Shader compilation
Also searched as: shader compilation · shader comp · shader stutter · compiling shaders · shaders
What it means
Before the GPU can draw an effect, the little programs that describe it (shaders) have to be compiled for your exact hardware. Doing that mid-game is a leading cause of stutter.
More detail
When a game shows a "compiling shaders" screen, let it finish — it's doing the work up front so it doesn't hitch later. Skipping it only moves the stutter into your gameplay. …
In the Blackbook
The deeper explanation continues inside the app. The Blackbook publishes its verdicts here — the full write-ups stay in the book, on your rig, next to your own measurements.
The Compy Blackbook holds 191 graded entries like this one, judged against your hardware — and every change it does make is reversible, with the receipt to prove it.
See Compy →