If a game runs slowly, try a supported upscaler first, then test ray tracing and render resolution before sacrificing detail across the board. For stutter or texture pop-in, check video-memory use and try lowering texture quality instead. There is no universal ranking: the best change depends on the game, the scene, your hardware and whether the problem is low frame rate, uneven frame pacing or a slowdown in specific moments.
Start by identifying what “runs poorly” means
Graphics settings do not all address the same problem. A low average frame rate, brief stutters and sharp dips in particular scenes can have different causes, so note the symptom before changing anything. Also record the game, display resolution and frame-rate target. Those details give you a way to judge whether a change actually helped.
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- Low frame rate most of the time: Try an available upscaler, then test demanding rendering features such as ray tracing and resolution scale.
- Stutters, pauses or texture pop-in: Check the game’s video-memory (VRAM) indicator if it has one. If memory pressure appears to be involved, test a lower texture-quality setting.
- Dips in particular places: Repeat the test in the same demanding scene. Grass, foliage, shadows, reflections or view distance may matter more there than they do elsewhere.
These are clues, not definitive diagnoses. A game can also be limited by the CPU, and a graphics-setting change may do little if the slowdown comes from another part of the system. NVIDIA’s Dying Light graphics guide, for example, discusses a CPU limitation in that game’s testing; it does not establish what is limiting another player’s PC.
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Change one option at a time and compare the same scene, ideally using the game’s own benchmark or a repeatable section of play. Record the before-and-after frame rate or frame-time behavior, then look at the image in motion as well as in a still view. A setting is worth lowering when its performance benefit in your test justifies the visual difference.
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- Try a supported in-game upscaler. Look for DLSS, FSR, XeSS or another option the game actually supports. Upscaling renders internally at a lower resolution and scales the image toward your display resolution; it can improve performance, with image quality varying by implementation, game and hardware. If there is no suitable in-game option, check whether a compatible platform or driver feature is available.
- Reduce or disable ray tracing or path tracing. These features can be demanding, but their cost varies with the game’s implementation and the hardware. Test the change in the scene where you notice the slowdown rather than assuming it will have the same effect everywhere.
- Test render resolution or resolution scale. If you are still below your target, try a lower internal rendering resolution or scale. This can improve performance at the cost of image detail or stability. Check the result during movement, when softness or reconstruction artifacts may be easier to notice.
- Adjust the options that are costly in your game. Test shadows, grass or foliage, reflections and view distance individually. Keep changes that help in the problem scene and restore options that make little difference or cost too much visually.
- For stutter or texture-streaming trouble, test textures. Lower texture quality by one step and repeat the same scene. This is a targeted check for VRAM pressure, not a guaranteed fix for low average frame rates.
- Keep low-impact image-quality settings intact unless your own test says otherwise. Some options can have little performance cost in a particular game, so broad reductions may sacrifice quality without buying a useful improvement.
The order is a practical starting point rather than a universal benchmark ranking. If one change produces no meaningful result, restore it before testing the next option; otherwise, you will not know which adjustment helped.
Choose the setting that matches the symptom
Low frame rate across most of the game
Start with an upscaler supported by the game and your hardware. A lower internal rendering resolution reduces the amount of work needed to produce each frame, but the result depends on the upscaling method and its implementation. Compare the available quality modes rather than treating upscaling as a free performance gain.
If the game uses ray tracing or path tracing, test disabling it or lowering its quality next. Then compare resolution or render scale. NVIDIA’s Control graphics and performance guide discusses the demands of ray tracing and how DLSS uses a lower internal rendering resolution. Its results apply to the game and test conditions in that guide, not as a general FPS promise for other titles or PCs.
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Stutter, pauses or texture pop-in
Texture quality is often more directly connected to video-memory use than to the ordinary work of rendering each frame. If the game’s VRAM meter suggests memory pressure, reduce texture quality by one level, then repeat the same route or scene. Watch for fewer pauses or less pop-in, not just a change in average FPS.
NVIDIA’s Destiny 2 PC graphics guide discusses texture detail and VRAM use in that game. Its Dying Light guide describes stuttering as a reason to try lower texture quality in its tested context. These examples support testing textures when the symptom fits; they do not mean that textures should always be the first setting lowered.
