The Surge 2 Performance Guide – How to fix lag, fps drops, crashing and stuttering

• • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
  • Processor: AMD FX-8370 (4.0 GHz) / Intel Core i7-3820 (3.6 GHz)
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 6 GB, AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 20 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Requires a graphics card compatible with Vulkan, requires Internet connection for online features.

Though the game doesn’t look visually impressive that much, I was actually surprised to see the requirements. You must have a graphics card that supports Vulkan otherwise you won’t be able to even start the game. That is the reason why it requires atleast a GTX 950 or a R9 280 and lets not talk about the recommended requirements. AMD RX Vega 56? GTX 980 Ti? If you ask me, these requirements are way too high for this game.

So make sure that you check the official system requirements of The Surge 2 and compare them with your system specifications before purchasing it. The good thing is this game is on Steam and you can always refund it if you have already made the purchase.

Update your graphics drivers

Try updating your graphics driver. You might be sitting with a very old video driver at the moment which is slowing your PC down. Always keep your drivers updated as every version comes with some sort of optimization. Nvidia and AMD have already released their launch day support drivers for The Surge 2. Here are the links:

1. Nvidia Drivers
2. AMD Drivers

Use the Nvidia GeForce Experience application

You can also use Nvidia GeForce Experience to optimize the game even further. Here is how you can do it:

• Launch GeForce Experience
• If GFE has already scanned your PC then The Surge 2 will automatically appear with your other games on the Home page
• If you don’t see it then you need to add the game manually. Click on the settings icon located on the top right corner of GFE
• Now click on Games located on the left side
• Click on Add and select the drive where you have installed The Surge 2
• Hit Scan
• After the scanning is complete the game will appear on the Home page
• Bring you mouse pointer on the game and click on Details
• Hit the Optimize button
• Finally start the game via GeForce Experience only by click on the Play button

Verify the game files

If the game is missing some important file then it could end up being the worst experience for you while playing it. You can verify the in-game files of The Surge 2 and if the game is missing a file then Steam will automatically download it. Here is how to do it:

• Launch Steam
• Go your library
• Right click on The Surge 2
• Select Properties
• Go to the Local Files tab
• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files

Best or Optimal Graphics Settings for The Surge 2

Go to Options > Video > Display

Fullscreen : On

VSync : Off

Frame Rate Limit : 160

Go to Options > Video > Graphics

Resolution Scale : 100%

Dynamic Resolution Mode : Off

Texture Quality : Medium

Shadow Quality : Medium

Volumetric Lighting Quality : Medium

Antialiasing Mode : Off

Ambient Occlusion : Off

Subsurface Scattering : On

Bloom Intensity : 70%

Lensflare Intensity : 70%

Chromatic Aberration Intensity : 10%

Motion Blur Intensity : 15%

Though we did get some boost on our low end PC with a RX 560 with the given settings, the game ended up looking the same on every setting. This is nothing but the result of a bad PC port.

Update your OS

If you are using Windows 10 then you should really consider updating your OS right now. The recent Windows 10 updates have been very buggy lately. The have been causing serious performance related problems in a lot of AAA games. So first check what is the version and build number of your Windows 10 OS.

You can do that by just pressing ‘Windows + R” keys on your keyboard and type “winver”. After checking your OS version and build number do a Google search and check whether there are any bugs or glitches tied to your current build. If there are some then immediately update your OS. Here is how to do it:

• Go to Settings
• Go to Update & Security
• Click on Check for updates
• Wait for the updates to get installed
• Restart your PC

Utilize the Nvidia Control Panel

[Note: This is for Nvidia users only]

The first thing you should do is click on ‘Adjust image settings with preview‘ located on the left side under 3D settings and make sure that ‘Use the advanced 3D image settings‘ is selected. Now:

• Open Nvidia Control Panel
• Click on Manage 3D settings on the left bar
• Click on the Program Settings tab
• Locate The Surge 2 from the drop down menu under “Select a program to customize”
  
• If you don’t see the game on the list then click on the Add button and another list will appear
• If you still cannot spot the game then you need to add the .exe file manually.
• Click on Browse
• Locate the folder where you have installed the game
  
• Select the executable file or the .exe file which in this case should be TheSurge2.exe
  
• Once you have successfully added the game, you will then see the program settings become available for the game
  
• Now tweak the following settings:
  Threaded Optimization : On
  Power Management : Prefer Maximum Performance
  Low Latency Mode : Off
  Texture filtering – Quality : Performance

Failed to execute Vulkan command result error

As I have already mentioned earlier in the article, the game won’t run if your graphics card doesn’t have support for Vulkan API. If you try to run The Surge 2 on a graphics card without Vulkan support then you will get an error message saying ‘Failed to execute Vulkan command result : vk_error_incompatible_driver‘.

Unfortunately there is no fix for this and the only way to avoid this issue is to get a GPU that supports Vulkan.

We will update this article as soon as we discover some new fixes. Stay tuned!

Check out some of our other guides:

• Borderlands 3 – How to solve the giant cube puzzle at Desolation’s Edge
• Borderlands 3 – Performance guide
• How to get the Early Adopter Pack
• Stuck at loading screen with dancing Claptrap
• Mali Wannabees – How to make Borman Nates spawn
• Half Life easter egg in Borderlands 3?

That’s all folks!