This is ridiculous: A machine that is a few dozen times more powerful than the Switch 2… stutters when playing Elden Ring.
And the problem is Windows.
The game runs better on weaker machines running Valve’s SteamOS (which is… based on Arch Linux).
So what sucks about the PC port of Elden Ring?
On my Legion Go S Z2Go, running SteamOS, naturally, it first has to pre-compile shaders; the emphasis being PRE-COMPILATION, it won’t happen IN the game itself, which causes stutters.
On my MinisForum HX90G, also running SteamOS, we also go through the shader pre-compilation party that reduces in-game stuttering.
On my big Lenovo desktop running Windows 11 Pro for Workstations… 20 seconds into the game, the game becomes a slideshow for three seconds, because, obviously, it’s compiling shaders in-game.
Oh, and when the scripted first death of the character happens, everything turns black for several seconds before we actually get to see the cutscene.
And then comes the ultimate insult:
Loading times, on that rather fast Samsung SSD the game is installed on… are MUCH SLOWER than on the no-name SD card I have the game installed on in my Switch 2.
It’s so ridiculous, it blows my mind.
But sure, the game looks very crisp and beautiful at 1440p on completely maxed-out settings.
It just runs like crap on a Windows PC.
Oh, the irony, friends from the “PC Master Race”, that a tiny gadget running on less than 20 watts TDP performs actually better and more reliable than your high-end monsters.