BDO Optimizer

Inspect your PC, safely apply BDO CPU affinity, and prove the gain locally.

BDO Optimizer is an open-source desktop app for Black Desert Online players who want a hardware-aware CPU-affinity recommendation and a repeatable way to check whether it improves frame rate and frame pacing on their own PC.

Inspect hardware → Apply safely → Verify read-only → Measure baseline and optimized → Compare

The affinity recommendations are based on ACanadianDude's Ultimate BDO Performance Guide.

Download · What it does · Safe first run · Benchmarking · Troubleshooting

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📑 Table of contents

• What it does
• Download
• Requirements
• Safe first run
• NVIDIA driver profile (optional)
• Game config files (optional)
• Repeatable benchmark method
• Permissions and anti-cheat behavior
• Saved data
• Platform support
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License

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✨ What it does

Feature	Details
🔍 Explains the relevant hardware	CPU model and topology, L1/L2/L3 cache, AMD X3D V-Cache CCDs, RAM, GPU and driver details, and local storage.
🧠 Recommends an affinity mask for any CPU	The guide's published masks for the CPUs it names, and a mask derived from live topology for everything else — Intel hybrid parts run on their P-cores (by reported efficiency class), X3D parts on the V-Cache CCD, multi-CCD parts on one CCD, SMT parts on one thread per physical core. Alternate masks worth A/B testing come with it.
🛡️ Applies affinity without touching the running game	BDO inherits the mask from BlackDesertLauncher.exe.
✅ Verifies before measuring	The app reads the running process affinity and blocks an optimized capture until it matches the selected mask.
📊 Compares against a real baseline	Saved runs contain raw frame times and locally calculated average FPS, P1 low, and time-weighted low metrics.
🟩 Applies the guide's NVIDIA driver-profile tweaks (optional)	Merge-imports the per-game "Black Desert" profile through the bundled NVIDIA Profile Inspector and verifies the result against the driver database. Nothing global changes, and one click restores the previous profile.
🟥 Guides AMD Radeon users through the guide's driver settings	On AMD GPUs the app shows the exact Adrenalin steps (Enhanced Sync on, Wait for Vertical Refresh off, per-game). Manual by design — AMD offers no safe way for an external app to write per-game driver profiles.
📝 Applies the guide's config-file tweaks (optional)	Sets PostFilter and Tessellation off in GameOption.txt and every UserCache gamevariable.xml, backing each file up first, with a one-click restore.
⚡ Applies the safe settings in one click	The config-file tweaks, Windows' "Optimizations for windowed games", and — when the app runs as administrator on an NVIDIA GPU — the driver profile, each reported as its own step and reversed by one Undo all of it. Memory compression and HAGS stay on their own buttons: one needs a reboot, the other affects every application.
🏷️ Shows its version	The current package version appears in the app header.

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⬇️ Download

1. Grab the latest bdo-optimizer-*-windows-x64.zip from Releases.
2. Extract the folder anywhere and run bdo-optimizer.exe.
3. Keep the bundled files together — FPS capture and the NVIDIA tweaks look for their tools beside the exe.

Note

Windows SmartScreen will warn on first run because the build is unsigned: More info → Run anyway. Each release ships a .sha256 you can check first.

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📋 Requirements

To use the BDO workflow

• 64-bit Windows supported by BDO and PresentMon.
• An installed copy of Black Desert Online.
• PresentMon.exe beside bdo-optimizer.exe for FPS capture. Official packaged builds should ship both files together.
• nvidiaProfileInspector.exe (plus its .exe.config) beside bdo-optimizer.exe for the optional NVIDIA driver-profile tweaks. Packaged builds ship it; the feature is hidden on machines without an NVIDIA GPU.
• Administrator permission for benchmarking. Windows ETW will not start the PresentMon trace from a non-elevated process.

Hardware inspection and saved-session viewing can run on other supported desktop platforms, but applying and measuring BDO affinity are Windows-only.

To build from source

• Stable Rust with Cargo.
• On Windows, the x86_64-pc-windows-msvc Rust toolchain and Microsoft C++ build tools.
• Git.

Run the development build:

git clone https://github.com/CarlosJunioor/bdo-optimizer.git
cd bdo-optimizer
cargo run -p bdo-optimizer

Debug builds find the checked-in vendor/presentmon/PresentMon.exe.

Create a runnable release layout:

cargo build --release
Copy-Item vendor\presentmon\PresentMon.exe target\release\PresentMon.exe
.\target\release\bdo-optimizer.exe

The standalone release executable does not search arbitrary parent folders for PresentMon; keep the two executables together.

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🚀 Safe first run

Step 1 — Inspect

Open 1 Inspect and review the detected CPU, caches, memory, GPU, storage, and recommended affinity. Select Continue to Apply when a recommendation exists.

