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Best Valor Mortis graphics settings for smooth Steam Machine performance

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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For an AMD-class Steam Machine, begin with the Medium preset at your display’s native 1080p or 1440p resolution, use AMD FSR 3 in Quality mode, disable ray tracing and motion blur, and cap the frame rate a few frames below your monitor or television’s refresh rate. If frame pacing still breaks up, change the upscaler to Balanced and lower volumetric, lighting, shadow, or effects settings before reducing output resolution.

This is a sensible starting profile based on the published Valor Mortis options and hardware requirements, not a measured benchmark for a particular Steam Machine. No authoritative source currently reports reproducible Valor Mortis frame rates for a named Steam Machine model, SteamOS build, Proton version, driver, or display.

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The recommended starting profile

Open the game’s Settings or Options menu, then its Graphics or Display page. Menu names can change between the demo and final release, so use the labels that appear in your build. Apply these values first:

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Setting Starting value Why it is the first choice
Overall preset Medium Leaves headroom for consistent frame times instead of spending the entire GPU budget on a High or Ultra profile.
Output resolution Native 1920×1080 or 2560×1440 Preserves a clean presentation while the upscaler controls the internal render workload.
Upscaler FSR 3, Quality AMD hardware is the expected Steam Machine case; Quality is the best first compromise between detail and GPU load.
Ray tracing Off Ray-traced lighting is the first major feature to remove when smoothness is the priority.
Motion blur Off Static and moving details remain easier to read, including enemy wind-up animations.
Frame rate limit A few frames below display refresh Provides a small timing margin that can keep a variable-refresh display from repeatedly hitting its ceiling.
V-Sync Off when using a frame cap or variable refresh Avoids stacking multiple frame-pacing controls. If your display has no variable refresh and you see tearing, test V-Sync on as a separate choice.

At 60 Hz, a cap just below 60 is the usual starting point; at 120 Hz, cap below 120 rather than chasing a peak that the hardware cannot hold. The exact cap should follow the refresh rate your Steam Machine is actually outputting.

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What the published requirements mean for a Steam Machine

AMD’s official Valor Mortis page lists a Windows 11 minimum configuration of a Ryzen 7 3700X processor, 16 GB of memory, a Radeon RX 6700, DirectX 12, and a 50 GB SSD. The Steam listing also names a GeForce RTX 2070 Super alongside the RX 6700 as a graphics reference.

Requirement Published baseline How to interpret it on a Steam Machine
Operating system Windows 11 This is a Windows PC requirement. It does not establish compatibility with SteamOS or a particular Proton release.
CPU Ryzen 7 3700X A reference minimum, not proof that every Steam Machine uses an equivalent processor or can be upgraded to one.
Memory 16 GB RAM Systems with less memory are below the published baseline; background applications can further reduce available headroom.
GPU Radeon RX 6700; Steam also lists GeForce RTX 2070 Super These are reference parts for the PC listing, not a guarantee of a fixed Steam Machine graphics configuration.
API DirectX 12 Translation layers may be involved outside Windows, and their behavior can vary by SteamOS and Proton version.
Storage 50 GB SSD Reserve more free space than the listed capacity for installation, shader caches, updates, and the operating system.

A Steam Machine can differ substantially in CPU, GPU, memory bandwidth, cooling, firmware, operating system, and display output. Treat the table as a compatibility floor for the Windows build, not as an FPS promise. Final graphics options, drivers, availability, and compatibility can change before release.

How to configure the profile step by step

1. Confirm the machine and display context

  1. Check whether the system meets or exceeds the published Windows baseline: Ryzen 7 3700X, 16 GB RAM, Radeon RX 6700 or the listed GeForce RTX 2070 Super reference, DirectX 12, and an SSD with at least the stated 50 GB capacity.
  2. Record the display mode you will actually use. A television may expose 1080p at 60 Hz, while a monitor may expose 1440p at 60, 120, or 144 Hz. The frame cap must match this active mode.
  3. On SteamOS or another Linux-based setup, note the SteamOS and Proton versions. No dated, reproducible Valor Mortis result for a named combination has been published, so compatibility should be verified on the exact build you own.

2. Set the Medium baseline

Choose Medium before changing individual options. It gives you a repeatable reference point: if the game is already smooth, you can raise one setting at a time; if it is not, you know which changes are deliberate rather than remnants of an unknown preset.

