The much-awaited The Last of Us Part 1 PC port has finally been released. Unfortunately, it has been met with many negative reviews due to technical issues that have affected the game’s performance.
The three main difficulties players have been complaining about are constant crashing, the “Not enough VRAM and RAM” problem, and the building shaders issue.
Fortunately, there are some workarounds you can try. If you’re among the many players who echo these sentiments, there are a few solutions that might fix your issues.
Before we get into the fixes, you must ensure your PC meets the minimum system requirements:
- OS: Windows 10
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K
- RAM: 16GB (4GB VRAM)
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 470 (4 GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB)
- SDD: 100 GB available space
It’s vital that you have 16GB RAM and 4GB VRAM, otherwise, the game won’t run.
How to fix the VRAM issue in The Last of Us?
Install the latest graphics driver
Make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest graphics driver. Nvidia and AMD always update drivers to support newly released games.
If you do not know how to install the latest drivers here are the procedures you must follow:
- Head to the official page of Nvidia.
- Download the latest graphics driver.
- Begin the installation process.
- Once installed, restart your PC.
The procedure remains the same if you are using an AMD graphics card, save for the official website.
Switch to a dedicated GPU
You might have overlooked the fact that your PC is using an integrated graphics card instead of the dedicated GPU, which might be the leading cause of this problem.
- Click on the Start button in Windows.
- Go to the System Settings menu.
- Click on Display.
- Select the Graphics Settings option under the Multiple Displays section.
- Click on the Browse button in the “Add an App” field.
- Browse for The Last of Us: Part 1.
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How to fix the constant crashing?
There are a few ways you can solve the issue of constant crashing in The Last of Us Part 1.
- Similar to the VRAM issue, make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest graphics driver onto your PC.
- Make sure all unnecessary backg5 apps are closed. Opening the Task Manager will help you identify the background apps that are using up your computer’s resources.
- Do not use overlays. Overlays can sometimes clash with games and create these issues.
- Disable CPU and GPU overclocks if you are using any.
- Limit the frame rate to 60 (or below). Sometimes the PC uses up a lot of its power while trying to dish out more frames.
- Try playing the game on Low graphical settings. Playing The Last of Us Part 1 on low isn’t the best way to experience the game, but if your current settings are stopping you from enjoying the game then it’s a good idea to lower your settings. You could slowly increase the settings to see at which point the game begins to crash and choose your settings accordingly.
How to fix the building shaders issue?
Games always take a few minutes to build the shaders when first launched on the PC. Basically what’s happening is that the game is configuring shaders according to the PC’s hardware.
In The Last of Us Part 1, players have complained that it takes way longer, sometimes even hours. Even worse, the game crashes mid-way through forcing the players to start all over again.
There hasn’t been any official way to solve this problem, but gamers on the internet have suggested a few things that apparently worked for them. The methods are listed below:
- Disconnecting from the internet.
- Lowering VRAM usage.
- If using an AMD GPU, disable Smart Access Memory.
- Turning off DLSS
- And finally the good old restarting of the PC.
Developer Naughty Dog has acknowledged these issues and is working on fixing them. “We’ve heard your concerns, and our team is actively investigating multiple issues you’ve reported.” their tweet read. “We will continue to update you, but our team prioritizes updates and will address issues in upcoming patches.”