Step 2 — Apply

In 2 Apply:

1. Confirm the detected BDO install, or browse to BlackDesertLauncher.exe.
2. Enable the Steam option only for a Steam installation.
3. Keep the recommended mask unless you intentionally want to test an alternate.
4. Choose Launch Now with Affinity or Create Optimized Shortcut.
5. Start BDO and wait for the status to change from PENDING to VERIFIED.

Note

The app may show a UAC prompt because the BDO launcher itself requires elevation. Verification is read-only and runs once per second.

Step 3 — Restore the normal launch

Affinity is applied only to that launch chain. To restore the default:

1. Close BDO and its launcher.
2. Start BDO from its normal launcher or Steam entry.
3. Delete the optional optimized desktop shortcut if you no longer want it.

Important

There is no persistent service to disable. BDO Optimizer never writes global driver settings, global Windows settings, registry priority tweaks, or the running game process. The only driver change it can make is the optional, user-initiated NVIDIA per-game "Black Desert" profile described below — and that has its own Restore previous settings button.

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🟩 NVIDIA driver profile (optional)

On Windows machines with an NVIDIA GPU, 2 Apply shows an extra section that applies the performance guide's driver-profile recommendations to the game's own "Black Desert" profile:

Setting	Value
Threaded optimization	On for 6+ physical cores, Off for older quad-cores (the guide's rule)
Ansel	Off
Power management mode	Adaptive
Ultra Low Latency	Opt-in checkbox; the guide advises testing whether your CPU handles the overhead

How it works and why it is safe:

• The change is a merge import through the bundled, hash-pinned NVIDIA Profile Inspector CLI. Only the listed settings are written; anything else on the profile (G-Sync preferences, for example) and all global driver settings are left alone.
• Every apply is verified: the app exports the driver database afterwards and confirms the profile really carries the expected values.
• Restore previous settings replace-imports the complete Black Desert profile snapshot saved before apply, including settings that previously inherited a global value rather than carrying an explicit override.
• Profile Inspector requires administrator rights, so the section offers the same Restart as administrator flow the Benchmark tab uses.

Tip

AMD users: the equivalent tweaks (Radeon Enhanced Sync on, Wait for Vertical Refresh off) have no safe automation API — set them in AMD Software manually.

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📝 Game config files (optional)

2 Apply also offers the guide's config-file edits. Six settings are written, in Documents\Black Desert\GameOption.txt and in every UserCache gamevariable.xml:

Setting	Value	Why
postFilter	off	Removes the forced post-process sharpening.
Tessellation	off	The FPS gain the guide notes on High presets and above.
autoOptimization	off	The guide says Auto Frame Optimization cancels out the settings below it.
sleepModeEnable	off	Low power mode — the guide calls this one a big deal.
useNearestEffectOnly	on	Culls distant particle effects.
useFarPlayerOptimization	off	Character optimization, which the guide does not use.

The XML files use true/false where the text file uses 1/0; each is written in its own format. The same list is shown in the app before you apply.

Notes:

• The first time a file is changed, its original is copied to <name>.bdo-optimizer.bak next to it; Restore from backup copies the originals back. Later applies never overwrite the backup, so the restore point is always the pre-optimizer state.
• Only those specific values change — every other byte of the files is preserved.
• The buttons refuse to run while BDO is open, because the game rewrites these files on exit and would undo (or race) the edit. Close the game, apply, then launch.

Warning

Turning on the in-game Display Filter setting undoes these edits. The guide is explicit about this. If sharpening comes back, check that setting before re-applying.

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📊 Repeatable benchmark method

Use the same graphics settings, resolution, scene, camera path, character, and capture length for every run. Close unnecessary background work and let the system reach a similar temperature before each pass.

Capture the baseline

1. Close any optimized BDO launch.
2. In 3 Measure, select Baseline / normal launch.
3. Launch BDO normally.
4. Wait for Full CPU affinity detected. The baseline capture remains disabled while a restricted mask is detected.
5. Enter the test scene, select Start baseline capture, and perform the route.
6. Select Stop, or exit the game to end and save the run.

Capture the optimized run

1. Close BDO completely.
2. Launch it from 2 Apply or the optimized shortcut.
3. In 3 Measure, select Optimized / affinity launch.
4. Wait for Verified running mask. Unverified or mismatched runs cannot start.
5. Repeat the same route and duration, then stop or exit.

Compare

Select exactly one Baseline and one optimized session. The comparison always uses Baseline as A and Optimized as B, so the displayed delta is B − A.

Tip

Aim for at least 1,000 captured frames; shorter runs are marked low confidence. For a result you can trust, repeat each mode at least three times and compare representative pairs rather than relying on one unusually good run.