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3. Select native output and Quality upscaling

Choose the panel’s native output resolution, then set FSR 3 to Quality. The output resolution and internal render resolution are different controls: Quality keeps the final image at the selected output while rendering fewer internal pixels. If Quality cannot maintain even frame pacing, switch only the upscaler to Balanced before dropping the output resolution.

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4. Remove the expensive and distracting effects

Turn ray tracing off. Disable motion blur so rapid camera movement and enemy wind-ups remain legible. Leave other options at the Medium values until you have observed a complete play session; changing everything at once makes it impossible to identify the useful trade-off.

5. Apply one frame-pacing policy

Use the in-game limiter if it behaves consistently, or a trusted external limiter provided by your platform. Set it a few frames below the active refresh rate. When variable refresh is enabled, leave V-Sync off as recommended by the settings guidance. If your display has no variable refresh and tearing is visible, test V-Sync separately rather than combining it with several limiters.

6. Test a demanding section, not only a quiet menu

Walk through an area with combat, volumetric effects, shadows, and several moving objects. Look for uneven delivery between frames, not just the highest number shown by an overlay. The Valor Mortis performance guidance puts it plainly: “Tune for readability, not screenshots.” That is guide language, not a developer statement. A lower but even frame rate is preferable to a higher average with frequent hitching.

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Choosing between FSR, TSR, XeSS and DLSS

The available settings references list NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR 3, Intel XeSS, Unreal TSR, FXAA, and TAA. The right choice depends on the hardware actually inside your Steam Machine and on whether you value clarity, latency, or compatibility most.

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Upscaler or anti-aliasing option Frame-time stability Sharpness in motion Input-latency considerations Hardware compatibility
FSR 3 Quality Good first test on AMD-class hardware; actual stability depends on the GPU and scene. Usually a balanced starting point at 1080p or 1440p; inspect fine geometry and foliage for shimmer. Upscaling can reduce GPU work, but it cannot fix a CPU-limited frame rate. Designed as the first AMD-oriented choice in this setup.
FSR 3 Balanced Offers more workload relief than Quality when frame pacing is unstable. Less detail than Quality, especially at 1080p; check text, thin lines, and distant enemies. Can improve responsiveness when GPU-bound, but the visual compromise is larger. Use when Quality does not hold your target cadence.
TSR Quality A vendor-neutral fallback when FSR behavior is unsatisfactory. Often a stable alternative; judge the final image in motion rather than from a still screenshot. No special frame-generation latency is implied by TSR itself. Available through the Unreal rendering path listed in the settings references.
TSR Balanced More internal-resolution relief than TSR Quality. Softens detail further, with the same need to check motion clarity. May help a GPU-bound system feel steadier; it does not remove CPU or streaming hitches. Useful when you need a non-vendor-specific fallback.
XeSS Can be tested when available, but no Steam Machine-specific comparison is published. Evaluate thin geometry and moving detail on your own hardware. Use the same base-frame test as for other upscalers. Availability and best mode depend on the implementation and GPU.
DLSS Not a universal option for AMD hardware; performance must be checked on supported RTX hardware. Use only if the game exposes it and the machine has a compatible RTX GPU. Frame generation, if offered, must be judged separately from the upscaler. Requires supported RTX hardware.
FXAA or TAA These are anti-aliasing choices rather than modern reconstruction upscalers. They may look different from FSR or TSR at the same output resolution. They do not provide the same internal-resolution workload reduction as an upscaler. Listed as available options; suitability depends on the final build.

Do not select an upscaler by a single paused screenshot. Move the camera, watch foliage and thin geometry, and check whether enemy attacks remain readable. If FSR 3 Quality is stable and clear, keep it. If it is unstable, try TSR Quality before accepting the softer Balanced modes.

Frame generation: only after the base feels responsive

Frame generation can raise the displayed frame count, but it does not remove the input-latency cost associated with generating intermediate frames. Enable it only after the underlying, non-generated frame rate already feels responsive and frame-paced. A high displayed number over a sluggish base can make controls feel worse, not better.

Test frame generation in a repeatable combat sequence. Compare camera turns, blocking or dodging, and menu input with the feature off and on. If controls feel delayed, disable it and return to a stable base profile. The published material does not establish a Steam Machine-specific frame-generation result.

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What to lower first when stutter appears

There is no controlled Steam Machine benchmark ranking every individual Valor Mortis setting. The following order is a practical troubleshooting priority, not a measured list of frame-time gains.

