FiveM Server Optimization: Complete Performance Guide 2025

Running a smooth FiveM server with 32+ players requires careful optimization. This guide covers everything from basic setup to advanced performance tuning—helping you achieve stable 50ms server timing even with heavy resource usage.

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Why Server Performance Matters

Poor server performance directly impacts player experience:

• ⚠️ High Latency → Players experience lag and delays
• ⚠️ Frame Drops → Stuttering gameplay
• ⚠️ Crashes → Server instability and player loss
• ⚠️ Resource Failures → Scripts stop working correctly

💡 Goal: Maintain server timing under 10ms during normal gameplay, under 50ms during high activity.

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Server Requirements by Type

Choose the right resources for your server style:

Server Type	RAM	CPU	Storage	Players
Minimal RP	4GB	2 vCPU	20GB NVMe	16-24
Medium RP	6GB	3 vCPU	30GB NVMe	24-32
Heavy RP	8GB+	4+ vCPU	50GB+ NVMe	32-48
Public Server	12GB+	6+ vCPU	100GB+ NVMe	48-128

⚠️ Critical: FiveM is CPU-intensive. A fast CPU (high single-core performance) is more important than RAM for most servers.

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OneSync Setup & Configuration

What is OneSync?

OneSync allows more than 32 players on your server and improves synchronization efficiency.

OneSync Types:

• Legacy — Basic support, up to 48 players
• Infinity — Advanced support, up to 1024 players (experimental)

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Enabling OneSync

Edit your server.cfg:

# Enable OneSync Infinity
set onesync on

# Player slot configuration
sv_maxclients 48
sv_enforceGameBuild 2802

# Performance tweaks
set sv_scriptHookAllowed 0
set sv_enableNetworkedPhoneExplosions false

💡 Pro Tip: Start with sv_maxclients at your target -4. If you want 48 players, set it to 44 initially and scale up.

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Resource Management

Audit Your Resources

Run this command to see resource performance:

resmon

What to look for:

• ⚠️ Any resource using >10ms consistently
• ⚠️ Resources with high memory usage (>100MB)
• ⚠️ Resources causing frequent warnings

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Optimize Heavy Resources

Common Performance Drains:

1. Vehicle Spawners

   • Limit spawned vehicles
   • Implement cleanup scripts
   • Use streaming instead of pre-loading

2. Inventory Systems

   • Optimize database queries
   • Reduce update frequency
   • Use client-side caching

3. HUD/UI Resources

   • Minimize NUI updates
   • Reduce draw calls
   • Optimize CSS/animations

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Resource Loading Best Practices

server.cfg order matters! Load resources in this sequence:

# 1. Framework first
ensure es_extended
# or
ensure qb-core

# 2. Core dependencies
ensure oxmysql
ensure pma-voice

# 3. Essential resources
ensure policejob
ensure ambulancejob

# 4. Optional/heavy resources last
ensure realistic_vehicle_failure
ensure custom_hud

✅ Best Practice: Group similar resources and use comments to organize your server.cfg for easier management.

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Database Optimization

MySQL/MariaDB Configuration

Optimize your database for FiveM workloads:

my.cnf/my.ini settings:

[mysqld]
# Connection pool
max_connections = 500
connect_timeout = 10

# Performance Schema (disable for production)
performance_schema = 0

# Buffer pool (set to 50-70% of available RAM)
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 4G

# Log file size
innodb_log_file_size = 512M

# Query cache (if MySQL 5.7)
query_cache_type = 1
query_cache_size = 64M

⚠️ Important: Restart MySQL after config changes for them to take effect.

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Database Query Optimization

Common Issues:

❌ Bad: Fetching all data then filtering in Lua

-- Don't do this!
local result = MySQL.Sync.fetchAll('SELECT * FROM users')
for i=1, #result do
    if result[i].identifier == playerID then
        -- process
    end
end

✅ Good: Filter in the database query

-- Do this instead!
local result = MySQL.Sync.fetchAll('SELECT * FROM users WHERE identifier = @identifier', {
    ['@identifier'] = playerID
})

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Add Indexes to Frequently Queried Columns

-- Example: Index on commonly searched columns
ALTER TABLE users ADD INDEX idx_identifier (identifier);
ALTER TABLE owned_vehicles ADD INDEX idx_owner (owner);
ALTER TABLE player_inventory ADD INDEX idx_item (item_name);

💡 Pro Tip: Use EXPLAIN before queries to see if they’re using indexes efficiently.

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Server.cfg Optimization

Network Settings

# Reduce entity transmission rate
set onesync_distanceCullVehicles true
set onesync_distanceCullPlayers true

# Rate limiting
set sv_fpsLimit 100

# Network thread priority
set sv_prioritizeNetThread true

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Memory Management

# Increase limits for large servers
set sv_filterRequestLimit 1000

# Memory cleanup
set sv_scriptHookAllowed 0

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Convars for Performance

# Disable unnecessary features
set sv_enableNetworkedSounds false
set sv_enableNetworkedPhoneExplosions false

# Optimize vehicle handling
set onesync_enableInfinity 1
set onesync_enableBeyond true

# Connection optimization
set steam_webApiKey "your_key_here"
set sv_authMaxVariance 1
set sv_authMinTrust 5

💡 Pro Tip: Keep a backup of your working server.cfg before making major changes!

