PC graphics settings explained: what each option does and what it costs

A PC game's graphics menu can have thirty options with cryptic names. Knowing what each does lets you tune with purpose: lower what costs a lot and barely shows, keep what improves the image without hurting performance. The exact impact depends on the game and your hardware, so treat this as a guide and always check with an FPS counter.

#How to read this guide

For each setting we give a rough performance cost:

• Low: barely affects FPS in most games.
• Medium: a noticeable difference.
• High: usually among the first to lower.

#Resolution and upscaling

#Screen resolution

The biggest single factor in GPU load: going from 1080p to 1440p is almost double the pixels, and 4K is four times 1080p. Use your monitor's native resolution and, if you need FPS, lower the render scale or turn on upscaling rather than dropping the screen resolution, which tends to look blurry.

#Upscaling: DLSS, FSR and XeSS — cost: negative (you gain FPS)

The game renders at a lower resolution and is reconstructed to your screen's resolution with advanced algorithms:

They typically offer Quality, Balanced and Performance modes. Quality is a good starting point. Some versions add frame generation, inserting in-between frames: it boosts displayed FPS a lot but can add latency, and works best when your base frame rate is already around 60 FPS or higher.

#Geometry and distance

#View or draw distance — cost: medium-high

How far away objects and details are drawn. Heavy in open worlds, especially on the CPU.

#Foliage and crowd density — cost: medium-high

How much grass, trees or characters appear. Lowering it often gains FPS without changing the experience much.

#Level of detail (LOD) — cost: medium

At what distance objects switch to simplified versions.

#Lighting and shadows

#Shadow quality — cost: high

Shadow resolution and range. Going from "Ultra" to "High" often gains a lot of FPS for very little visual loss.

#Ambient occlusion (SSAO, HBAO, etc.) — cost: medium

Darkens corners and contact points to add depth. Without it, images look flat, but advanced variants are expensive.

#Reflections — cost: medium-high

Reflections on water, glass and surfaces. Screen-space versions are cheaper than ray-traced ones.

#Global illumination and ray tracing — cost: very high

Simulates how light bounces realistically. It can look spectacular but is among the most demanding settings. If you enable it, pair it with upscaling.

#Textures and filtering

#Texture quality — cost: low (with enough VRAM)

Mainly uses video memory (VRAM). With enough VRAM it barely affects FPS; run short and you get stutter and blurry textures that load late. Many games show estimated VRAM use in the menu.

#Anisotropic filtering — cost: low

Sharpens textures viewed at an angle, like distant floors. On most machines you can set it to 16x without a measurable hit.

#Anti-aliasing

Smooths the "jaggies" on object edges:

If you use DLSS, FSR or XeSS, anti-aliasing is built in.

#Post-processing

• Motion blur: a matter of taste; many players turn it off. Low cost.
• Depth of field: blurs backgrounds in cinematic shots. Low-medium cost.
• Chromatic aberration, film grain, vignette: cosmetic effects, low cost. Turn them off if they bother you.
• Bloom: glow around lights. Low cost.

#Sync and smoothness

#V-Sync — cost: variable

Syncs frames to your monitor's refresh rate to avoid tearing (a "split" image). Can add input lag.

#G-Sync, FreeSync and VRR

If your monitor and GPU support it, variable refresh rate adapts the monitor to the game's frame rate, removing tearing with less lag than traditional V-Sync. The best option if you have it. More in refresh rate, response time and HDR explained.

#Frame rate limiter

Capping FPS — for example a few frames below your monitor's refresh rate — reduces heat, noise and power draw, and usually makes things feel steadier.

#Recommended order for gaining FPS

1. Turn on upscaling (DLSS, FSR or XeSS) in Quality mode.
2. Lower or disable ray tracing.
3. Shadows from Ultra to High or Medium.
4. Drop reflections and ambient occlusion one notch.
5. View distance and foliage, especially in open worlds.
6. Keep textures high if you have the VRAM.

For everything else, from drivers to temperatures, see how to increase FPS on PC.

#The bottom line

You don't need to set everything to "low": the most expensive settings are ray tracing, shadows, reflections and view distance, while textures and anisotropic filtering cost little if you have enough memory. Combine upscaling with two or three well-chosen tweaks and you'll gain FPS without a visible drop in quality. On a modest machine, follow our guide to gaming on a low-end PC.