diff --git a/validator-engine/validator-engine.cpp b/validator-engine/validator-engine.cpp
index 06ca89b56..236535c9a 100644
--- a/validator-engine/validator-engine.cpp
+++ b/validator-engine/validator-engine.cpp
@@ -3976,8 +3976,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     acts.push_back([&x]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_nonfinal_ls_queries_enabled); });
   });
   p.add_checked_option(
-      '\0', "celldb-cache-size",
-      "block cache size for RocksDb in CellDb, in bytes (default: 1G cache shared by archive DB)",
+      '\0', "celldb-cache-size", "block cache size for RocksDb in CellDb, in bytes (default: 50G)",
       [&](td::Slice s) -> td::Status {
         TRY_RESULT(v, td::to_integer_safe<td::uint64>(s));
         if (v == 0) {
@@ -3986,14 +3985,13 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         acts.push_back([&x, v]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_celldb_cache_size, v); });
         return td::Status::OK();
       });
-  p.add_option('\0', "celldb-direct-io", "enable direct I/O mode for RocksDb in CellDb", [&]() {
-    acts.push_back([&x]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_celldb_direct_io); });
+  p.add_option('\0', "celldb-no-direct-io", "disable direct I/O mode for RocksDb in CellDb", [&]() {
+    acts.push_back([&x]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_celldb_direct_io, false); });
   });
   p.add_option(
-      '\0', "celldb-preload-all",
-      "preload all cells from CellDb on startup (recommended to use with big enough celldb-cache-size and "
-      "celldb-direct-io)",
-      [&]() { acts.push_back([&x]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_celldb_preload_all); }); });
+      '\0', "celldb-no-preload-all",
+      "disable preloading all cells from CellDb on startup (enabled by default)",
+      [&]() { acts.push_back([&x]() { td::actor::send_closure(x, &ValidatorEngine::set_celldb_preload_all, false); }); });
   p.add_checked_option(
       '\0', "catchain-max-block-delay", "delay before creating a new catchain block, in seconds (default: 0.5)",
       [&](td::Slice s) -> td::Status {
diff --git a/validator-engine/validator-engine.hpp b/validator-engine/validator-engine.hpp
index 94ced8ba3..44fb1c27c 100644
--- a/validator-engine/validator-engine.hpp
+++ b/validator-engine/validator-engine.hpp
@@ -209,9 +209,9 @@ class ValidatorEngine : public td::actor::Actor {
   double archive_preload_period_ = 0.0;
   bool disable_rocksdb_stats_ = false;
   bool nonfinal_ls_queries_enabled_ = false;
-  td::optional<td::uint64> celldb_cache_size_;
-  bool celldb_direct_io_ = false;
-  bool celldb_preload_all_ = false;
+  td::optional<td::uint64> celldb_cache_size_ = 50LL << 30;
+  bool celldb_direct_io_ = true;
+  bool celldb_preload_all_ = true;
   td::optional<double> catchain_max_block_delay_;
   bool read_config_ = false;
   bool started_keyring_ = false;
@@ -288,11 +288,11 @@ class ValidatorEngine : public td::actor::Actor {
   void set_celldb_cache_size(td::uint64 value) {
     celldb_cache_size_ = value;
   }
-  void set_celldb_direct_io() {
-    celldb_direct_io_ = true;
+  void set_celldb_direct_io(bool value) {
+    celldb_direct_io_ = value;
   }
-  void set_celldb_preload_all() {
-    celldb_preload_all_ = true;
+  void set_celldb_preload_all(bool value) {
+    celldb_preload_all_ = value;
   }
   void set_catchain_max_block_delay(double value) {
     catchain_max_block_delay_ = value;