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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteIf Half-Life: Alyx stutters or runs at low FPS, start with Valve’s checks for drivers, free disk space, background apps, and VR tracking. Then use SteamVR’s frame-timing display and lower rendering settings one at a time in a gameplay scene. For crashes, the official guidance reviewed here offers general SteamVR recovery steps, not a game-specific crash fix.
Start by identifying what is failing
Note whether you have continuously low frame rates, intermittent stutters, a juddering image that may involve tracking, a freeze, or a complete game or SteamVR crash. Record your CPU, GPU, RAM, headset and connection, and whether other VR apps have the same problem. These details help distinguish a game-specific issue from a wider VR or system problem; symptoms alone do not identify one cause.
Steam lists Half-Life: Alyx minimum requirements as a 64-bit processor and operating system, Windows 10, an Intel Core i5-7500 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 12 GB RAM, an NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD RX 580 with 6 GB VRAM, and SteamVR. The game also requires a VR headset. These are listed minimums, not a guarantee of smooth performance or a particular FPS. See the Steam store listing.
Run Valve’s basic checks
Update the graphics driver
Install the current NVIDIA or AMD graphics driver recommended for your GPU. Valve notes that game-optimized drivers have been released, but the recommended version depends on your graphics card and operating system. Check your GPU vendor’s current release rather than relying on a version number that may have changed.
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Free up resources
- Make sure the primary drive has free space.
- Close background applications, especially those using dedicated GPU memory. In Windows Task Manager, open the Details tab, right-click a column header, choose Select columns, and enable Dedicated GPU memory to inspect usage.
Check headset tracking
Poor VR tracking can feel like low framerate or cause apparent judder. Check the headset and tracking setup using its manufacturer’s documentation, and see whether tracking is stable when the problem occurs.
Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx performance tips also explain why a PC that meets the minimum requirements may still struggle: complex VR gameplay can heavily load capable systems. Valve gives an example of the game keeping an 8-core CPU and a 12 GB GPU busy at up to 144 Hz. That illustrates a demanding workload; it is not a minimum requirement or a promise that every player needs that hardware.
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Check SteamVR frame timing while the problem happens
- Open SteamVR Settings > Performance.
- Turn on Display Frame Timing.
- Run a demanding VR game and watch the graph while stutters or low performance occur.
SteamVR’s low framerate and freezing guidance recommends using this display during a process-heavy VR game. Frame-timing spikes help show when the problem occurs, but the graph does not by itself identify which component or process caused it. Test in an actual gameplay area: Valve says the main menu is not a reliable performance test.
Reduce VR rendering load one setting at a time
Use the same gameplay area for each comparison. Change one setting, observe whether performance improves, and then decide whether to keep the change or test another one. Half-Life: Alyx lets you adjust performance settings in-game.
SteamVR render resolution
Open SteamVR Settings > Video > Render Resolution. Try Auto if it is not selected. If performance improves, lower the resolution further as needed. Lower resolution can reduce GPU work, but also makes the rendered image less detailed.
Valve Index refresh rate
If you use a Valve Index and GPU overload seems likely, open SteamVR Settings > General > Refresh Rate and try 90 Hz instead of a higher rate. This is a troubleshooting test suggested by Valve, not a required setting, and it applies to Index.
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Alyx fidelity and texture quality
In Half-Life: Alyx, open Settings > Performance and try Low Fidelity. If that helps, raise fidelity gradually until you find a workable balance. If needed, reduce Texture Quality separately to test its effect without changing the other quality settings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If SteamVR or the game keeps freezing or crashing
The Valve pages cited here do not provide a Half-Life: Alyx-specific crash-log procedure or universal crash fix. If SteamVR itself is unstable, Steam Support’s general SteamVR troubleshooting index recommends these runtime-level checks:
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- Verify the SteamVR tool files.
- Check that your graphics drivers are current.
- Restart SteamVR.
- Rerun Room Setup.
- Restart Windows.
- If the problem persists, try SteamVR safe mode. Contact Steam Support if safe mode does not resolve it.
These steps address SteamVR, not a confirmed Alyx-specific cause. If the game continues to crash, preserve the exact error text and SteamVR system information when contacting official support; the cited guidance does not establish a particular launch option or crash workaround.
Why meeting the minimum requirements may not be enough
Valve says the game automatically benchmarks the CPU and GPU on first launch, or after a hardware change, checks available system memory, and selects settings it considers appropriate. You can still tune those settings. Because PCs and VR setups differ, treat the automatic choice and Steam’s minimum specifications as starting points—not as evidence that a particular frame rate is assured.
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