Start with 1920×1080, Medium quality, VSync Off, and Frame Rate Cap Off. Then measure frame times and determine whether your limit is the GPU, CPU, memory, thermals, shaders, or the game itself. Lowering every setting is not a reliable fix: if Marathon is CPU-limited, reducing resolution may change almost nothing. Frame generation is also a finishing tool, not a cure for low base FPS or hitching.
This guide follows Bungie’s diagnostic process and accounts for the newer PC frame-generation support added in Update 1.1.0.
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1. Check whether your PC meets Marathon’s requirements
Marathon requires Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 12, and a broadband internet connection. Steam lists these specifications:
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| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500 |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB, AMD RX 5500 XT 4 GB, or Intel Arc A580 8 GB with ReBAR enabled | NVIDIA RTX 2060 6 GB, AMD RX 5700 XT 8 GB, or Intel Arc A770 16 GB with ReBAR enabled |
These are compatibility guidelines, not an FPS guarantee. They do not establish a target resolution, graphics preset, or frame rate. Steam also warns that required storage can increase as updates arrive. See the current Steam listing for the latest requirements.
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2. Apply Bungie’s recommended baseline
Open Settings > Video and begin with:
- Resolution: 1920×1080
- VSync: Off
- Frame Rate Cap: Off
- Graphics Quality: Medium
Bungie describes this as a starting point for many mid-range and high-end systems targeting 120 FPS or more, not as the best final configuration for every PC or display. Change one setting at a time and test the same scenario after each change.
3. Measure the problem before changing settings
Enable the counter at Settings > Gameplay > In-game FPS counter, or use the Steam FPS overlay. Record performance in a quiet area, a busy fight, Outpost, Cryo Archive, extraction, and the main menu or inventory screens.
Record more than average FPS:
- Output resolution and render resolution
- Graphics preset, upscaler and mode
- Frame-generation status
- GPU utilization, clock, temperature and VRAM use
- Per-core CPU utilization, clock and temperature
- System RAM use and the frame-time graph
- Whether the issue is low FPS, hitching, input latency, menu stutter, or network rubber-banding
A stable 75 FPS can feel better than an unstable 110 FPS if the latter contains repeated 100–300 ms frame-time spikes. CapFrameX can capture percentile and frame-time data, while MSI Afterburner can monitor clocks, temperatures and utilization. Both are diagnostic tools, not guaranteed FPS boosters.
4. Find your bottleneck in five minutes
Run Bungie’s GPU-isolation test
- Start from the 1080p Medium baseline.
- Disable anti-aliasing.
- Set Render Resolution to 25%.
- Close the settings window and repeat the same test.
This intentionally produces very poor image quality. It asks how fast the game can run when rendering resolution is no longer a major GPU limit.
- FPS rises substantially: the GPU is materially limiting performance.
- FPS barely changes: the problem is probably CPU-limited, engine-limited, or unrelated to rendering resolution.
- FPS rises but hitching remains: you may have both a GPU limit and a CPU or frame-pacing problem.
Run the CPU-isolation test
After the GPU test, reduce Environment Detail Distance to Low, Character Detail Distance to Low, and Foliage Detail Distance to Lowest. Bungie says reducing FOV can also reduce CPU work, although high-FPS players may reasonably keep the widest view they prefer.
If these settings do not improve performance, Bungie recommends leaving them at Medium rather than sacrificing image quality for no measurable gain.
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5. Best settings for GPU-limited PCs
Reduce the settings that lower rendering work first:
- Render resolution or resolution scaling. This usually has the clearest effect on a GPU limit.
- Upscaler quality mode. Test DLSS, FSR or XeSS and choose the sharpest mode that meets your target.
- Output resolution. Lowering it is effective but reduces clarity.
- Anti-aliasing and expensive lighting, shadows, effects or post-processing options, if exposed in your current build.
Do not assume a particular option delivers a fixed FPS gain. The result depends on your GPU, resolution, map and game build.
Upscaling and dynamic resolution
Bungie recommends testing DLSS, FSR or XeSS with Resolution Scaling set to Custom, beginning at 33%, then increasing the percentage toward 100% while watching performance. The percentage may refer to internal render resolution rather than final output resolution, and the visual result depends on the upscaler and display resolution.
If performance changes very little as scaling increases, that is evidence of a CPU limit rather than a reason to keep lowering image quality.
Dynamic Resolution Scaling can maintain a target frame rate by lowering resolution when the GPU is overloaded. Bungie particularly positions it for GPU-limited systems, high-resolution displays and laptops with fast CPUs but thermally constrained GPUs. It cannot remove a CPU simulation bottleneck and may cause visible sharpness fluctuations.
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Prioritize:
- Environment Detail Distance
- Character Detail Distance
- Foliage Detail Distance
- FOV, if you accept a narrower view
- Background applications, overlays and recording tools
- CPU cooling, sustained clocks and power behavior
Lowering resolution will not meaningfully solve a CPU bottleneck. A game can be CPU-limited while total CPU usage looks low because one busy or slow thread is limiting the frame. Single-thread performance, cache behavior, memory latency and scheduling can matter more than total core count.
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Bungie specifically notes that dense areas such as Outpost and Cryo Archive can expose CPU limitations. Its comparison of a newer Ryzen 5 9600X outperforming an older Ryzen 9 3950X is an illustrative example, not an independent benchmark.
7. Fix stutter and inconsistent frame pacing
Shader-compilation stutter
Stutter that is worst on first launch or after a game or driver update, then improves after effects and locations repeat, may involve shader compilation.
- Restart the game after updates.