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Lua Script Optimization

Common Performance Mistakes

❌ Expensive Operations in Loops

Bad:

Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        Citizen.Wait(0) -- Runs every frame!
        local playerPed = PlayerPedId()
        local coords = GetEntityCoords(playerPed)
        -- Heavy operation every frame
    end
end)

Good:

Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        Citizen.Wait(1000) -- Only once per second
        local playerPed = PlayerPedId()
        local coords = GetEntityCoords(playerPed)
        -- Much better!
    end
end)

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❌ Not Caching Frequently Used Values

Bad:

-- Calling native every time
if IsPedInAnyVehicle(PlayerPedId(), false) then
    local vehicle = GetVehiclePedIsIn(PlayerPedId(), false)
end

Good:

-- Cache the values
local playerPed = PlayerPedId()
if IsPedInAnyVehicle(playerPed, false) then
    local vehicle = GetVehiclePedIsIn(playerPed, false)
end

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Use Distance Checks

Only run code for nearby players:

local myCoords = GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId())

for _, player in ipairs(GetActivePlayers()) do
    local targetPed = GetPlayerPed(player)
    local targetCoords = GetEntityCoords(targetPed)
    local distance = #(myCoords - targetCoords)

    if distance < 50.0 then
        -- Only process nearby players
    end
end

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Resource Streaming

Vehicle Streaming

Instead of loading all vehicles at startup, stream them as needed:

-- Bad: Loading everything
-- data/vehicles.meta with 500+ vehicles

-- Good: Stream on demand
exports['my-garage']:StreamVehicle('adder')

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Optimize DLC Packs

fxmanifest.lua:

-- Only include what you need
files {
    'stream/vehicles.meta', -- Only vehicle data
    -- 'stream/carvariations.meta', -- Skip if not needed
    -- 'stream/handling.meta', -- Skip if using default
}

💡 Pro Tip: Every DLC pack adds to load time. Only include assets you actually use.

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Monitoring & Diagnostics

txAdmin Performance Monitoring

txAdmin provides built-in performance monitoring:

1. Navigate to txAdmin → Server
2. Check Performance Chart
3. Monitor:
   • Server FPS
   • Player count
   • CPU/RAM usage
   • Warning count

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Using Profiler

Enable built-in profiler for detailed analysis:

# Add to server.cfg
profiler save

Then check /your-server/cache/ for profiler data.

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Key Metrics to Monitor

Metric	Good	Warning	Critical
Server Timing	<10ms	10-30ms	>30ms
FPS	50+	30-50	<30
RAM Usage	<70%	70-85%	>85%
Tick Time	<5ms	5-15ms	>15ms

⚠️ Warning: If server timing consistently exceeds 50ms, your server will feel laggy to players.

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Advanced Optimization

Implement Resource Lazy Loading

Load heavy resources only when needed:

-- Load dealership script only near dealership
Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        local coords = GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId())
        local distance = #(coords - vector3(215.0, -810.0, 30.0))

        if distance < 100.0 and not dealershipLoaded then
            TriggerEvent('dealership:load')
            dealershipLoaded = true
        elseif distance > 150.0 and dealershipLoaded then
            TriggerEvent('dealership:unload')
            dealershipLoaded = false
        end

        Citizen.Wait(5000)
    end
end)

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Optimize Network Events

Reduce network traffic:

❌ Bad: Sending full data every update

-- Sending 1kb every second
Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        TriggerServerEvent('updatePosition', GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId()))
        Citizen.Wait(1000)
    end
end)

✅ Good: Only send when changed significantly

local lastCoords = vector3(0,0,0)

Citizen.CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        local newCoords = GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId())
        local distance = #(lastCoords - newCoords)

        if distance > 50.0 then -- Only if moved 50+ units
            TriggerServerEvent('updatePosition', newCoords)
            lastCoords = newCoords
        end

        Citizen.Wait(5000) -- Check less frequently
    end
end)

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Common Issues & Fixes

Issue: Server Timing Spikes

Symptoms: Random lag spikes, high ms during peak times

Solutions:

1. ✓ Check resmon for resource timing spikes
2. ✓ Disable resources one-by-one to identify culprit
3. ✓ Review database slow query log
4. ✓ Upgrade CPU if consistently high

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Issue: Players Timeout/Disconnect

Symptoms: “Server timed out” errors

Solutions:

1. ✓ Increase connection timeout in server.cfg:

   set sv_timeout 120

2. ✓ Check network stability
3. ✓ Verify OneSync is configured correctly
4. ✓ Review firewall rules

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Issue: High Memory Usage

Symptoms: Server RAM usage exceeds 90%

Solutions:

1. ✓ Implement resource cleanup scripts
2. ✓ Remove unused vehicle spawns
3. ✓ Clear old database entries
4. ✓ Restart server daily during low-traffic hours
5. ✓ Upgrade RAM if legitimately needed

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Performance Checklist

Before going live, verify:

Server Configuration:

• OneSync enabled and configured
• sv_maxclients set appropriately
• Resource load order optimized
• Unnecessary convars disabled

Resources:

• All resources under 10ms in resmon
• No resource warnings at startup
• DLC packs optimized
• Streaming configured for heavy assets

Database:

• Indexes added to frequent queries
• MySQL optimized for FiveM
• Slow query log reviewed
• Regular backups scheduled

Monitoring:

• txAdmin performance charts enabled
• Alert thresholds configured
• Profiler data reviewed
• Server restart schedule set

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💬 Need Help?

Our FiveM specialists are available 24/7 to help optimize your server:

• 💬 Discord — Get expert FiveM support instantly
• 🎫 Ticket System — Submit detailed performance reports
• 🔴 Live Chat — Real-time optimization assistance

🚀 Performance Boost: Our team can audit your server and provide custom optimization recommendations.

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Ready for lag-free FiveM hosting?

View our FiveM server plans or request a performance audit from our team.

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Last updated: September 22, 2025