SCSKiller
Shader Compilation Stutter Killer

Kill shader stutter before you play.

SCSKiller builds your games' shaders ahead of time, so the game doesn't stop to compile them while you play.

Download coming soon Why games stutter GitHub
  • Free and open source
  • Windows · DirectX 12
  • NVIDIA · AMD
Why it stutters

The frame waits for a compile.

When a game meets a new effect, your GPU driver has to compile its shader right then, and the frame waits for it. That's the hitch.

SCSKiller compiles them before you play.

Illustration. Each bar is a frame.
How it works

Pick your games. Press Compile.

Three steps, with the game closed.

01

Scan

Finds your games and the shaders they ship with.

  • Games grouped by store
  • Shader and pipeline counts, cache size, compile time
  • A status such as Ready to compile or Warmed
  • A Play button that starts the game through its store
SCSKiller's library: games grouped by store, with shader and pipeline counts, cache size, compile time and a status such as Needs rebuilding or Warmed, and Play buttons.
02

Plan

Works out which pipelines each game will build.

  • Frame times of your last session, with the shader stutters told apart from other hitches (recorder on)
  • Warmed for the current driver
  • Pipeline and shader counts, cache size, compile time
  • The optional recorder switch

Gaps get filled by an optional recording while you play. Anti-cheat games are never launched, injected into, or given the recorder.

A game's page: the frame times of the last session, with shader compile stutters marked apart from other hitches and loading, the list of slow frames, and the optional recorder switch.
03

Compile

Builds them into your driver's cache, where the game finds them.

  • Progress and pipelines per second
  • Games wait their turn in the queue
  • Finished games stay listed with what failed or was skipped
The compile queue: one game compiling at 56 percent with pipelines per second, three games waiting, one finished.

Library, game details and compile queue. Sample data.

Results

Compile stalls, before and after.

About 5 minutes of play per game on a cold cache, then again after SCSKiller compiled its shaders. Measured with SCSKiller's pipeline recorder.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

ColdWith SCSKiller
NVIDIA RTX 5090
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)190
Worst stall76 ms5 ms
AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo)
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)1620
Worst stall291 ms7 ms

Silent Hill: Townfall

ColdWith SCSKiller
NVIDIA RTX 5090
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)240
Worst stall347 ms8 ms

Hogwarts Legacy

ColdWith SCSKiller
NVIDIA RTX 5090
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)1,01487
Worst stall2,400 ms100 ms
AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo)
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)27,743206
Worst stall2,146 ms104 ms

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

ColdWith SCSKiller
NVIDIA RTX 5090
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)5830
Worst stall315 ms13 ms

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

ColdWith SCSKiller
NVIDIA RTX 5090
Stutters (≥ 20 ms)9,03811
A stutter is a shader compile the game had to wait 20 ms or more for. Your numbers will vary by game, GPU and driver.
Limits

What it fixes, and what it can't.

Fixes

Shader compilation stutter.

Can't fix

Traversal and streaming stutter, or hitches with other causes.

Now and then A shader it couldn't find or record can still compile in game.

FAQ

Quick answers.

Anti-cheat games?

SCSKiller never launches them, injects into them, or gives them the recorder. It only reads their files.

Does it run while I play?

It doesn't need to. The game reads the driver's cache on its own.

Will Windows warn me?

Probably, the first time. Releases aren't code-signed yet; signing is in progress. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Does it touch game files or drivers?

It doesn't patch either. Only the optional recorder touches a game folder: it installs a small d3d12.dll and its settings file, and writes its recording, a log and the frame times next to the game. Turning it off removes what it installed; uninstalling SCSKiller removes the rest.

What about driver updates?

An update clears the shader cache. SCSKiller notices and compiles again, on its own if you let it.

What about Intel GPUs?

Not supported yet: I don't have one to test on. If you'd like to sponsor an Intel Arc GPU, get in touch at contact@scskiller.com.

Do I need an account?

No. Signing in with Patreon only adds the supporter features.

Coming soon.Get SCSKiller.

The whole app is free. Open source, GPL-3.0-or-later. You don't need an account to use it.

Coming soonDownload for Windows

First release on GitHub. Windows, 64-bit.