Turn off ray tracing first if it is enabled. Next, reduce shadows or reflections, then try a game-supported upscaler or lower render resolution if the GPU is still struggling. Change one setting at a time and compare performance in the same scene: there is no universal ranking, because the best adjustment depends on the game, your hardware bottleneck and how much visual quality you are willing to trade for smoother play.
What should you lower first?
Use this as a starting order, not a promise of a particular frame-rate gain. A setting that is expensive in one game may have a modest effect in another, and lowering graphics options may do little if the game is limited by the CPU or another issue.
- Ray tracing or path tracing: If enabled, disable it or reduce its quality first, particularly in a GPU-heavy game. Ray-traced effects can have substantial performance and image-quality trade-offs, but the cost varies by title. NVIDIA’s Control graphics guide illustrates those trade-offs for that game; its results should not be treated as a forecast for other games or PCs.
- Shadows and reflections: Step down their quality rather than immediately setting every option to Low. These effects can be demanding, but their cost and visual impact depend on the game. Check whether the lower preset still gives you the detail you want.
- Render resolution or upscaling: If the GPU remains the constraint, try an upscaler supported by both your game and hardware, or lower the render resolution. Rendering fewer pixels can reduce GPU work, but inspect fine text and interface elements for softness or other artifacts.
- Other demanding effects: Test options such as volumetric lighting, ambient occlusion, anti-aliasing or level of detail individually. The setting names and their visual consequences are game-specific; the Control guide is an example, not a universal settings map.
- Textures and world detail when memory is constrained: Reduce these if the game reports memory pressure or your system has limited physical memory. Texture-related options are not automatically major FPS levers: AMD’s guidance, for example, describes texture filtering quality as having a small performance impact.
EA recommends lowering in-game graphics settings for players close to a game’s minimum requirements. Its PC graphics troubleshooting guide also covers dedicated-GPU selection and driver or software checks.
How to test a change fairly
- Choose a repeatable test. Record your current settings and frame rate in the same gameplay scene or built-in benchmark where practical. Busy combat, a quiet menu and a crowded city can produce very different results.
- Change one option. Lower a single setting, then repeat the same scene. Changing several settings together makes it hard to tell which one helped.
- Judge more than peak FPS. Compare frame-rate stability, image quality and responsiveness. If you use an upscaler, check text and UI as well as the main scene.
- Keep only worthwhile changes. If a setting makes little difference, restore it. Gradually raise settings again when performance allows; the goal is a useful balance, not the lowest possible graphics preset.
AMD’s Radeon gaming-settings guidance likewise frames graphics options as a balance between visual quality and performance. Riot Games Support’s surfaced guidance recommends testing demanding settings and raising them again gradually; the precise setting menu will depend on the game.
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Why lowering graphics may not fix the problem
The game may be CPU-limited
If reducing graphics options barely changes performance, the graphics card may not be the limiting component. Microsoft’s Direct3D guidance says, with an important qualification, that “The vast majority of games are limited by CPU performance on systems with high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs).” That is a general observation about the systems discussed in its technical guidance, not a diagnosis of your PC. The same guidance explains that high-resolution settings can contribute to GPU limitation, while CPU limits can blunt the benefit of lowering graphics options. See Microsoft’s Direct3D guidance.
The game may be using the wrong GPU
On a laptop with integrated and dedicated graphics, verify that the game is assigned to the dedicated GPU. EA specifically calls out GPU selection, along with graphics-driver and software troubleshooting, in its PC guide. The exact selection controls vary by Windows version and hardware, so check the relevant system or GPU-vendor settings rather than assuming one menu path applies to every PC.
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Memory or other software issues may be involved
Microsoft’s guidance discusses how physical memory and video memory can affect game behavior, and notes that lower detail may be appropriate in some cases when physical memory is limited relative to video memory. If the game signals memory pressure, try reducing texture or world-detail settings. Also check the game’s own troubleshooting guidance and driver state before lowering every visual option; graphics changes cannot reliably solve every software or hardware cause.
What to know before using an upscaler
Upscaling is not one universal switch. A game may offer its own supported options, while Windows Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) is a specific feature with device, software and game requirements. Microsoft says Auto SR renders at a lower resolution and upscales the result to improve smoothness. Its current support page lists eligible processor and device categories, Windows 11 version 24H2 or later, current drivers, and display and game requirements. Check that page and the game’s compatibility information because eligibility can change.
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- Auto SR is opt-in and does not currently support HDR, according to Microsoft.
- Microsoft warns that text or UI may be affected, so inspect menus and fine detail as well as gameplay.
- For any upscaler, judge the result on your own hardware and in the game you play; compatibility and clarity matter alongside frame-rate stability.
How much performance can a setting change add?
There is no dependable FPS figure that applies across games and PCs. NVIDIA’s 2019 Control guide reported DLSS frame-rate increases of “up to 89%” in a higher-fidelity mode and “up to 197%” in lower-resolution performance modes under its GPU-heavy, Control-specific test conditions. Those vendor results describe that game and configuration; they do not predict comparable gains elsewhere. For your system, a same-scene comparison is more useful than a headline maximum.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Practical rule of thumb
Start with ray tracing, then step down demanding shadows or reflections. If the GPU is still holding performance back, test a compatible upscaler or lower render resolution. Adjust other effects one by one, and only lower memory-related detail when there is a reason to suspect memory pressure. If the changes barely help, investigate the bottleneck and GPU selection instead of reducing everything.
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