Performance Tuning and Hardware Planning
Tags: performance, hardware, scaling
Lag complaints often trace back to disk I/O, world size, or mods. Start with sensible hardware and configs, then measure before you tweak.
Choose the right box
- Prioritize strong single-core performance; 7DTD leans on one main thread.
- Use fast NVMe SSDs for the save directory and at least 16–24 GB RAM for modded servers.
- Prefer dedicated cores over shared vCPUs when hosting large horde nights.
OS and host tuning
- Enable high-performance power plans, disable unnecessary background tasks, and keep BIOS/firmware updated.
- Pin the game process to the fastest cores and set process priority to high (but not realtime).
- Monitor temps and throttle risk; poor cooling will undo every other tweak.
Game config levers
- Reduce view distance for crowded servers and adjust
MaxSpawnedZombies/MaxSpawnedAnimals gradually.
- Trim blood moon party size if horde nights stutter; lower texture streaming if VRAM is tight.
- Keep auto-save intervals reasonable (5–10 minutes) to avoid disk spikes.
Measure and adapt
- Track CPU, RAM, disk latency, and network RTT during peak hours; set a baseline before each config change.
- Audit mods for heavy scripts or massive prefab packs; remove the worst offender rather than chasing micro-optimizations. See Mods and Mod Installation & Compatibility for more on managing mod performance.
- Plan headroom: leave 20–30% CPU free for horde nights and large multiplayer parties.
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