Smooth, high‑FPS KF3 made simple—proven PC settings, DLSS/FSR/XeSS picks, stutter fixes, and Steam Deck 40–60 FPS presets.
Killing Floor 3 looks fantastic—dense gore, reactive dismemberment, and moody lighting—but it also runs on Unreal Engine 5 with modern lighting features that can smash framerates if you let them. The trick is knowing which dials matter most, when to lean on upscalers, and how to tame micro‑stutter so your Zed‑slaying stays smooth.
Below is a practical, field‑tested guide: fast presets you can apply immediately, followed by deeper explanation for DLSS/FSR/XeSS, stutter fixes, and two Steam Deck presets targeting 40 FPS and (conditional) 60 FPS.
TL;DR: One‑click‑style presets for PC
Assumptions: You’re installed on an SSD (required and recommended), and you’ve updated your GPU drivers.
A) “Competitive Smooth” (1080p+ high FPS, minimal hitching)
- VSync: Off
- Frame Rate Cap: Your monitor’s max (or cap to 120/144 for steadier lows)
- Motion Blur / Depth of Field: Off
- View Distance: High
- Shadows: Medium
- Post Process: Medium
- Textures: High (drop to Medium if VRAM < 8 GB)
- Foliage/Shading: Medium
- Bloom: Standard
- Lens Flare: Off
- Reflection Method: SSR
- Global Illumination Method: SSR (this disables Lumen, the biggest GPU hog)
- Upscaler:
- RTX 40/50: DLSS Quality; add DLSS Frame Generation (40‑series) or DLSS 4 Multi‑Frame Generation (50‑series). Enable Reflex (On + Boost).
- Other Nvidia / AMD / Intel: FSR Quality or XeSS Quality (pick whichever looks cleaner to you).
- Result you’re aiming for: 90–144 FPS with strong 1% lows at 1080p on mid/high GPUs (e.g., RTX 4070). PCGamesN’s test rig (i7‑11700F + RTX 4070) averaged ~117 FPS at 1080p with these principles.
B) “Balanced Quality” (1440p target 60–100 FPS)
- Same toggles as above except:
- Shadows: High
- GI Quality: Medium (but keep GI Method = SSR to avoid Lumen)
- Upscaler: DLSS/XeSS/FSR Quality (drop to Balanced if needed).
- Frame Generation (FG): Great if your native FPS is ~50–60. Don’t use FG to prop up a 30 FPS base—latency gets weird and 1% lows suffer in heavy waves.
C) “Cinematic 4K (Looks First)”
- Textures / View Distance / Shadows / Post: High
- GI/Reflection Method: Lumen (accept perf hit)
- Upscaler: DLSS Quality (or DLAA if you’re comfortably >90 FPS native on top GPUs), with Frame Generation on RTX 40/50 to claw back headroom. Reflex On.
- Expectations: Even with upscaling/FG, 4K averages are far lower than 1080p/1440p; plan to tune shadows and GI down first. PCGamesN measured much tighter performance at 1080p than higher resolutions even with FG.
The Big Levers (What to lower first)
- Lumen (Lighting & Reflections) → switch to SSR.
This is the biggest single win. Lumen looks great but hits CPU & GPU hard. Both PCGamesN and Steam Deck HQ demonstrate substantial jumps when turning Lumen off (swap Reflection Method and Global Illumination Method to SSR). In Deck testing, that change alone lifted ~25–28 FPS up to ~50–55 in solo play. - Shadows and Post‑Process.
Shadow resolution/quality is a classic performance sink. Knock them to Medium before you cut texture quality. Post‑process can stay Medium unless you’re struggling. - Foliage and Shading.
These cost more in big outdoor maps. Medium is a strong default. - Textures.
Drop only if VRAM‑bound. On 8 GB cards, High is typically fine; on 6 GB, consider Medium.
Upscalers & Frame Generation: What to pick and why
Killing Floor 3 ships with DLSS, FSR, XeSS, and TSR; plus DLSS Frame Generation and DLSS 4 Multi‑Frame Generation (on RTX 50). Reflex is supported and should be enabled where available to cut latency—especially when using FG.
- DLSS (NVIDIA):
- Best overall on RTX cards for image stability and performance.
- DLSS Frame Generation works on RTX 40‑series; DLSS 4 with Multi‑Frame Generation on RTX 50‑series. Pair with Reflex On + Boost.
- If you’re CPU‑limited during huge Zed waves, cap FPS to 120/144 (or your monitor’s refresh) to stabilize 1% lows.
- FSR (AMD):
- Works on everything, not just AMD. Good fallback if you don’t have DLSS.
- Use Quality/Balanced; avoid Performance unless you must. (At present, in‑game support centers on FSR upscaling; FG is not listed alongside DLSS FG in feature rundowns.)
