Frames First: Graphics Settings 101 — Noob’s Journey
Noob’s Journey

Frames First: Graphics Settings 101

Hit your FPS without turning the game into mashed potatoes. A clean path for PC, console, and mobile.

Why Settings Matter (Frametime & Feel)

  • FPS feels like smoothness, but what your hands notice is frametime consistency.
  • Goal: lock to your monitor rhythm (60/120/144/165 Hz etc.) with minimal spikes.
  • Method: reduce the “expensive” settings first, scale resolution smartly, then add pretty back in.
Frametime math: 60 FPS = 16.7 ms per frame • 120 FPS = 8.3 ms • 144 FPS = 6.94 ms.

Pick a Target That Matches Your Monitor

PC Monitors

  • Turn on VRR (G-Sync/FreeSync) if supported.
  • Cap FPS to a few frames below max refresh to stabilize (e.g., 141 on a 144 Hz panel).
  • Prefer borderless/fullscreen for VRR reliability (varies by game).

TVs / Consoles

  • Enable Game Mode, VRR, and 120 Hz in system settings if available.
  • Pick the game’s “Performance” (FPS-first) mode; use “Quality” only if you truly don’t need high FPS.

Quick Helpers

FPS Budget → Frametime



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VRAM Hint (Textures)



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PC Settings — Lower These First (They’re Heavy)

GPU-Heavy (Big FPS Wins)

  • Resolution Scale / Render Resolution — drop to 90–95% before touching anything else; use an upscaler if available.
  • Shadows — lower quality and distance; soft shadows are pricey.
  • Volumetrics / Fog / God Rays — heavy at high quality; try medium/low.
  • Ambient Occlusion — SSAO/HBAO+ → medium; RT AO off for budget builds.
  • Post FX — motion blur off, film grain low/off, depth of field low.

CPU-Heavy (Helps Stutter)

  • Crowd/Traffic Density — reduce.
  • View/Draw Distance — medium.
  • Physics/Destruction Quality — medium/low.
  • Background apps — close overlays/recorders you don’t need.

Color & HDR

  • Use SDR (Rec.709) unless your whole pipeline is HDR-ready (game + OS + display).
  • Match Full vs Limited range across GPU ↔ game ↔ display to avoid washout.

Input Latency Hygiene

  • Prefer exclusive/fullscreen; enable the game’s low-latency/Reflex/Anti-Lag mode.
  • Cap FPS just below refresh; avoid wild swings.

Upscalers (DLSS/FSR/XeSS)

  • Quality mode = safest visual bump with big FPS gain.
  • Balanced/Performance = more FPS, more shimmer. Use with good TAA and sharpen modestly.
  • Frame Generation adds synthetic frames; pair with low-latency options and stable base FPS.

Ray Tracing (Budget or Bust)

  • Turn off while tuning. Add later if your FPS budget allows.
  • Prefer RT shadows or AO only before full RT GI/reflections.
  • Use an upscaler + frame cap to keep frametimes even.

Console Settings (Fast Choices)

Performance vs Quality

  • Performance = 60/120 FPS; lower internal resolution.
  • Quality = higher resolution effects; usually 30/40 FPS.

System Toggles

  • Enable 120 Hz and VRR in console settings + TV Game Mode/VRR.
  • Disable “reduce input lag” filters on TVs that break VRR.

Mobile (Heat Is the Boss)

  • Lock 60 FPS if the game/phone supports, else 30 for stability.
  • Lower shadows, reflections, vegetation first; these roast batteries.
  • Keep brightness sane; close background apps; use a case with airflow.

Benchmark Plan (10 Minutes, No Drama)

  1. Pick a representative scene (crowded city, dense forest, big fight).
  2. Enable the game’s frame time graph or an overlay.
  3. Run at native settings → note FPS/frametime spikes.
  4. Drop resolution scale to 95% → retest.
  5. Lower shadows + volumetrics → retest.
  6. Enable upscaler (Quality) → retest.
  7. Optional: add RT piece by piece; stop when frametime exceeds budget.

Copyable Checklist

Benchmark loop:
[ ] Native baseline (note FPS + spikes)
[ ] Render scale 95%
[ ] Shadows ↓, Volumetrics ↓
[ ] Upscaler: Quality
[ ] Cap FPS just below refresh
[ ] Optional RT: add shadows→AO→reflections (stop if frametime breaks)

Safe Presets (Copy/Paste, Game-Agnostic)

eSports 1080p • 120–240 FPS

Resolution: 1920×1080
Render Scale: 100% (drop to 90–95% if needed)
Upscaler: Off (or Quality if CPU is fine)
V-Sync: Off (VRR on)
Cap: refresh-3 (e.g., 141 on 144 Hz)
Textures: Medium (fit VRAM)
Shadows: Low
Volumetrics/Fog: Low
Ambient Occlusion: Off/Low
Post FX: Motion Blur Off, DoF Low, Film Grain Off
Latency: Low-latency/Reflex ON

Balanced 1440p • 60–120 FPS

Resolution: 2560×1440
Render Scale: 95%
Upscaler: Quality
V-Sync: Off (VRR on)
Cap: 58/116 (near your refresh)
Textures: High (watch VRAM)
Shadows: Medium
Volumetrics: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: Medium (no RT AO)
Post FX: Motion Blur Off, DoF Low
RT: Off (add RT shadows if headroom remains)

Cinematic 4K • 60 FPS

Resolution: 3840×2160
Upscaler: Quality/Balanced
Cap: 58/60 (VRR on)
Textures: High/Ultra (VRAM ≥ 12 GB)
Shadows: Medium
Volumetrics: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: High (no RT if tight)
RT: Start with RT Shadows only; avoid full GI unless GPU is high-end
Post FX: Tasteful Sharpen 0.2–0.4

Troubleshooting (Fast Wins)

Stutter With High FPS

  • Cap FPS just under refresh; check background apps; set game to fullscreen.
  • Lower CPU-heavy settings (view distance, crowds, physics).

VRAM Warnings / Texture Pop-in

  • Lower texture quality or resolution scale; close browser tabs/overlays.
  • Prefer Quality upscaler over native at Ultra textures on 8 GB GPUs.

Input Feels Sluggish

  • Disable V-Sync; enable low-latency mode; cap FPS slightly under refresh.
  • Check for frame gen latency; turn it off in twitchy shooters.

HDR Looks Washed

  • Ensure OS + game + display are all in HDR; calibrate with in-game tool.
  • If in doubt, use SDR; mismatched ranges cause grey soup.

Your Tuning Notes

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