Tomb Raider (2013) — How to Fix "Low frame rate"
What causes the Low frame rate error in Tomb Raider (2013), and the fixes in the order that works.
Last updated 2026-09-25 · evergreen reference
The "Low frame rate" failure in Tomb Raider (2013) has a specific cause, and knowing it saves you from working through a dozen unrelated fixes. This page covers what the error actually looks like, why it happens, and the fixes ranked by how often they work.
What the error looks like
Confirm you are dealing with the same failure.
Recognising "Low frame rate"
Frame rate is much lower than expected for the hardware, with the biggest drops outdoors and in the Shantytown hub area.
Why it happens
The cause determines the fix.
Cause 1
TressFX hair simulation, which is extremely expensive and disproportionately so on non-AMD hardware.
Cause 2
"Ultra" ambient occlusion is actually HDAO, an AMD technology that causes major performance loss on NVIDIA cards.
Cause 3
SSAA anti-aliasing, which renders at a higher internal resolution and is brutally demanding.
Cause 4
On newer Windows systems with non-default display scaling, Exclusive Fullscreen is not applied and frame rate drops significantly.
Fixes, in the order that works
Cheapest and most reversible first.
Disable TressFX
Set hair to Normal. TressFX has a major impact on frame rate, especially on non-AMD GPUs, and is the largest single gain available — worth roughly 30–40% on mid-range hardware.
Set ambient occlusion to Normal
Do not use Ultra. On NVIDIA cards HDAO costs far more than the visual difference justifies.
Use FXAA, not SSAA
FXAA costs almost nothing and looks fine. 2x and 4x SSAA are supersampling and should be reserved for hardware with plenty of headroom.
Apply the multi-core registry tweak
Under HKCU\Software\Crystal Dynamics\Tomb Raider\Graphics, add a DWORD named MultiCoreFlushMode with value 1. It improves frame rate in CPU-heavy areas like the Shantytown hub through better core utilisation. The Linux version applies it automatically.
Disable DPI optimisations if scaling is not 100%
Right-click the executable, open Compatibility > Change high DPI settings and override scaling to Application. Exclusive Fullscreen failing to apply is a silent and large performance loss on modern Windows.
How to confirm it is fixed
One successful launch is not proof.
Retest properly
Run the in-game benchmark before and after. Texture quality and anisotropic filtering can stay high throughout — they cost very little, so if you had to lower them, something else is still wrong.
If none of this works
What to do after the list is exhausted.
Gather evidence before asking
Collect your crash log, a DxDiag and the list of fixes you already tried. For Tomb Raider (2013), support will ask for all three, and a report with evidence gets a far better response than "it crashes".
Reinstall last, not first
A reinstall is the most time-consuming fix and repairs the same files that verification and cache repair handle in minutes. Try it only after the targeted fixes above have failed.
Still seeing crashes or low FPS?
Check whether your PC can actually run this title, then see every fix for this game in one place.
Related pages
This is an independent player reference and is not official documentation for Tomb Raider (2013). GameRulePro does not host or link to copyrighted assets. Modding guidance is for single-player use only — never use mods in online multiplayer. Verify current requirements, prices and policies with the publisher before acting.
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