It’s common knowledge that Starfield demands a high-powered gaming PC. Even if you possess the latest hardware and top-notch graphics settings, the game can still put a strain on your framerate. However, there’s good news for Nvidia users as PC optimizations are finally on the horizon. The latest game drivers now offer a slight improvement in Starfield performance for systems that support Resizable BAR.
In a recent blog post, Nvidia spokesperson Andrew Burnes shed light on the details of the latest driver update and its impact on Starfield’s PC performance. Burnes emphasized that both the latest driver version 537.34 and the previous version 537.17 (thanks to an over-the-air update that eliminates the need for manual download) now enable Resizable BAR. According to Nvidia’s testing with RTX 40 Series GPUs, this update provides an average performance boost of about 5%. Fortunately, owners of RTX 30 Series graphics cards can also expect a performance uplift, provided their PC’s other hardware supports it.
Related: Learn more about how Resizable BAR works and how to enable Resizable BAR.
Starfield PC Performance – Who’s Optimizing What Now?
Although Bethesda Studio Head Todd Howard claims that Starfield is optimized for PC, there is clearly room for improvement on Nvidia and Intel hardware. AMD users already enjoy some performance benefits due to early driver optimizations and features like Smart Access Memory, which is AMD’s version of Resizable BAR.
Image via Bethesda Softworks
This situation is not surprising since Starfield is a game sponsored by AMD and primarily developed for AMD-based console hardware. However, this poses a serious problem for PC users, as Nvidia dominates the majority of the graphics market, while Intel retains a significant share of the CPU space. Nevertheless, the introduction of these Nvidia drivers is a step in the right direction.
As someone who played Starfield in its pre-release state, I was disappointed to see that multiple game and driver updates did not significantly improve framerates leading up to the launch. Even this Nvidia driver, offering a 5% uplift, arrives one week late. It is evident that more optimizations are required to increase the average fps in the game, whether that’s done by Bethesda, Nvidia, or the modding community.
Nevertheless, Starfield runs smoothly on PC and continues to captivate a wide audience with its rich content. While a 5% average performance boost may not seem like much, it’s still a significant improvement. So make sure to grab the latest Nvidia driver update with Resizable BAR support to enhance Starfield’s performance on PC. Also, be sure to check out our Starfield review and don’t let the optimization issues discourage you from experiencing this outstanding science fiction RPG.