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  1. Ray tracing: confirm it is off. It is the clearest first cut when chasing smoothness.
  2. Heavy lighting and volumetric options: reduce these next if scenes with fog, smoke, or dramatic lighting produce uneven frame times.
  3. Shadow quality: lower shadow resolution or distance when outdoor scenes and many light sources are the problem.
  4. Effects quality: reduce particles and other screen-space effects if combat produces spikes.
  5. Upscaler mode: move from Quality to Balanced after the image-quality-preserving options above have been tested.
  6. Output resolution: reduce 1440p to 1080p only after the previous steps, because this changes the entire presentation and may be unnecessary if the bottleneck is not the GPU.

Change one group at a time and replay the same demanding sequence. If lowering GPU-heavy settings makes no difference, the limit may be CPU-side, shader compilation, streaming, translation overhead, or a frame-cap conflict rather than raw pixel load.

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Profiles for 1080p and 1440p

Use case Preset and output Upscaler Other settings When to move on
1080p television or monitor Medium at native 1920×1080 FSR 3 Quality Ray tracing off, motion blur off, cap below refresh Try TSR Quality if reconstruction artifacts are distracting; use Balanced if pacing is unstable.
1440p monitor Medium at native 2560×1440 FSR 3 Quality Same ray-tracing, motion-blur, and cap policy Use Balanced or lower volumetric/shadow settings if the GPU cannot sustain even pacing.
Lower-power or thermally constrained system Medium first; reduce output only if needed FSR 3 Balanced after testing Quality Prioritize lower volumetric, shadow, lighting, and effects settings Keep the profile that delivers readable, even motion rather than the highest peak counter.
Supported RTX system testing DLSS Medium at the panel’s native output DLSS, if exposed by the game Compare directly with FSR 3 and TSR on the same scene Keep the option with the clearest motion and best pacing on that hardware; no universal winner is established.

Troubleshooting branches

The frame counter is high, but motion feels uneven

Lower the cap slightly, verify that only one limiter is active, and keep V-Sync off when variable refresh is in use. Re-test in combat rather than in a quiet corridor. An uncapped peak can conceal inconsistent frame delivery.

Quality upscaling still stutters

Switch FSR 3 from Quality to Balanced, then lower volumetric, lighting, shadow, or effects settings. If the output remains uneven, test TSR Quality. Do not assume that reducing resolution will help a CPU- or streaming-limited scene.

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The image is too soft or shimmers

Return from Balanced to Quality if frame pacing allows it. Compare FSR 3 Quality with TSR Quality while moving the camera. Inspect thin geometry, foliage, distant objects, and text; a still image can hide temporal artifacts.

Controls feel delayed after enabling frame generation

Turn frame generation off and compare the underlying frame rate. The feature can increase displayed FPS while retaining additional input latency. It should be an optional finishing step, never the remedy for an unresponsive base.

Ray tracing is unavailable or performance collapses when enabled

Leave it disabled. The recommended profile does not depend on ray tracing, and the published material provides no Steam Machine benchmark showing that its visual cost is worthwhile.

The game will not run on the machine

Check the Windows 11 baseline and DirectX 12 requirement first. On SteamOS or another Linux environment, verify the exact Proton and driver combination. Published requirements do not certify every Steam Machine configuration, and no authoritative compatibility matrix for SteamOS, Proton, or a named Steam Machine model is available.

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Release-day validation checklist

  • Confirm the final build still exposes Medium, FSR 3, TSR, XeSS, DLSS, FXAA, and TAA as expected; options can change before release.
  • Verify your actual output resolution and refresh rate rather than relying on the display’s advertised maximum.
  • Start with Medium, Quality upscaling, ray tracing off, motion blur off, and a cap below refresh.
  • Test a demanding combat scene for frame pacing and readability.
  • Change one setting group at a time, recording whether the change helped.
  • Enable frame generation only after the non-generated frame rate feels responsive.
  • On SteamOS, record the SteamOS, Proton, driver, and game versions so any compatibility issue can be reproduced.

These settings are a disciplined baseline, not a promise of a fixed frame rate. AMD’s Valor Mortis page describes its technology bundle this way: “This suite of ML-powered technologies deliver ultra-smooth gameplay, lifelike lighting, and cinematic detail, making every frame nothing short of extraordinary.” Whether a particular Steam Machine can deliver that experience depends on its actual hardware, software stack, cooling, display mode, and the final game build.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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