🤩 Optimizing your game

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Parts of this page have been realized using this Steam guide (opens in a new tab), check it out.

Switch to x86-64 branch

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x86-64 is an alternative branch of Garry's Mod that features an improved HTML engine along with 64 bits version of the game, known for bringing performance boost at the cost of rare issues due to its experimental / beta aspect.

Most players and developers use it instead of the default branch as of today.

Tutorial

Open Steam, go in your Library and click on Garry's Mod
Hit the Cog button (Manage) and click on Properties...
Go in BETAS tab in the opened window
In the Beta dropdown, select x86-x64 - Chromium + 64-bit binaries version
Once download is over (~150 Mo), you're done!

Now when you launch your game, you'll be prompted a Version popup. Select the 64-bit one and click Play to launch Garry's Mod.

ℹ️

You can go back to default branch by selecting None in Beta dropdown of Step 4.

Advanced adjustments

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Bellow tips won't work or have the same impact for everyone.
Keep in mind that you must follow given steps correctly in order to not break your game.

Game properties

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Paths / file locations that are given bellow can vary based on where your Steam and Garry's mod are installed.

Find hl2.exe and open the Properties (right-click on it)

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\

In Compatibility tab, toggle the Disable fullscreen optimizations option
Click on Change high DPI settings and then toggle Override high DPI scaling behavior by Application
Search for gmod.exe and repeat these steps

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\bin\

Video settings

Model Detail: High
Texture Detail: High
Shader Detail: High
Water Detail: Reflect All
Shadow Detail: High
Color Correction: Enabled
Anti-Aliasing: 4x MSAA
Filtering Mode: 16x
Wait for vertical sync: Off
Motion Blur: Off
Field of view: 90 - 100
Multicore Rendering: On
High Dynamic Range: Full

Launch options

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This is the most "technical" part of this tutorial, but if you follow steps correctly, it should be okay.

As mentioned above, some settings aren't really applied on every game launch so we will force the game to read and execute our optimal parameters.

Locate your Garry's Mod local files

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\

Go in garrysmod/cfg/
Open autoexec.cfg file with a text editor (Notepad, Sublime Text, etc.)
Copy the following code block and paste it into the autoexec.cfg file

// Multi-core rendering settings
gmod_mcore_test 1
mat_queue_mode 2
cl_threaded_bone_setup 1
cl_threaded_client_leaf_system 1
r_threaded_client_shadow_manager 1
r_threaded_particles 1
r_threaded_renderables 1
r_queued_ropes 1
studio_queue_mode 1
mat_specular 1

// Change "999" to the # of your refresh rate if you're on a laptop
fps_max 999 
// Deletes unsubscribed addons
menu_cleanupgmas 
// Saves settings to config.cfg
host_writeconfig

Save changes and go back to your Properties menu
Go in Set Launch Options and paste the following command

+exec autoexec.cfg

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