Dips in demanding scenes
Pay attention to what is on screen when the frame rate falls. Dense vegetation, distant scenery, shadow-heavy areas or reflective surfaces can make some settings more costly in a particular game or location. Reduce the setting that corresponds to the scene, one step at a time, and repeat the same stretch of play.
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The examples vary by title. NVIDIA’s Destiny 2 guide identifies shadow quality as its most demanding non-render-resolution option among the settings tested there. Its Grand Theft Auto V guide identifies grass quality as particularly costly in rural scenes, while its Dying Light guide reports a strong view-distance impact in its test. These are useful leads for those games, not a cross-game order to follow blindly.
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Do not lower every setting just because the preset offers a broad “low” mode. Some options can have a small cost in particular games, and their visual benefit may be worth keeping. NVIDIA’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider guide reports negligible performance cost for anisotropic filtering in its tests and suggests tessellation as a possible reduction with limited visual noticeability. NVIDIA also found little cost for texture filtering or anisotropic filtering in its Destiny 2 testing. Those findings are title-specific; check your own game before generalizing.
Texture quality also deserves a symptom-based decision. Lower it when you are troubleshooting VRAM-related stutter or streaming problems, but do not assume it is the best route to higher average FPS. Conversely, do not treat a high texture setting as harmless if the game indicates that video memory is under pressure.
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Check whether a vendor feature can help
In-game upscaling
When a game offers DLSS, FSR, XeSS or another built-in upscaler compatible with your system, test it there first. The game’s own implementation and available modes determine what you can use. Assess image stability and detail during movement, not just the apparent sharpness of a paused frame.
AMD Radeon Super Resolution
Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) is a driver-level option with compatibility and display-mode requirements; it is not a switch that works in every game or setup. AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution configuration instructions explain how to configure it in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Check the current requirements there before relying on it, and use the supported mode described in the instructions.
Microsoft Automatic Super Resolution
Automatic Super Resolution is also limited to compatible devices and games. Microsoft’s support page for Automatic Super Resolution describes its availability and conditions. If the option is absent or the game is unsupported, use the game’s own graphics settings or another compatible upscaling feature instead.
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AMD Game Advisor
AMD users can check Game Advisor in Radeon Overlay where supported. AMD describes it as analyzing performance and offering changes such as lowering presets or display resolution. See AMD’s Game Advisor instructions for the supported configuration and how to use the feature. Treat its suggestions as candidates to test: compare each change in your usual scene and keep only the ones that improve playability without an unacceptable image-quality loss.
How to judge whether a change is worth keeping
For each option, compare the same scene before and after the change. A higher average frame rate is useful, but it is not the only outcome: a change may reduce sharp dips, improve frame pacing or address stutters without transforming the average. Conversely, a slightly higher average may not help if the game still feels uneven.
- Measure the relevant symptom: compare average frame rate for persistent slowness, repeatable dips for scene-specific problems, and pauses or streaming behavior for stutter.
- Inspect image quality in motion: check the areas affected by the option, including edges, shadows, vegetation and distant detail where applicable.
- Change one setting at a time: keep a short record of the old value, new value and result so you can restore a change that did not help.
- Check compatibility and control location: some features depend on the game, hardware, API or display mode and may be set in-game or through driver software.
- Retest after updates or major changes: game patches and drivers can alter behavior, so an old setting comparison may no longer describe the current version.
The cited NVIDIA guides are tests of individual games, not universal comparisons across current games, graphics cards, processors, drivers or patches. Settings costs also depend on resolution, implementation and scene. Use those guides to identify plausible settings to test, then let repeatable results on your own system decide what to keep.
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When lowering graphics settings does not help
If several graphics reductions produce no meaningful improvement, do not keep sacrificing image quality at random. The problem may not be driven by the settings you changed, and a CPU limitation is one possible explanation in some games. Return options that did not help to their previous values, then check whether the slowdown is tied to a particular scene, stuttering, or consistently low performance. The evidence here does not establish a universal PC diagnosis or a single benchmark method; it supports controlled, game-specific testing rather than assuming every slowdown is a graphics-setting problem.
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