PC graphics settings: a tested starting point

Check the test conditions first

The creators report a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5080, 32 GB RAM, Windows 11 and NVIDIA driver 616.56, with a 4K display. Their video also includes 1440p and other RTX GPU comparisons. The game build is not specified.

Treat the following as an attributed starting point for your own comparison. It does not establish current-patch performance on every PC, and this site has not run a separate hardware benchmark.

Apply the recorded graphics mix

The complete source list is visible at 13:09 in the comparison. These are the video’s recommendations; High reflections are the more conservative starting choice here.

Choose texture quality by a repeatable comparison

Use this conservative test instead of a universal VRAM cutoff. It is a suggested procedure, not another measured result from the source.

1. Start at High textures. Keep output resolution, upscaler and other settings unchanged.
2. Repeat a short route with several camera turns. Note texture sharpness, late texture changes and frame-time spikes; record GPU memory use if your existing monitor exposes it.
3. Try Ultra and repeat the same route. Keep it only if the visible improvement is useful and new recurring hitches or delayed textures do not appear.
4. If High already produces those symptoms, compare Medium, then Low with the same route and settings. If memory use falls and the symptom improves consistently, keep the lowest reduction you find acceptable.
5. If the hitch remains at every texture setting, stop lowering textures as a presumed cure and investigate it separately. A full memory gauge or a single spike alone does not prove that textures caused it.

GPU memory availability depends on resolution and the rest of the configuration. The source’s RTX5080 comparison is not a capacity threshold for every GPU.

Change the settings that affect your scene

Night shadows: the source’s night scene loses more performance to shadows than its daytime scene. Include a lit outdoor night area when checking your result.

Foliage and detail: lowering these can remove vegetation or small scene objects. Compare the image as well as the frame counter before deciding that a setting is free performance.

Reflections: High and Ultra behave differently around off-screen objects in the source comparison. Keep Ultra only if the visual improvement is worth its cost on your system.

Keep resolution and upscaling consistent

The source compares native rendering and upscaling separately. When testing a preset, hold output resolution and upscaler mode steady. Changing both at once makes it difficult to tell which change helped.

Watch moving grass, small particles and edges when comparing upscalers. The video records different artifacts as well as different frame rates; a higher counter alone does not decide the best-looking mode.

Higher FPS can still leave visible stutter

The optimized mix improves the source’s average performance, but its city traversal still shows frame-time spikes. Switching from borderless to fullscreen did not meaningfully fix those spikes in that test.

If movement hitches while the FPS counter looks reasonable, compare the frame-time graph and the same camera movement. Do not treat these graphics values as a guaranteed stutter cure.

Check the result on your PC

1. Record your game version, GPU driver, output resolution, upscaler and existing settings.
2. Choose one daytime route and one nighttime route you can repeat.
3. Apply the starting mix and repeat the same camera movement.
4. Compare visual detail, typical FPS and visible frame-time spikes.
5. Change one remaining setting at a time, then repeat the same routes.

This is a suggested comparison method. It has not been executed on your computer as part of this guide.

Related guides

• Difficulty settings
• Mechanics guides
• Beginner guide