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.

What it does

• 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 a supported affinity mask: the recommendation is pre-filled, while alternate masks remain available under the advanced control.
• 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.
• Shows its version: the current package version appears in the app header.

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.
• 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.

Safe first run

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.

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.

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

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.

There is no persistent service to disable. BDO Optimizer does not write NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel driver profiles, global Windows settings, registry priority tweaks, or the running game process.

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.

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.

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.

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
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.

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.

Platform support

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

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 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.

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:

• 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.

License

BDO Optimizer is licensed under the MIT License. Bundled PresentMon is licensed by Intel under MIT; see vendor/presentmon/LICENSE.txt.