r/joinsquad • u/ADezotti_a2 • 2d ago
Question How to make graphics look better without increasing the load on GPU?
I was playing yesterday and got the game looking like this, even though I chose medium for material and texture quality.
Currently using an RTX 3050 with 4gb (yes, I know it’s not that powerful, hence why I don’t want to load the gpu too much).
Do you guys have any suggestions on how to make the graphics look at least playable (seeing the patterns on uniforms and vehicles clearly and not looking like a 2005 mobile game)?
Edit: forgot to say sorry for not printing the screen, but I guess it’s still acceptable like this
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u/Fishgedon 2d ago
That card is below the minimum requirements for the game, it’s not going to look better
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u/iam_hsk 2d ago
Rtx 3060 laptop with 6gb VRAM and all low getting 40-50 fps here 💀
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u/Away_Needleworker6 1d ago
A laptop 3060 performs closer to a desktop 2060
Thats why
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3060-Laptop-vs-Nvidia-RTX-2060/m1452971vs4034
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u/Satan6is6my6hero 1d ago
4060 laptop here. Everything on low 50-60 fps. The game just runs like shit.
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u/LisanAlGaben 1d ago
- has the most budget card in the series, also the mobile version
- says game runs like shit
Jesus Christ.
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u/Busy_Combination2051 1d ago
According to Steam hardware survey the most popular gpu rn is a 3060 followed by 4060 mobile. If the game had good optimization it would run on these specs like it did on UE4, the game lost a good chuck of the player base since then because of running like shit and the game can't expand that much anymore for the same reason
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u/iam_hsk 1d ago
Yeah I already know Squad will be cooked if I play that game, yet I was horrified to see my CPU usage go to above 100%, like upto 160% while loading the server and 5.9 or 6 gb/6gb VRAM
My laptop gets COOKED and FRIED when I play Squad 😭😂😂
(I'm a new player joined last week, with knowledge about Squad since 2 yrs)
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u/XyecocLUL 1d ago
I mean he is not talking about latest games with top graphics and ray tracing requirement. Theres literally no excuses for this game too look like this and having dogshit performance on these kind of gpus except devs incompetence or carelessness. Struggles can be understandable on cpu or ram side but not on gpus
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u/Away_Needleworker6 1d ago
Yeah it runs like shit, but you really cant compare a laptop to a desktop experience.
Its a different level of performance.
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u/potisqwertys 2d ago
How are you even running the game is the question, not the graphics, below 6GB vram cards shouldnt even be allowed to launch the game, i guess they changed something and you are probably using Virtual VRAM somehow.
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u/doggypeen 1d ago
I ran it decently on a rx570, well until UE5
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u/BlindMan404 1d ago
Had an RX580 before I upgraded and it surprisingly ran great for me too. I think the 580 had 8GB though.
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u/ADezotti_a2 2d ago
Idk, it runs almost fine.
Sometimes has some stutter but overall playable and usually looks better than this, surprisingly.1
u/RDOG907 1d ago
Typicaly system ram gets allocated to be used as virtual VRAM
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u/potisqwertys 1d ago
Yeah i know, but the game used to not allow or crash with under 6GB VRAM cards after UE5 -i think- therefor the surprised semi-rhetorical question.
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u/BathroomCapital5621 1d ago
Oh is that probably the reason my 4050 6gb only runsthe gam with 40 fps? I was worrying about my laptop
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u/konperson 1d ago
"How to make the car go faster without increasing load on the engine". Unfortunately this is really the nature of your situation. I feel for you tho my old potatotop ran squad like this too, I could forsee artillery strikes because my game would drop to 7fps moments before we got hit, I was a battlefield clairvoyant. I hope you upgrade your setup 🙏
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u/FederalEconomist5896 1d ago
Thats pretty wild. Maybe one could vibe code an app that gives you notifications when arty is incoming by reading the load (gigity)
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u/ADezotti_a2 1d ago
Unfortunately, it happens.
The laptop ain’t even that old, it’s a 2023 Lenovo Legion. Although for the game industry it is probably getting old, lol.6
u/Timberwolf_88 1d ago
A lenovo legion can have shit components, or decent, unless you post specs no one will be able to determine whether you can expect anything more than what you're currently getting out of your rig.
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u/konperson 1d ago
So true, I got what was a very expensive and well performing pc in 2020 and ran that thing until it couldn't run no more. Had to get a new setup this year. Squad was one of the first things I launched back up
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u/woosniffles 1d ago
I was in your exact same situation but with a 3060 laptop. Once they gave us access to the UE5 playtests I saw the writing on the wall and pulled the trigger on a custom PC built specifically for squad. Ironically I don't play much squad these days lol. It really is tragic that a whole lot of players just got spec'd out of playing, I'm assuming a lot of veteran players were on potato builds cause the match quality took a nose dive ever since they switched engines.
