How to optimize game settings for best performance (2026)
Quick Answer
To get the best game performance, start by making sure your system and drivers are up to date, then set a clear target such as smooth frame rate, low input lag, or better image quality. Lower the settings that usually cost the most performance first, such as resolution, ray tracing, shadows and upscaling mode, then test one change at a time so you can see what actually helps.
Overview
Optimising game settings is really about balancing three things: frame rate, visual quality and stability. The best setup depends on your hardware, monitor and the type of game you play. Fast competitive games usually benefit from lower latency and steadier frame times, while slower single-player games may prioritise image quality. A good process is more reliable than copying someone else’s settings, because performance varies by graphics card, processor, game engine, driver version and even the map or scene you are testing. The practical approach is to update the basics first, choose a repeatable test area in the game, then adjust settings in a sensible order. Start with the biggest performance hitters, especially render resolution, ray tracing, shadow quality and post-processing. Use built-in performance overlays or benchmarking tools so you are not guessing. Watch for stutter, overheating and VRAM limits as well as average frame rate, because a game that looks fast but feels jerky is not truly optimised. This guide focuses on safe, realistic changes you can make in game menus and standard system settings. It does not rely on risky overclocking or obscure tweaks, and it explains why each key step matters so you can make good choices on any PC or supported handheld.
Who this is for
PC gamers and users of gaming laptops or handheld gaming PCs who want smoother gameplay, better frame pacing or lower input lag without guessing.
What you’ll need
- The game you want to optimise
- Access to the game’s graphics and display settings
- Your graphics driver software or operating system update settings
- A way to monitor performance, such as a built-in game benchmark, in-game frame counter, Steam overlay, Xbox Game Bar, NVIDIA App or AMD Software
- A few minutes to test the same scene or benchmark repeatedly
Before you start
Update your operating system, install the latest stable graphics driver for your GPU, plug in a gaming laptop if applicable, and make sure background downloads or scans are not heavily using system resources. Decide what you are aiming for before changing anything: the highest stable frame rate, a steady experience at your monitor’s refresh rate, lower input latency, or better visuals with acceptable performance.
Step-by-step
- 1
Set a clear performance target
Choose what ‘best performance’ means for this game. For a competitive shooter, you may want the lowest possible input lag and consistently high frame rates. For a story-driven game, you may prefer smoother visuals at a lower but stable frame rate. Also note your monitor refresh rate and whether you use VRR technologies such as G-SYNC, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync.
Why: You cannot optimise sensibly without a target. The right settings for low-latency competitive play are often different from the right settings for cinematic single-player gaming.
- 2
Create a baseline before changing anything
Load a repeatable test area, built-in benchmark or a demanding section of gameplay. Record how the game performs now, including average frame rate, stutter, GPU or CPU usage if available, and whether the image quality is acceptable. If the game has presets, note which one you started from.
Why: A baseline lets you compare changes properly. Without it, it is easy to make the game look worse without gaining meaningful performance.
- 3
Optimise the display basics first
Set the game to use your monitor’s native resolution unless you specifically need more performance, and make sure the refresh rate in the game and operating system matches your display’s capability. Use exclusive fullscreen if the game offers it and it behaves better on your system; otherwise use borderless if you need easier multitasking. Enable VRR if your monitor and GPU support it. If the game supports an upscaler such as DLSS, FSR or XeSS, test a quality-focused mode before lowering many other settings.
Why: These settings have a large effect on clarity, latency and smoothness. Upscaling can recover substantial performance with less image loss than cutting many individual effects.
- 4
Lower the biggest performance-heavy settings first
Reduce or disable the options that commonly cost the most: ray tracing, shadow quality, volumetric effects, screen-space reflections, ambient occlusion, view distance and heavy post-processing such as motion blur. If performance is still poor, lower render scale or use a more aggressive upscaling mode. Texture quality usually depends more on VRAM than raw GPU speed, so lower it mainly if you see VRAM warnings, hitching or texture streaming problems.
Why: Not all settings cost the same. Changing a few heavy settings usually gives a better performance gain than lowering everything indiscriminately.
- 5
Check whether you are GPU-limited or CPU-limited
Use an overlay to see whether your GPU is near full use while the CPU has headroom, or whether performance remains low even when the GPU is not fully loaded. If you are GPU-limited, focus on resolution, upscaling and visual effects. If you are CPU-limited, lower settings that increase world complexity, simulation load or draw calls, and close unnecessary background apps.
Why: The bottleneck determines which changes actually help. Lowering GPU-heavy settings will not do much if the processor is the main limit.
- 6
Tune for frame stability, not just peak frame rate
After finding a faster setup, test for stutter during normal play. If frames swing wildly, use a frame rate cap in the game, driver software or platform tools, especially if you have VRR. Turn off extra overlays if they cause issues. If the game compiles shaders on first launch, let that process finish before judging performance.
Why: A slightly lower but stable frame rate often feels much smoother than a higher average with spikes and hitching.
- 7
Save a final profile and recheck after updates
Once you find settings that meet your target, save them if the game allows profiles or take screenshots of your settings pages. Re-test after major game patches, driver updates or hardware changes, because the best settings can shift over time.
Why: Updates can improve or worsen performance, reset options or add features such as new upscalers. Keeping a record saves time and makes troubleshooting easier.
