Cronos: The New Dawn – PC Optimization Guide
Posted by Karan Parmar | September 5, 2025
I’ve spent a lot of time testing Cronos: The New Dawn across different hardware setups to figure out how the game really behaves. This guide focuses on finding that sweet spot where the visuals stay sharp but performance doesn’t take a hit. Every major setting has been tested to see what actually improves the look of the game and what just eats up frames for no real benefit. Alongside detailed benchmarks, you’ll find recommendations tailored for both high-end GPUs and more budget-friendly systems, plus side-by-side comparisons so you can see the impact for yourself. I’ve also included notes on VRAM usage, stability, and how certain settings interact with each other, since a few of them scale performance differently depending on your resolution. The goal here is simple: to give you a smooth, consistent experience without making the game look stripped down.
System Specs & Benchmarks
Tested On:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-13600K (6 P-cores + 8 E-cores @ 5.1 GHz)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB (Desktop Edition)
- Memory: 32GB DDR5 (2×16GB, 6000MHz)
- Storage: Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SSD, 1TB (Up to 5000 MB/s)
- Tested Resolutions: 1920×1080 (1080p) & 2560×1440 (1440p)
Ultra vs Optimized – Comparison
Visual Fidelity Comparison:
Performance Results For 1080p:
| 1920 x 1080 (FHD) |
| Settings | Upscaling | Framerate (FPS) |
| Ultra | Native | 32 FPS |
| Ultra | DLSS 4 Quality | 58 FPS |
| Optimized | Native | 62 FPS |
| Optimized | DLSS 4 Quality | 96 FPS |
Performance Results For 1440p:
| 2560 x 1440 (QHD) |
| Settings | Upscaling | Framerate (FPS) |
| Ultra | Native | 22 FPS |
| Ultra | DLSS 4 Balanced | 36 FPS |
| Optimized | Native | 40 FPS |
| Optimized | DLSS 4 Balanced | 67 FPS |
Performance Insights
- Cronos: The New Dawn is one of the most demanding UE5 titles so far and suffers from a serious VRAM leak. The longer you play, the more VRAM it eats up, regardless of settings. Even with low textures, 8GB GPUs easily max out, which pushes data into system RAM. This makes 32GB RAM almost a requirement, while 16GB users will see heavy stutters and FPS drops.
- The game clearly favors VRAM capacity. The RTX 3060 12GB actually performs smoother and more stable than the newer RTX 4060 8GB. At 1080p, VRAM usage still climbs past 10GB, so cards with smaller memory buffers will struggle no matter what settings you pick.
- Performance isn’t just low, it’s also inconsistent in spots. Shader compilation stutters happen when you move into new areas, dropping frames hard for a few seconds before smoothing out again. Micro-stutters also pop up randomly, and they can’t be avoided.
- The game leans heavily on Nanite, Lumen, and Niagara. There’s no baked lighting or fallback system, so if your GPU doesn’t support hardware RT, shadows and GI are disabled completely, leaving the game looking flat.
- My optimized settings bring the game much closer to Ultra visuals while delivering far better frame rates. It’s the best balance right now if you want the game to look good but actually run well.
- Changing graphics settings doesn’t apply properly in real time; you need a full restart for FPS improvements to actually kick in.
My Recommended Optimized Settings
| Graphics Settings | Optimized | Reason |
| Ray Tracing | OFF | Big Performance Impact, No Major Quality Improvement |
| Frame Generation | OFF | Avoids Input Lag and Visual Artifacts |
| Dynamic Resolution | OFF | Avoid DRS and Use DLSS or FSR For Better Quality |
| Super Sampling | DLSS | Best Upscaler For Quality |
| Upscaling Quality | Quality Mode (1080p) Balanced Mode (1440p) Performance Mode (2160p) | Sharper Visuals & Higher Framerate |
| Motion Blur | OFF | Clearer Image, No Unnecessary Blur |
| Cromatic Aberration | OFF | Visual artifacts like fringing and blur reduce image clarity |
| Anti Aliasing | TXAA | Provides Best Quality |
| Shadow Quality | Low | Big FPS Gain, No Major Quality Loss |
| Texture Quality | Medium | All settings use over 8GB VRAM due to a leak, stick to Medium on 8GB cards |
| Shaders Quality | Medium | Good Framerate Boost, Minor Quality Drop |
| Effects Quality | Low | Big FPS Gain During Demanding Sections, No Major Quality Loss |
| Lens Flares | High | No Impact on Performance |
| SSAO | Enabled | Minor Impact on Performance |
| SSR | Enabled | Minor Impact on Performance |
| SSS Quality | Low | FPS Drops When Enemies are on Screen |
| Image Sharpening | High | Sharper Visuals |
| Resolution Scalability | 100% | Best For Native Resolution |
Optimized Settings Showcase
Watching how settings affect performance is often more useful than just reading numbers. That’s why I’ve recorded a full benchmark of Cronos: The New Dawn, showing exactly how my optimized settings run on different GPUs. If you want to know how the game will look and perform on your hardware, this video gives you a clear side-by-side view to help you pick the right setup.
Closing Summary
Cronos: The New Dawn pushes hardware hard, but smart optimization makes a big difference. Tweaking a few heavy settings and leaning on DLSS or FSR can unlock smooth, consistent performance while keeping the game’s striking visuals intact. With the right balance, you can fully enjoy its scale, atmosphere, and action without sacrificing too much on either side.
Buy the Game
You can purchase Cronos: The New Dawn from the following official platforms:
Support the developers and dive into the unforgiving world of Cronos: The New Dawn, where danger lurks at every step and survival pushes you to your limits.
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