodic garbage collection — the engine periodically clears memory from objects no longer in use. During this process, the CPU is briefly overloaded, causing that 1-2 second stutter that happens randomly during gameplay. This is inherent engine behavior, but it can be minimized with optimization.
- PUBG's open map requires continuous asset streaming — disk I/O is critical
- The GPU needs to render long distances — shader complexity is high
- The drop phase (airplane) and the red zone are the most demanding moments
Advanced PUBG Settings
Steam Launch Options
-sm4— forces Shader Model 4 (reduces visual quality but improves FPS on older GPUs)-malloc=system— uses the system memory manager instead of UE4's-USEALLAVAILABLECORES— forces UE4 to use all CPU cores
In-Game Settings
- Rendering: Fullscreen (not borderless)
- Anti-Aliasing: Ultra (PUBG has very good AA that helps spot enemies at distance)
- Post-Processing: Very Low
- Shadows: Very Low (biggest FPS gain)
- Foliage: Very Low
- View Distance: Ultra (ESSENTIAL for spotting distant enemies)
- Textures: Medium or High (minimal FPS impact but major visibility improvement)
- Effects: Low
- V-sync: Disabled
- FPS Limit: 144 or unlimited
System Tweaks for PUBG
SSD Is Essential
PUBG constantly streams assets during gameplay. On an HDD, this causes stutters every time you enter a new area. If you're still using an HDD, upgrading to an SSD is the single best hardware investment you can make for PUBG.
GPU Shader Cache
PUBG compiles shaders the first time you open the game. Make sure GPU shader cache is enabled in the NVIDIA/AMD control panel to avoid recompilation during gameplay.
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Configure NVIDIA DLSS
If you have an NVIDIA RTX GPU, enable DLSS in Quality or Balanced mode. DLSS practically doubles FPS with minimal visual loss and even improves distant target clarity with Super Resolution.
What UPBOOST Does for PUBG
Beyond the tweaks above, UPBOOST applies paging file configurations specifically designed to reduce UE4 garbage collection stutters, optimizes VRAM settings, and applies registry tweaks that improve asset streaming. Customers report a significant reduction in random stutters and more consistent FPS throughout the entire match.
Frequently asked questions
That's the Unreal Engine 4 garbage collector clearing memory. It happens periodically and can't be completely eliminated via software, but paging file optimizations and virtual memory configuration reduce the intensity and frequency of the freezes.