For most PCs, start with the High or Medium preset, turn Full Ray Tracing off, and set render scale near 67% (roughly DLSS or FSR Quality). Then adjust settings to meet your frame-rate target without making the image too soft. The built-in benchmark is a useful baseline, but confirm your settings in actual gameplay: results vary with your GPU, resolution, game patch, and driver, and the published performance tests cited here date to 2024.
Best starting settings by PC and resolution
There is no single best configuration for every PC. These starting points balance image quality and performance; they are not guaranteed presets or results from firsthand testing.
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| System and output | Preset and render scale | Ray tracing and next step |
|---|---|---|
| Older or budget PC at 1080p | Begin with Medium or High and about 66–67% render scale. | Keep Full Ray Tracing off. If performance is still low, lower demanding settings or scale gradually, checking image sharpness as you go. |
| Mainstream PC at 1440p | Begin with High; try Very High only if performance allows. Compare about 67% scale with a lower value only if needed. | Keep Full Ray Tracing off at first. Tune individual settings before accepting the larger GPU load of the top preset. |
| High-end PC with ray-tracing interest | First establish a stable baseline with your chosen preset and render scale. | Then test Full Ray Tracing at Medium before trying Very High; higher RT levels can sharply reduce performance. |
Steam’s listed minimum graphics cards are the GTX 1060 6 GB and Radeon RX 580 8 GB. Steam says its listed specifications were tested with DLSS, FSR, or XeSS enabled; they do not promise a particular resolution or frame rate. See the Steam listing for the full requirements.
How to choose a render scale and upscaler
The game’s percentage render-scale control is an important performance setting. Lowering it reduces the resolution at which the game renders before the image is upscaled to your display resolution. That can improve performance, but aggressive reductions can make the picture look soft, particularly at 1080p.
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| Upscaler | Mode | Approximate render scale |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS or FSR | Quality | 67% |
| DLSS or FSR | Balanced | 58% |
| DLSS or FSR | Performance | 50% |
| DLSS or FSR | Ultra Performance | 33% |
| XeSS | Ultra Quality | 77% |
| XeSS | Quality | 67% |
| XeSS | Balanced | 59% |
| XeSS | Performance | 50% |
These are approximate mode-to-scale mappings reported by NVIDIA and PC Gamer. NVIDIA’s general guidance for DLSS games is Quality at 1080p and 1440p, and Performance at 4K. That is vendor guidance, not a guarantee that those modes will look or perform best on every GPU, patch, or display. Compare the image at your own output resolution before settling on a more aggressive scale.
Should you turn on Full Ray Tracing?
Leave Full Ray Tracing off while establishing a playable baseline. It is optional and demanding; enable it only after your other settings meet your target. If you want to test it, start at Medium RT and increase the level only if performance remains acceptable.
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The available results illustrate why settings and hardware matter. Tom’s Hardware’s 2024 testing found maximum Full RT exceptionally demanding and reported a substantial performance reduction at the Cinematic/maximum end. PC Gamer reported that, on an RX 7800 XT at 1440p with the Very High preset and upscaling and frame generation enabled, Very High RT substantially cut average frame rate and pushed 1% lows into the 30 FPS range. That is one tested configuration, not a prediction for other Radeon cards or PCs.
NVIDIA’s 2024 article reported more than 80 FPS at 2560×1440 on an RTX 4070 SUPER with Full Ray Tracing and maxed settings in its own test conditions using DLSS 3 Performance. NVIDIA also described DLSS 3 as multiplying performance with Full Ray Tracing enabled and every setting maxed. Treat these as vendor-reported, launch-era results, not expected performance for every system or current game build.
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How to get more FPS without guessing
- Set a baseline. Choose your output resolution and a Medium or High preset, set render scale around 67%, and leave Full Ray Tracing off.
- Run the built-in benchmark. Steam’s listing links the standalone benchmark, and NVIDIA describes it as using game scenes and features. Tom’s Hardware reported that its benchmark run lasted about 145 seconds in its 2024 testing; it repeated runs and discarded the first run after launch. Your run time and performance may differ.
- Record the configuration. Note output resolution, render-scale percentage and upscaler, preset, RT level, frame-generation state, driver, and game build alongside the result.
- Change one setting at a time. If performance is below target, lower render scale gradually or reduce demanding individual settings. Recheck image clarity after each change.
- Confirm in gameplay. The benchmark is a useful comparison point, not proof that every gameplay scene will perform the same. Check the areas and effects you actually play through.
Tom’s Hardware found Medium-to-High settings more practical for many tested cards than the Cinematic/maximum end, which could sharply increase GPU load. Its results are from 2024 and should be read as test findings, not a universal FPS guarantee.
Frame generation and motion blur
Frame generation can increase the displayed frame rate, but treat it as a smoothness aid rather than a replacement for a reasonable base frame rate. PC Gamer observed artifacts when frame generation was combined with strong motion blur. Compare with motion blur off or weak if you notice distracting artifacts.
What the published performance figures do—and don’t—tell you
The cited independent tests and game-specific vendor results are from the 2024 launch period. They help explain trade-offs between presets, render scale, and RT, but do not establish performance for every later patch, driver, GPU, or system configuration. Steam’s requirements are a hardware baseline, not an FPS target. For an upgrade decision, first compare your current card’s performance with your own resolution and frame-rate goal; the historical RTX 40-series results do not establish that any particular card is the best buy in 2026.
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- Steam: Black Myth: Wukong system requirements and benchmark access
- NVIDIA GeForce News: DLSS 3, render-scale guidance, and vendor performance results
- Tom’s Hardware: 2024 benchmark methodology and GPU performance analysis
- PC Gamer: settings, scaling, ray tracing, and frame-generation observations
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