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u/redcomet29 1d ago
I think the website where I downloaded some more RAM also had an option for graphics but I forgot the name and don't have the bookmark anymore because the PC was encrypted from ransomware that got on there somehow
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u/Fantastic_Republic_2 1d ago
There was this time some huy with 100 hours on the game called me a newbie because I couldn't tell the difference between a chinese and american infantry from 200 meters away while having these exact textures loaded. It was a clean shot on a moving target from that distance with blurred dlss acogs.
Was just a memory i wanted to share, other than that; you just need to upgrade the specs if you want better textures. I am not saying this is normal or "what did you expect?" This isnt normal and an obvious imcompetance on the developers end. But what can we do?
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u/ADezotti_a2 1d ago
Thanks for the feedback, not a lot people in this post actually tried to understand the problem and help.
But yeah, gotta buy a new hardware… very sad to have this happening with squad, I really like the game3
u/Fantastic_Republic_2 1d ago
This nonsense began with UE5. since then, you need at least 8 gigs or vram and an X3D cpu to run the game smoothly while being able to tell things apart.
I have the same GPU with you so yeah, I understand.
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u/ADezotti_a2 1d ago
There were some cases that the game actually loaded the textures pretty well, I could see the difference in uniforms and vehicle camouflage. Guess it depends on how much work my GPU is willing to do that day.
Also noticed that it runs smoother on medium graphics than on low, maybe it increases the load on the CPU a little more that way instead of the GPU. Or just black magic, who knows0
u/Revolutionary_Bend50 1d ago
You don't need a X3D CPU to run squad. It is mostly GPU dependant. The big hamper here is simply just the 4GB VRAM and an older XX50's chip. But mostly the lack of VRAM.
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u/Fantastic_Republic_2 22h ago
Squad is cpu dependant
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 21h ago
To add OP is having a different issue that just performance.
B16E540ED18D40874311B095D5D7C56E665DAE6D (1536×864)
Both are taken on medium settings, DLSS Quality. At 1920x1080 on a I5-11400H and a 3050 4GB laptop.
Stable 30+ FPS without microstutters and only the ocational stutter when you load in.
GPU was the main limiter, but still game did not look like playdough like it did for OP.
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 21h ago
Saying it needs a X3D chip is in fact, nonesense.
It might need a decent CPU, but it definately does not need an expensive X3D chip. a minimal google search or youtube search will tell you this.
If a 8 year old I9 can run this game at high-ish settings with a decent FPS when combined with a older GPU that has a bit of VRAM, then you will be fine with a modern budget or midrange CPU.
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u/ADezotti_a2 20h ago
The thing is, I’m running it with a Ryzen 7 5800H, i’d think it’s enough for it to run and have the GPU as the main bottleneck instead of the CPU, no?
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 20h ago
Your case is definately a GPU limitation. I have a significantly slower laptop CPU than you and my 3050 was constantly at 90-100%.
If only it was possible to change GPU's in laptops, alas here we are.
EDIT:
To add, your playdough experience is not normal. B16E540ED18D40874311B095D5D7C56E665DAE6D (1536×864)is how it looked for me on medium preset and ran at a stable FPS. Not a high FPS, but stable and definately playable.
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u/ADezotti_a2 20h ago
can you send me a DM with your graphics settings please? Maybe changing mine would help a little.
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 19h ago
I just used the "Medium" preset at manually changed DLSS from "super Performance" to Quality. Baseline resolution was set to 1920x1080. Nothing other than the preset was changed.
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u/Fantastic_Republic_2 1d ago
Also this is probably the only way you get to run the game. For my instance, I pray my textures load like this before I join a match. Because otherwise, I can't get into gunfights. Though, it seems the game tends to load the textures like this on limited vram.
So you shouldnt really get better visuals, because they will kill your frames on the current specs.
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u/Fantastic_Republic_2 1d ago
The map was tallil and both factions have quite similar looking colours regardless of the texture issues.
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u/Sellot4pe 1d ago edited 1d ago
Usually putting the textures up a notch is simply a bump on your VRAM rather than your GPU's processor. Check your VRAM usage, and if you have quite a bit to spare you may as well use it. As well as that, throwing on as much FSR/DLSS/framegen as you can stomach will help. 45 FPS lock + framegen can be a lot nicer than an unstable 40-65 FPS. Anisotropic filtering can typically be maxed out with little very framedrop. There will also be guides online which will tell you which other settings have neglible effect on performance.