- XeSS (Intel):
- Surprisingly competitive even on non‑Intel GPUs via DP4a path. Some Deck testers prefer XeSS Balanced over FSR Balanced for clarity at 800p. Try both; keep the one you prefer.
- TSR (Epic’s built‑in):
- Most compatible, but typically softer than DLSS/XeSS. Use as a last resort or if you’re troubleshooting VSync quirks.
Rule of thumb for Frame Generation
- Turn it on only if your native FPS (without FG) is at least ~50–60 so 1% lows don’t crater during boss waves. FG boosts averages but doesn’t fix hitches if your baseline is too low. PCGamesN’s data shows KF3’s 1% lows can diverge a lot from averages, so don’t push your luck.
Dealing with Stutter (shader compilation & friends)
UE5 titles can hitch when new shaders compile. Epic has documented why this happens and how engines try to avoid it (PSO precaching, background compilation, etc.). That means first runs and first encounters tend to be the worst; later sessions should improve as caches warm.
Practical steps:
- Let first‑boot compilation finish and avoid alt‑tabbing when you start the game for the first time.
- Keep the game on an SSD (KF3 requires this; it matters).
- Update GPU drivers (NVIDIA/AMD release optimizations post‑launch).
- Use Reflex (NVIDIA) when you use Frame Generation. It helps with input feel.
- Optional (NVIDIA): ensure your Shader Cache Size isn’t constrained. Some players report smoother camera turns and fewer micro‑stutters setting cache to “Unlimited” in the NVIDIA app; it’s anecdotal, but harmless if you’ve got disk space.
Also note: Microsoft is pushing platform‑level “Advanced Shader Delivery” for pre‑compiled shaders, though it’s early days on PC. Keep an eye on driver/game updates; this problem space is actively improving.
Steam Deck: 40–60 FPS presets
KF3 is surprisingly playable on the Deck if you disable Lumen and use an upscaler. Don’t expect 60 FPS to hold during chaotic six‑player, high‑difficulty runs—but solo or lighter sessions can flirt with it. Steam Deck HQ’s testing found ~50–55 FPS solo with Lumen off at low settings; for stability, cap at 40.
Deck fundamentals
- Proton: Default (no forced compatibility).
- Install on internal SSD. (General best practice for UE5 games.)
- Refresh/FPS pairing:
- Deck OLED: Set 80 Hz and cap 40 FPS for perfect 2:1 pacing (or use 90 Hz with 45 FPS if you prefer).
- Deck LCD: Use the slider to set 40 Hz + 40 FPS. Steam Deck HQ’s recommended preset uses 40 FPS / 80 Hz, which works well on OLED.
1) Deck 40 FPS “Solid Solo/Co‑op”
- Resolution: Native (1280×800)
- VSync: On (Deck‑side cap handles pacing; this reduces tearing)
- Frame Rate Cap (in‑game): 60 (Deck OS will cap to 40)
- Motion Blur / Depth of Field / Lens Flare: Off
- Bloom: Standard
- View Distance / Shadows / Post / Foliage / Shading: Low
- Textures: Low (bump to Medium if you prioritize clarity; watch VRAM)
- Reflection Method: SSR
- Global Illumination Method: SSR (turns off Lumen)
- Upscaler: FSR Balanced or XeSS Balanced (try both; SDHQ preferred XeSS with Lumen off)
- Power/Battery hint: Expect roughly 16–21 W draw and ~2.5–3 hours in solo play; cap brightness to stretch runtime.
When to use: Default for most Deck players. Holds 40 FPS much more consistently, even when things get busy, and minimizes fan roar.
2) Deck “60 FPS (Conditional)”
Use for hub, solo on easier difficulties, or if you accept dips in heavy waves.
- Refresh: 60 Hz (LCD) or 90 Hz (OLED; some prefer 60 Hz for tighter frametime)
- Frame Cap: 60 FPS
- Settings: Start from the 40 FPS preset, then
- Textures: Medium
- View Distance: Medium
- Upscaler: FSR Balanced (or XeSS Balanced)
- Keep Lumen off (SSR/SSR)
- Reality check: 60 isn’t guaranteed during six‑player boss waves; expect drops into the 40s. If you hate variance, stick to the 40 FPS preset. Community and press testing consistently identify 40 FPS as the Deck “sweet spot.”
PC: Vendor‑specific guidance
NVIDIA (RTX)
- RTX 50‑series: Use DLSS 4 with Multi‑Frame Generation + DLSS Super Resolution (Quality/Balanced) + Reflex (On + Boost). Great headroom at 1440p; 4K still requires compromises to shadows/Lumen.
- RTX 40‑series: DLSS SR (Quality) + DLSS Frame Generation + Reflex.
- RTX 20/30‑series: DLSS SR (Quality/Balanced); no native FG—keep your native FPS decent and cap at 120 for smoother lows.