- Allow any in-game shader preparation to finish.
- Update your GPU driver using NVIDIA App, AMD Software or Intel’s official graphics support.
- Do not repeatedly delete shader caches unless you are testing a suspected corrupted cache.
After a cache is cleared, the game may stutter again while shaders rebuild. Cache deletion is not a universal fix.
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CPU or engine frame-time spikes
If lowering resolution barely changes FPS, GPU utilization drops during hitches, and the problem is worse in dense areas or fights, repeat the CPU-isolation test. Persistent map-specific or patch-specific spikes may require a Bungie fix rather than another graphics tweak.
VRAM and system-memory pressure
Stutter that worsens during long sessions or while assets stream can indicate memory pressure. Close browsers, launchers, recording software and unnecessary overlays. Lower texture-related settings if available, check whether VRAM or RAM is nearly full, and do not disable the Windows page file. More virtual memory can prevent a crash but cannot turn an underspecified PC into a fast one.
Network problems mistaken for stutter
Teleporting players, rubber-banding and delayed server interactions are network symptoms when local camera movement remains smooth and frame time stays stable. They require network troubleshooting, not lower graphics settings.
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Cap FPS and test VRR
If average FPS is high but the game feels uneven, test a stable frame-rate cap rather than uncapped rendering. Match the cap to your monitor’s refresh rate and variable-refresh range, then test VSync, G-SYNC or FreeSync combinations methodically. There is no universal best cap for every display.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsDisable conflicting overlays and monitoring tools during testing. Test frame generation only after base frame pacing is stable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.8. DLSS, FSR, XeSS and frame generation
Bungie’s older performance guide says frame generation is unsupported, but that statement is outdated. Update 1.1.0, published June 2, 2026, added PC frame generation through DLSS, FSR and XeSS, along with CPU performance improvements.
Frame generation should be used only when the game already renders at 60 FPS or higher. It creates additional displayed frames; it does not repair a low base frame rate, CPU simulation limit, shader hitch or severe frame-time instability. Below Bungie’s recommended base rate, it can increase perceived input latency and reduce image quality.
NVIDIA DLSS frame generation requires a GeForce RTX 40-series GPU or newer and Windows Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling enabled. That requirement applies to NVIDIA DLSS frame generation, not to every DLSS feature or every vendor’s frame-generation mode.
Use this order:
- Stabilize native or upscaled base FPS.
- Confirm that aiming latency feels acceptable.
- Enable frame generation.
- Compare frame times, ghosting, UI artifacts and input response.
- Disable it if pacing or control quality worsens.
Driver-injected features such as NVIDIA Smooth Motion or AMD Fluid Motion Frames should not be treated as equivalent to Marathon’s native game support.
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9. Advanced CPU affinity and CCD troubleshooting
On some hybrid or multi-CCD processors, restricting Marathon to P-cores or a 3D V-Cache CCD may improve frame-time consistency. Bungie says it can also hurt performance and does not recommend limiting the game to fewer than 16 hardware threads.
Treat this as an experiment, not a default tweak. A change that helps an Intel Core i9-14900K or Ryzen 9 9950X3D may hurt another processor. Benchmark the same map and activity before and after, record the original configuration, and undo the change if FPS, frame times or input response deteriorate. Avoid unexplained registry edits or permanent affinity utilities.
10. Laptop-specific checks
- Test while connected to AC power.
- Use Windows and the laptop vendor’s performance mode.
- Check CPU/GPU temperatures and sustained clock speeds.
- Confirm that the game uses the discrete GPU rather than integrated graphics.
- Check for thermal throttling.
- Test the external monitor’s actual resolution and refresh rate.
Battery operation is unsuitable for a consistent high-FPS comparison. Dynamic resolution can be useful on a laptop with a fast CPU and a GPU constrained by heat, but it still cannot solve a CPU-side limit.
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- GPU upgrade: Consider one when 25% render resolution substantially improves FPS and GPU utilization remains high.
- CPU upgrade: More relevant when resolution reduction barely changes FPS and CPU-side detail settings affect performance.
- RAM upgrade: Worth considering if the system has 8 GB, since Steam lists 16 GB as recommended, or if monitoring shows paging and memory exhaustion.
- SSD upgrade: It may help loading or asset-streaming behavior on a severely constrained drive, but it is not a guaranteed FPS fix.
- Cooling upgrade: Relevant when temperatures cause sustained clock reductions.
Do not buy a “game booster,” registry optimizer, paid driver updater or RAM cleaner as a first-line solution. Hardware should follow the measured bottleneck, and no upgrade guarantees a fix for an engine-side issue.
12. When only Bungie can fix it
Settings cannot reliably solve persistent CPU-side frame-time spikes, map-specific performance drops, bugs introduced by a patch, or hardware-specific driver problems. Update 1.1.0 includes CPU performance improvements, but that does not mean every stutter issue is fixed. If a problem remains reproducible after a clean baseline test, document the map, settings, hardware, driver version and frame-time behavior before reporting it through Steam support or Bungie’s support channels.
Quick Recap
Quick recovery checklist
- Update Marathon and your GPU driver.
- Return to 1080p, Medium, VSync Off and Frame Rate Cap Off.
- Measure frame time, not just average FPS.
- Run the 25% render-resolution GPU test.
- Run the Environment, Character and Foliage detail-distance CPU test.
- Adjust only settings tied to the confirmed bottleneck.
- Use a stable cap and test VRR if pacing is uneven.
- Enable frame generation only with a stable 60 FPS or higher base.
- Roll back any affinity, driver or overclocking change that worsens latency or hitching.
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