Why this works
Game performance is limited mainly by the slowest part of the rendering pipeline at any moment, usually the GPU, CPU, memory subsystem or storage-related asset streaming. By identifying the bottleneck, adjusting the settings that affect it most, and testing changes in a controlled way, you improve frame rate, frame pacing and responsiveness without unnecessary loss of image quality.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Changing many settings at once, which makes it impossible to tell what actually helped
- Chasing maximum average frame rate while ignoring stutter and inconsistent frame times
- Leaving the laptop on battery power or in a quiet power mode while testing
- Lowering texture quality first when the real issue is resolution, ray tracing or shadows
- Using settings copied from someone with different hardware, resolution or game version
- Forgetting to update drivers or to let a game finish shader compilation before judging performance
Troubleshooting
The game still stutters even after lowering settings
Check for background tasks, storage pressure, thermal throttling, shader compilation, VRAM limits and driver issues. Try a frame cap, disable extra overlays, and verify the game files if corruption is suspected.
Frame rate is low but GPU usage is not high
You may be CPU-limited or affected by a game engine bottleneck. Lower CPU-heavy settings such as crowd density or view distance, close background apps, and check that the game is not using a power-saving mode.
The game looks blurry after optimisation
Check render scale and upscaler mode. Move to a higher-quality upscaling preset or return to native resolution, then lower heavier visual effects instead.
Performance drops after a driver or game update
Re-test your baseline scene, review whether settings were reset, and look for known issues in the GPU vendor’s release notes or the game developer’s support pages.
Input feels sluggish even when frame rate is acceptable
Enable a lower-latency mode if available, use fullscreen if it performs better on your system, disable unnecessary post-processing, and consider a frame cap aligned with your display behaviour.
Compare your options
Highest frame rate
Best for: Competitive games where reaction time matters most
Pros: Lower input lag, smoother aiming, better responsiveness
Cons: Reduced image quality, more visible aliasing or blur if aggressive scaling is used
Balanced optimisation
Best for: Most players who want good visuals and smooth play
Pros: Better image quality than low settings, often the best effort-to-benefit result
Cons: May require more testing to find the sweet spot
Highest visual quality with acceptable performance
Best for: Single-player or slower-paced games
Pros: Best graphics and atmosphere
Cons: Higher latency, lower frame rate, less headroom for heavy scenes
| Option | Best for | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest frame rate | Competitive games where reaction time matters most | Lower input lag, smoother aiming, better responsiveness | Reduced image quality, more visible aliasing or blur if aggressive scaling is used |
| Balanced optimisation | Most players who want good visuals and smooth play | Better image quality than low settings, often the best effort-to-benefit result | May require more testing to find the sweet spot |
| Highest visual quality with acceptable performance | Single-player or slower-paced games | Best graphics and atmosphere | Higher latency, lower frame rate, less headroom for heavy scenes |
Alternatives
- Use the game’s built-in preset as a starting point, then only adjust the few settings that have the largest impact
- If supported, use the GPU vendor’s optimisation suggestions as a rough baseline and fine-tune manually afterwards
- Lower the display resolution temporarily if your hardware cannot meet your target even on reduced settings
Pro tips
- Test in a demanding scene, not just a quiet menu or tutorial area
- If a game includes a benchmark, run it more than once so first-run shader work does not distort the result
- On systems with VRR, a stable capped frame rate often feels better than an uncapped fluctuating one
- Keep notes or screenshots of working settings for each game
- If you have limited VRAM, avoid maxing texture packs unless the game runs cleanly without streaming stutter
Safety notes
- Avoid unofficial tweaks that require editing hidden files unless the game developer or hardware vendor documents them
- Be cautious with overclocking or undervolting if you are not experienced, as instability can cause crashes or data loss
- Watch temperatures on laptops and small-form-factor systems during long test sessions
What this guide does not cover: This guide covers practical optimisation through normal game and system settings on PC-style gaming systems. It does not provide console-specific menu paths, advanced BIOS tuning, exact per-game presets, or risky overclocking procedures.
Cost considerations
Most performance gains from settings optimisation are free. The main cost is time spent testing. Hardware upgrades, higher-refresh monitors or paid upscaling features bundled with newer GPUs can improve results, but they are not required for the basic process in this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Which settings usually improve performance the most?+
Resolution, render scale, upscaling mode, ray tracing, shadows and volumetric effects usually have the biggest impact. The exact order varies by game engine and hardware.
Should I always use the lowest settings for best performance?+
Not necessarily. Some low settings hurt image clarity more than they help speed, and some medium settings perform almost the same as low. It is better to lower the heaviest options first and test the result.
Is texture quality a major frame rate setting?+
Often less than people expect. Texture quality mainly affects VRAM use and can cause hitching if set too high for your GPU. If you have enough VRAM, reducing textures may not give a large frame rate gain.
Do driver updates always improve game performance?+
No. They often help with new games or fix bugs, but sometimes a specific version introduces issues on some systems. Use current stable drivers from your GPU vendor and re-test after updating.
What is more important: average FPS or frame time stability?+
For feel and smoothness, frame time stability is often more important. A game with a slightly lower but consistent frame rate usually feels better than one with a high average and frequent spikes.
Sources & references
Guidance on this page is traced to documented sources. Last checked 25 September 2026.
- Microsoft Support - Troubleshoot game issues on Windows · manufacturer
Supports checking Windows updates, graphics drivers, game mode and background factors when improving or troubleshooting game performance on Windows.
- NVIDIA Support - GeForce Game Ready Drivers and optimisation resources · manufacturer
Supports keeping GPU drivers current and using vendor tools and features that affect performance, latency and game optimisation.
- Intel Support - Graphics support and driver resources · manufacturer
Supports obtaining official Intel graphics drivers and troubleshooting graphics-related performance issues on supported hardware.
The overall method stays stable, but specific best settings can change with game patches, driver releases and new upscaling features.