AMD (RX 6000/7000)
- FSR Quality/Balanced. Start with SSR for GI/Reflections (Lumen off).
- Watch CPU spikes in high‑enemy counts; cap at 120/144 to even out frametimes.
Intel Arc
- XeSS Quality/Balanced performs well on Arc and is competitive on other vendors at 1080p/1440p; keep Lumen off and tune shadows first. (Several Deck testers also preferred XeSS Balanced.)
Why UE5 games (including KF3) can feel “spiky,” and how to stabilize
Unreal Engine’s shader pipeline can compile work just‑in‑time the first time you encounter new content, causing short hitches. UE5 has tech to mitigate this (PSO precaching, background compilation), but cache warming still matters; so does I/O speed (another reason SSD is mandatory).
Practical stability tips:
- Cap FPS a little below your peaks; this evens out 1% lows (PCGamesN measured sizable gaps between the averages and 1% lows in KF3).
- Don’t crank Lumen unless you’ve got the budget; even with SSR, KF3 can be CPU‑limited in big waves.
- Reflex (NVIDIA) reduces latency when using FG.
- NVIDIA users: consider Unlimited Shader Cache in the NVIDIA app if you see recurrent micro‑stutters (community tip).
Verified performance notes & expectations
- System Requirements & SSD: KF3 requires a 64‑bit OS and SSD; recommended GPUs include RTX 3060 / RX 6750 XT / Arc A770. (Minimums are relatively lenient but don’t guarantee 60 FPS.)
- DLSS 4 & Reflex: Officially supported at launch; DLAA is present if you want maximum image quality over speed.
- Best‑case Deck: ~50–55 FPS solo with Lumen off and low settings, but expect drops in heavy co‑op; 40 FPS cap is the stable target.
- PC behavior: With recommended settings and DLSS/FG, 1080p performs well on a 4070‑class GPU, but 1% lows lag behind averages; 1440p/4K need additional compromises.
Step‑by‑step tuning checklist (PC & Deck)
- Install on SSD → verify Windows/Steam sees it there.
- Update drivers (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel).
- Pick your target:
- PC: 120/144 FPS at 1080p or 60–100 FPS at 1440p.
- Deck: 40 FPS (primary) or “60 FPS (conditional)” if you accept dips.
- Disable Lumen (set GI Method = SSR, Reflection Method = SSR).
- Select upscaler:
- NVIDIA: DLSS Quality (plus FG on RTX 40/50; Reflex On + Boost).
- AMD/Intel/Deck: FSR or XeSS (Quality/Balanced). Try both and keep the sharper/steadier one.
- Trim costliest features: Shadows → Post → Foliage/Shading → Textures if VRAM‑bound.
- Cap framerate close to your sustainable average to stabilize frametimes.
- Warm caches: Play a quick solo run after changing drivers/patches before jumping into six‑player.
- (Optional NVIDIA) Shader Cache size → Unlimited if you have disk to spare.
Example builds & targets
- RTX 3060 / Ryzen 5 5600:
- 1080p → SSR GI/Reflections, DLSS Balanced, Shadows Medium, rest Medium/High mix. Cap 90–120 FPS.
- RTX 4070 / Core i7‑11700F (PCGN‑like):
- 1080p → DLSS Quality + FG, High/Medium mix, SSR GI/Reflections. Averages ~117 FPS; 1% lows can lag—cap at 120/144.
- 1440p → DLSS Quality + FG, Shadows Medium, GI Medium, aim 70–90 FPS.
- RX 6700 XT / Ryzen 5 5600:
- 1080p → FSR Quality, SSR GI/Reflections, Medium shadows. Aim 75–100 FPS.
- Steam Deck (OLED/LCD):
- Use the 40 FPS preset above; keep Lumen off; FSR/XeSS Balanced; expect ~2.5–3 hrs in solo runs with 16–21 W draw.
Final notes
- KF3 is Early Access‑like in spirit for performance: press testing highlights that while the game is very playable, 1% lows lag averages more than ideal. That’s normal for many early UE5 titles and tends to improve with patches and driver updates. Keep your settings conservative for co‑op chaos and boss waves.
- If you’re on RTX 50, definitely leverage DLSS 4 with Multi‑Frame Generation; if you’re on RTX 40, DLSS FG + Reflex remains a big win.
Sources & further reading
- Official NVIDIA feature announcement (DLSS 4/Multi‑Frame Gen, Reflex/DLAA presence).
- PCGamesN best settings & test methodology (PC + Deck settings, 1% low behavior).
- Steam Deck HQ review & presets (Deck 40 FPS sweet spot, Lumen‑off gains).
- Steam store system requirements (SSD required).
- Epic/Unreal tech blog (why shader stutter happens; cache warming).
- (Optional) Community tip: NVIDIA shader cache size for micro‑stutter.