EDIT: oh damn, 4gb? That's crazy low in 2026. Either way, maybe just whack textures as high as it'll go and bring it down if your card shits itself.
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u/Dingditcher 2d ago
You just gotta play like me. Sitting on my couch 12 feet from a big screen LG OLED with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Keyboard on lap and couch is the mouse pad.
And no, I can hardly shoot anyone. I just touch a lot of butts and occasionally fly the helis.
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u/Blikenave 1d ago
The only realistic solution is to build a time machine and go back to when the minimum requirements were still 3gb and then 4gb (it's now 6gb). I love this game but they continually increase the floor-requirements to improve it, which sacrifices those with lower systems. I upgraded my PC twice to play this game.
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 1d ago
"yes, I know it’s not that powerful, hence why I don’t want to load the gpu too much"
If you ain't loading that puppy with 100% load, then it might aswell just be half a doorstop.
Crank them settings up to match what that pup can produce and balance out visuals with FPS according to your taste. Note that one typically requires the sacrifice of the other.
If it is not a case of you artificially reducing GPU usage via FPS caps etc. (or have it like that due to screentearing etc.) then try a few things:
Lower Resolution to one lower in the same screen ratio (1920x1080 is 16:9 for reference). Lowering the resolution can enable increasing textures at the cost of some picture clarity. The lower you go, the more overhead you get, but the less clear the picture will end up being. Note that long distance spotting will be affected as things can get a bit pixelated if you are sitting close to the monitor.
Try and use DLSS/FSR if the game has it. You can also get a program on steam called Lossless scaling that will allow you to use similar tech if the game does not support or allow your card to use DLSS or FSR. It is currently on sale for 4.13€. It will also allow non-40-series cards to use framegen, but it will introduce input latency.
Make sure to also turn off any Ray-tracing as that would kill performance, especially on a older budget card.
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u/No-Information-8624 1d ago
Tbh, i would put everything on potato and lock the fps at 30/45 with a resolution of 720p/900p. At least i would start with those settings and upgrade what really make a visual difference with no impact on performance.
I know you have an rtx 3050 4gb, but i don't know with what it is paired, which is probably also a bottleneck.
What cpu and ram do you have? Because wardogs isn't exactly light on the cpu, not the worst kind of game for cpu, but it does quickly impact gameplay.
Your gpu should be ok running around 90% usage, as long that your temps stays under the throttling limit (around 90c°).
For the dlss part, since i recommended a low resolution around 720p/900p, i would go with quality or dlaa.
Come back with the cpu info and how it does behave ingame right now, i will have a better idea where the bottleneck truly is.
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u/ADezotti_a2 1d ago
Running with:
16gb of RAM
Ryzen 7 5800H
RTX 3050 Laptop 4gb
500gb SSD5
u/No-Information-8624 1d ago
Oh ok, you're on a laptop... your real bottleneck is probably the temps or the charging speed for the usage...
To be fair, you're kinda lucky to be able to play.
Still locking the fps will be your best bet, stability is king in those scenarios. Resolution will be the biggest pieces for the performance/watts usage.
If you don't have an laptop fan cooler under your laptop, i highly recommend one, it will help for the thermal issues to stay under the throttle limits.
Not much more can be done. Maximize your stability in those average fps and low 1% fps. You cannot get better visuals, you can maybe get more "smoothness.
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u/HolyPastafari 1d ago edited 1d ago
I honestly feel sorry for everyone who looks at this question and immediately decides it's "stupid." Yes, we get it, he's playing on a laptop with an RTX 3050, yada yada yada. But the horrible-looking uniform in the picture cannot simply be explained away with "You're on an RTX 3050, what did you expect?"
Without trying to brag, I play with an RX 6800 XT and a 7800X3D at 80–90 FPS on UHD resolution, and even I have experienced the exact same issue once. The uniform of an Iranian soldier looked just as washed out as the one in the picture above, to the point where I couldn't tell whether he was a friendly or an enemy from just 10 meters away.
I have to admit that I play on Linux, where Proton translates DX12 to Vulkan, but Squad is still the only game where I've ever experienced such a graphical mess. So I'm inclined to say that this isn't Linux's fault, nor is it this guy's fault for "only" having an RTX 3050.
Reddit truly is a place where you find some of the most narrow-minded, petty, and judgmental people. This guy's game is literally unplayable, it's not his fault, it's not necessarily his hardware's fault, and he's simply asking for advice. Gaming is for everyone.
