There is no single best graphics preset for every Baldur’s Gate 3 PC: the right balance depends on your hardware, resolution, and how much smoothness you want to preserve. Start by checking Larian’s requirements, then lower the preset if performance is poor and tune one change at a time. On Steam Deck, Larian specifically recommends comparing FSR 2.2 Quality with your current upscaling setting, while noting that sharper image quality can cost performance.
Start with your platform’s system requirements
Larian’s requirements are a baseline for compatibility, not a promise of a particular frame rate. The Windows and Mac minimum configurations list 8 GB of memory; the recommended configurations list 16 GB. Larian does not publish FPS results for individual settings.
| Platform and tier | Processor | Memory | Graphics | Operating system and storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows minimum | Intel i5-4690 or AMD FX 8350 | 8 GB RAM | Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD RX 480, 4 GB or more VRAM | Windows 10 64-bit; 150 GB available on an SSD |
| Windows recommended | Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | 16 GB RAM | Nvidia RTX 2060 Super or AMD RX 5700 XT, 8 GB or more VRAM | Windows 10 64-bit; 150 GB available on an SSD |
| Mac minimum | Apple M1 | 8 GB memory | Not stated by Larian’s system requirements | macOS 14 (14.7.1) or newer; 150 GB storage on an SSD; low-to-medium settings |
| Mac recommended | Apple M1 Pro or better | 16 GB memory | Not stated by Larian’s system requirements | Latest macOS; 150 GB storage on an SSD; high or ultra settings |
On Windows, DirectX 11 is the default API; Vulkan 1.1 is also provided. Larian’s published Windows and Mac requirements specify SSD storage. If your game is on a drive that is not an SSD, address that requirement before expecting graphics changes to solve every performance problem. See Larian Studios’ system requirements for the current details.
What to check before lowering visual quality
- Confirm the relevant requirements. Compare your CPU, GPU, memory, operating system and available storage with the platform-specific tier above. Minimum requirements do not mean every scene will run at a chosen resolution or frame rate.
- Check installation storage. Larian specifies an SSD for Windows and Mac.
- Update graphics drivers. Larian’s support page says, “Updating to the latest graphics card drivers will help with compatibility and performance of the game.” This is general compatibility advice, not a promise of a specific FPS increase.
- Use a lower graphics preset if performance is inadequate. Larian’s support guidance recommends trying a lower preset when frame rate is low. From there, change one option at a time rather than dropping several settings together; that makes the visual and performance trade-off easier to identify.
For a useful comparison, note your platform, CPU, GPU, memory, display resolution and how the game behaves in a repeatable scene before changing settings. This is a practical tuning method, not a Larian-published benchmark protocol.
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Steam Deck: compare FSR 2.2 Quality with your current setting
If Baldur’s Gate 3 looks blurry on Steam Deck, check the upscaling option before treating the whole graphics preset as the cause. Larian’s Hotfix #34 guidance said the Deck’s default FSR 1 setting could look blurry and suggested Video → Upscaling Type → FSR 2.2 as a balance between image sharpness and performance, while warning that it can cost some performance. Patch 8 later made FSR 2.2 Quality the Steam Deck default. If your current setting differs, compare it with FSR 2.2 Quality and judge both clarity and frame-rate stability.
Larian also says the native Steam Deck build uses less CPU usage and memory overall than the Proton version. That is a resource-use comparison, not a quantified FPS guarantee. Read the Steam Deck performance guidance alongside the Patch 8 announcement.
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PC upscaling and graphics APIs: compare rather than assume
On Windows, DirectX 11 is the default, while Vulkan 1.1 is available as an alternative. Larian added XeSS with DX11 support for Intel Xe cards and Vulkan support for Intel Xe and other vendors’ cards. These are compatibility and availability details; they do not establish that one API or upscaler is faster or sharper across every PC configuration.
DLSS is also mentioned in Larian’s Patch 8 notes, but those notes describe a split-screen animation fix, not a universal graphics recommendation. Where an upscaler is available for your hardware, compare the resulting image and frame-rate stability at your own output resolution. A sharper image, a more stable frame rate and a lower performance cost do not necessarily come together in one setting.
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For details on XeSS support, see Larian’s Hotfix #34 notes. Patch 8’s DLSS mention appears in Larian’s Patch 8 notes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical way to tune for your goal
- Record a baseline. Note your platform, CPU, GPU, memory, display resolution and frame-rate behavior in a repeatable scene. This gives you a before-and-after comparison without assuming a setting will help.
- Verify the basics. Check Larian’s published requirements for your platform, confirm SSD installation on Windows or Mac, and update graphics drivers.
- Lower the preset if performance is inadequate. This is Larian’s support guidance for low frame rate. Then adjust individual settings one at a time so you can tell which trade-off matters on your system.
- On Steam Deck, compare upscaling. Test FSR 2.2 Quality against your current choice, looking at sharpness as well as frame-rate stability; Larian acknowledges a possible performance cost.
- Choose by four measures. Compare image sharpness, frame-rate stability, output resolution and performance cost. Keep the setting that best matches your priority rather than chasing a universal preset.
Patch 8, announced April 15, 2025, was described by Larian as the game’s final major patch. Larian’s Hotfix #36, version 4.1.1.7209685, dated March 26, 2026, fixed a frame-rate drop and eventual crash when loading a save. That fix addresses a specific reported issue; it does not establish that all performance problems are resolved. See the Hotfix #36 announcement.
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