Every PC game offers quick presets, Low, Medium, High, Ultra, and a detailed menu of individual settings. Presets are convenient, but they treat every setting equally, when in reality a few options cost most of your frame rate while others are nearly free. Learning when to trust a preset and when to go custom is the key to getting the best image at a smooth frame rate. This guide shows how to decide.
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What presets really do
A preset simply sets every individual option to a predefined level. Ultra maxes everything, Low minimizes everything, and the middle presets sit in between. The problem is that presets do not distinguish between settings that transform the image and settings that are barely visible, nor between cheap settings and frame killers.
The gap between High and Ultra is a classic example: Ultra often costs a large chunk of frame rate for tiny visual gains, because it pushes a few expensive settings to extremes with diminishing returns. High usually looks almost identical while running much faster.
When to go custom
Custom settings let you spend your frame-rate budget where it matters. The approach is to start from a preset close to your target (often High), then individually lower the few expensive settings that give little visible benefit, shadows, volumetrics, screen space reflections and heavy ambient occlusion, while keeping cheap, high-impact settings like textures and anisotropic filtering high.
This is how you get an image that looks nearly like Ultra while running like Medium. Textures cost VRAM but little GPU time, so keep them high if your card has the memory; shadows and volumetric effects cost a lot of GPU time for subtle gains, so these are your first cuts.
| Setting type | Typical cost | Custom strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Textures | VRAM, low GPU | Keep high if VRAM allows |
| Anisotropic filtering | Very low | Keep high (16x) |
| Shadows | High | Lower to Medium |
| Volumetrics / fog | High | Lower to Medium |
| Screen space reflections | Moderate-high | Lower or off |
| Ambient occlusion | Moderate | Medium is plenty |
A practical workflow
If you value your time and have strong hardware, a preset is fine; Ultra or High just works. But if you want the best balance on mid-range hardware, go custom: pick High as a base, benchmark a demanding scene, then lower shadows, volumetrics and reflections one at a time while watching the frame rate and the image.
Many games also have community-tested optimized settings that identify exactly which options to lower, which is a great shortcut. The goal is always the same, keep the visually impactful, cheap settings high and trim the expensive, subtle ones, so you land on a smooth frame rate without a noticeably worse image.
A repeatable custom-tuning method
Use a simple, repeatable process. Pick a demanding, representative scene you can reload, turn on a frame-time overlay, and start from the High preset. Then lower one expensive setting at a time, shadows, volumetrics, reflections, ambient occlusion, checking the frame rate and image after each change. Keep the ones that gain frames without a visible downgrade, and stop when you hit your target with an image you are happy with.
Community optimized-settings guides are a great shortcut, since enthusiasts have already identified which options in a given game are frame killers with little visual payoff. Whether you tune yourself or follow a guide, the principle holds: keep cheap, high-impact settings like textures and anisotropic filtering high, and trim the expensive, subtle ones. That is how you beat a blunt preset and land on the best balance for your hardware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ultra worth it over High?
Often not. Ultra frequently costs a large chunk of frame rate for tiny visual gains, while High looks nearly identical and runs much faster. Custom settings from a High base usually give the best balance.
Which settings should I lower first for more FPS?
Shadows, volumetric effects and screen space reflections are the biggest frame killers with subtle visual payoff. Lower those first while keeping textures and anisotropic filtering high for the best image-to-performance ratio.
Are community optimized settings better than presets?
Often yes. Enthusiast guides identify which specific settings in a game are frame killers with little visual benefit, letting you keep the impactful options high and trim the wasteful ones, which a one-size preset cannot do.
Bottom line
Presets are convenient but blunt, treating cheap and expensive settings alike. For the best balance, start from a High preset and go custom: keep visually impactful, low-cost settings like textures and anisotropic filtering high, and trim the frame killers, shadows, volumetrics and reflections. That approach delivers a near-Ultra image at a much smoother frame rate, especially on mid-range hardware.