Warning

Known limitation: baseline readiness currently derives the full affinity mask from the detected logical-processor count. Unusual Windows processor-group or offline-CPU layouts may not unlock baseline capture correctly.

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🔐 Permissions and anti-cheat behavior

Action	Permission	Game-process behavior
Inspect hardware	Standard user	No game access
Create/launch optimized shortcut	UAC may appear	Sets affinity on the launcher before it runs
Verify affinity	Read-only process query	Reads the current mask; never sets it
Capture FPS	Administrator	PresentMon uses external Windows ETW tracing
Apply/restore NVIDIA profile	Administrator	Profile Inspector writes only the per-game driver profile; no game access
Apply/restore game config files	Standard user	Edits Documents\Black Desert files with backups; refuses while BDO runs
Show overlay	Same app session	Separate always-on-top native window; no injection or graphics hook

The FPS overlay can appear over windowed and borderless-windowed BDO. It cannot appear over exclusive fullscreen because it is an external desktop window. The overlay polls affinity read-only and shows live capture statistics; it does not modify or inject into the game.

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💾 Saved data

Each completed run is saved locally as one JSON file containing:

• timestamp and label;
• CPU and GPU model;
• baseline/optimized role plus expected and read-only observed affinity masks;
• PresentMon version;
• raw frame times.

Metrics are recalculated from the raw frame times when loaded, so formula fixes can improve existing sessions. The per-user session directory is shown at the bottom of 3 Measure and is resolved with the operating system's standard application-data location. Runs are newest-first and can be deleted from the session table.

During capture, PresentMon CSV output is written to the operating system's temporary directory and deleted when the capture worker finishes, on every exit path including errors. The saved session JSON keeps the raw frame times. No benchmark data is uploaded.

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🖥️ Platform support

Capability	Windows	Linux	macOS
Hardware inspection	✅	✅	⚠️ Partial
View saved sessions	✅	✅	✅
Apply/verify BDO affinity in the app	✅	❌	❌
Live BDO capture with PresentMon	✅	❌	❌
External FPS overlay during capture	✅	❌ No BDO workflow	❌ No BDO workflow

BDO itself is not supported through this app on Linux or macOS. The launch library contains generic non-Windows helpers, but the desktop BDO Apply and Measure flow intentionally exposes only supported Windows behavior.

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🔧 Troubleshooting

PresentMon.exe not found

Place PresentMon.exe next to the running bdo-optimizer.exe. For a debug build, the checked-in vendor/presentmon/PresentMon.exe is also accepted.

Benchmarking requires administrator rights

Use Restart as administrator in 3 Measure and accept the UAC prompt. Hardware inspection does not require elevation.

Baseline capture stays disabled

Close BDO and its launcher, then start BDO normally. Wait for the read-only affinity check to report full CPU affinity. See the processor-group limitation in the benchmark section if this PC has an unusual CPU layout.

Optimized capture stays pending or reports a mismatch

Close BDO completely, confirm the selected mask, and relaunch from 2 Apply or the optimized shortcut. Do not switch to a normal launcher between verification and capture.

The NVIDIA profile apply fails or the section is missing

The section only appears on Windows with a detected NVIDIA GPU. Applying needs nvidiaProfileInspector.exe (and its .exe.config) next to bdo-optimizer.exe and administrator rights. If verification reports that the driver database does not show the expected values, open NVIDIA Profile Inspector manually — a driver update may have renamed the "Black Desert" profile.

The BDO install was not detected

Use Browse and select BlackDesertLauncher.exe. Confirm the Steam option matches the installation.

The overlay is not visible

Use borderless-windowed or windowed mode, enable Show overlay, and begin a capture. Exclusive fullscreen cannot display a separate desktop window above the game.

The capture saved no usable frames

Confirm BDO reached the 3D scene, run long enough to produce frames, and stop the capture normally. If the app reports ETW or access-denied errors, restart it as administrator.

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🤝 Contributing

Keep changes focused and preserve the core safety rule: never write to BlackDesert64.exe.

cargo fmt --all --check
cargo test --workspace
cargo build --workspace

The workspace contains:

Crate / folder	Purpose
crates/app	egui desktop application
crates/hw	Hardware detection and recommendation engine
crates/launch	Safe launch inheritance, shortcuts, and read-only verification
crates/bench	PresentMon capture, metrics, and local session storage
vendor/presentmon	Pinned PresentMon executable and MIT license
vendor/nvidiaProfileInspector	Pinned NVIDIA Profile Inspector executable and MIT license

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📄 License

BDO Optimizer is licensed under the MIT License.

• Bundled PresentMon is licensed by Intel under MIT; see vendor/presentmon/LICENSE.txt.
• Bundled NVIDIA Profile Inspector is licensed by Orbmu2k under MIT; see vendor/nvidiaProfileInspector/LICENSE.txt.

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