Sons of the Forest Low FPS? Fixes & Causes

If you’re getting low FPS in Sons of the Forest, the most common causes are outdated graphics drivers, incorrect in-game settings, and background programs consuming CPU or RAM. Below are the specific fixes and settings that most often restore smooth performance.

Why Sons of the Forest Runs Poorly

Sons of the Forest is a demanding open-world survival game built on Unity. It uses real-time global illumination, dynamic weather, and a large draw distance. Even high-end PCs can struggle if the game isn’t using your dedicated GPU or if the graphics settings are too aggressive for your hardware. The game also has a known issue where it can use more than 8 GB of RAM, so having enough system memory is important.

Minimum and Recommended System Requirements

Endnight Games, the developer, published these requirements on the Steam store page. The minimum specs are an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X, 12 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB or Radeon RX 570 4 GB. The recommended specs are an Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5700 XT. If your PC is close to the minimum, you will likely need to lower settings to get playable frame rates.

Quick Fixes to Try First

These steps solve the majority of low FPS reports and take only a few minutes:

• Update your GPU driver. Go to NVIDIA or AMD’s website and download the latest driver. Outdated drivers are a top cause of poor performance in new games.
• Restart your PC. This clears background memory leaks and resets the GPU.
• Close background programs. Close Chrome, Discord, or other apps that use CPU and RAM. The game is CPU-intensive, so freeing up resources helps.
• Verify game files. In Steam, right-click the game, select Properties, then Local Files, then Verify Integrity of Game Files. Corrupted files can cause stuttering.
• Disable fullscreen optimizations. Right-click the game’s .exe, go to Properties, Compatibility tab, and check “Disable fullscreen optimizations.”

Best In-Game Settings for Higher FPS

If the quick fixes don’t help, adjust the in-game graphics. The most impactful options are:

• Resolution: Lowering from 1440p to 1080p or using DLSS/FSR (if available) gives a big boost.
• Graphics Quality: Set to Medium or Low. This affects shadows, textures, and effects globally.
• Draw Distance: Reduce from High to Medium. This lowers the distance at which objects are rendered, which helps on CPUs.
• Shadow Quality: Set to Low or Medium. Shadows are very GPU-heavy.
• Ambient Occlusion: Turn off or set to Low. This feature adds depth but costs FPS.
• Motion Blur: Turn off. It doesn’t affect FPS much but can make low frame rates feel worse.

After changing settings, test by playing for a few minutes. The game’s built-in benchmark (in the main menu under “Benchmark”) is a good way to compare settings quickly.

Common Problems and Their Specific Fixes

Some players experience FPS issues even with high-end hardware. Here are common scenarios:

• Game using integrated GPU instead of dedicated. On laptops, Windows might use the Intel integrated graphics. Go to Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics, choose the game, and set it to High Performance (your NVIDIA or AMD GPU).
• Stuttering during autosaves. The game autosaves frequently, which can cause brief freezes. This is a known issue; reducing graphics settings can mitigate it, but it may persist.
• FPS drops when looking at fires or explosions. These are caused by particle effects. Lowering “Effects Quality” helps.
• Memory leak. If FPS slowly decreases over time, the game may have a memory leak. Restarting the game every few hours is the only reliable fix.
• Multiplayer lag. If you’re hosting, your upload speed and CPU matter. If you’re a client, your ping matters. Host on a wired connection and close bandwidth-heavy apps.

When to Upgrade Your Hardware

If you’ve tried all the software fixes and still get low FPS, your hardware may be below the recommended specs. The most impactful upgrades for this game are:

• RAM: Going from 8 GB to 16 GB can be a huge improvement, as the game can use over 10 GB.
• GPU: A mid-range card like an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 will handle 1080p at high settings.
• CPU: The game is CPU-heavy, so a modern 6-core processor is recommended. An older quad-core might bottleneck.

Before buying, check your current CPU and GPU usage while playing. If the GPU is at 100% and the CPU is low, the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU is at 100% and the GPU is low, the CPU is the bottleneck.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sons of the Forest poorly optimized?

The game is demanding, but most performance issues are due to outdated drivers or settings. It runs well on recommended hardware. The developer has released patches that improved performance since early access.

Does DLSS help improve FPS?

Yes, if your GPU supports DLSS (NVIDIA RTX cards) or FSR (AMD and some NVIDIA cards), enabling it can significantly boost FPS. These features render at a lower resolution and upscale, so you get better performance with minimal visual loss.

Why is my FPS low on a high-end PC?

Check if your monitor is plugged into the GPU (not the motherboard), update drivers, and ensure no background apps are using CPU. Also, the game might be using integrated graphics if you have a laptop. Check Windows graphics settings.

How much RAM does Sons of the Forest need?

The minimum is 12 GB, but 16 GB is recommended. The game can use more than 10 GB, so if you have 8 GB, you will likely experience stuttering and low FPS.

Can I run Sons of the Forest on a low-end PC?

It’s possible with very low settings and resolution (like 720p). Use FSR or DLSS if available. Even then, expect below 30 FPS on older hardware. The game is not well-suited for integrated graphics.

Does lowering graphics quality increase FPS?

Yes, but some settings have more impact than others. Lowering resolution, shadow quality, and draw distance gives the biggest boost. Lowering texture quality only helps if you have limited VRAM.

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