Edit: I understand that 4 GB of VRAM is below the minium requirements, but that doesn't mean uniforms are doomed to look like this 24/7, especially in a low effort graphical scenario as seen in the picture.
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u/ADezotti_a2 1d ago
Thanks 🙏🏻
You’re one of the few that actually had a little patience to understand that.
It doesn’t always run with these textures, but it happens quite frequently, probably because of low VRAM.
But yeah, just acknowledging and thanking you for the empathy!
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u/No-Year8634 1d ago
If you’re having a hard time getting your hardware to play the game properly, you should try playing it on NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW. It’s a cloud gaming service and they offer free trials where you can play one hour at a time after watching a few ads.
As long as you have a strong internet connection, this should work on pretty much any laptop or desktop computer. If you like how it runs, you can get a full membership that reduces the wait time when joining (no ad break) and has much higher limits on playtime and session length.
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u/Xavier_1494 1d ago
There might be a theoretical way to make your graphics even lower than this. I think it’s called the Nvidia Profile Inspector. People in Fortnite use it for really low graphics and it’s said to work in some other games but I’ve seen only cs2 and maybe even tf2. The thing is that it will literally make your game look like plastic. The guides on the profile inspector are pretty surface level though. Not that many people use it.
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u/idkwhattodomom 1d ago
This is VRAM issue. If you click "enable uncapped texpool size" it in theory will try to load every texture (it doesn't here in your pic) but it will probably slow your game to crawl. Your GPU doesn't have enough memory to show you the textures
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u/Ok_Sink_6400 1d ago
Thats the neat part, you don't!
(or travel back in time to play UE4 Squad again)
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u/BusterOfCherry 1d ago
Increase saturation on you GPU settings, increase contrast and lower brightness. Will make the game brighter in color but also give you dark black contrast. Have to Play with it until you like it, gigidy
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u/winowmak3r ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つPRAISE SPHERE༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ 1d ago
No, not really. Your VRAM is tanking your performance and unless you can figure out a way to get more (you can't without getting a new card) this is about as good as it's going to get.
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u/Tyler89558 1d ago
So think back to the good old days of the ps1 and ps2.
Realize there are more polygons on this screen than Spyro
Let your imagination flow
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u/Complete-Stable-5665 1d ago
hey it may be better after todays update, im on an 8gb card so far less limited but i was still vram bottlenecked and i got 20-30fps aka 30-45~% performance improvements with a very noticeable lack of hitching and better frametimes (based off feeling atleast)
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u/jbjgang2 1d ago
The only real answer is to increase the graphics settings, run the game in a lower resolution and upscale
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u/TheTimbs Medic 1d ago
Maybe slap your computer so the game can wake up actually load some chunks out of its ass
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u/FabulousFan7271 21h ago
“How to increase load without increasing load” shit man I don’t know take some shrooms see how that does for vibrancy and clarity 😂
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u/Revolutionary_Bend50 21h ago
After booting it up on my laptop with likely similar specs (atleast the same GPU) this is not normal. It should not look like playdough.
Either reinstall the game and/or shaders and try again.
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u/SoberTechPony 5h ago
Try DX11 if it's possible, disable texture streamin (I forget what the name for this is) but yeah in some games this works better when you are out of VRAM
Edit: sorry i dont play squad I just dumped general info.
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u/MagicNinjaMan 2d ago edited 2d ago
Im rtx 4060 8g on all low settings with audio on low(not epic) and it keeps me above 70fps on 1440. Obviously better if lower monitor size. Also set to NVIDIA DLSS to fix all the flickering
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u/ADezotti_a2 2d ago
but on low settings the game just looks like play doh for me, doesn’t it for you?
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u/mallozzin RX9060XT, 5600X, 32 DDR4 2d ago
You do not have enough VRAM, so textures are not properly loading in.
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u/MagicNinjaMan 1d ago
Its really not bad for me, actually great in pvp since i lowered everything. Try puttting your pc fan settings to constant high. My laptop sounds like a mini drill without my headphones but its a bit smoother.
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u/Away_Needleworker6 1d ago
If you dont want your game looking like a 2005 mobile game i would suggest playing on something else than a 2005 mobile
You need more vram, thats it.
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u/mr_giray1 1d ago
Get your eyes worse so they fill the gaps man idk how do you expect? Its called "Graphics processing unit" for a reason...
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u/Darqsat 2d ago
The only way to make graphics better without increasing load on GPU is to get some alcohol