For a fast Warzone PC baseline, use Fullscreen Exclusive, your monitor’s highest refresh rate, V-Sync Off, a 100 render resolution, low shadows and shaders, Minimal texture streaming, motion blur Off, and NVIDIA Reflex On + Boost on a supported NVIDIA card. Start there, play one full match, then change one setting at a time.
Checked September 6, 2026: We replaced the old seasonal label, rebuilt the recommendations around the current graphics menu, and replaced the outdated PC requirements with Activision’s current Warzone specifications.
Use Fullscreen Exclusive, your highest refresh rate, V-Sync Off, 100 render resolution, low shadows and shaders, Minimal texture streaming, motion blur Off, and NVIDIA Reflex On + Boost on a supported NVIDIA card.
Quick answer
Best competitive Warzone graphics settings
This is a performance-first setup, but it does not turn every option down blindly. Anisotropic filtering stays at Normal or High because clear ground textures help at range and usually cost little. Shadows stay Low instead of disappearing entirely. Texture resolution depends on available VRAM.
| Setting | Recommended value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Display mode | Fullscreen Exclusive | Use Borderless only if fast alt-tabbing matters more than the last bit of latency. |
| Refresh rate | Highest available | Confirm Windows is also set to the monitor’s full refresh rate. |
| Display resolution | Native resolution | Drop resolution or use Quality upscaling only when the GPU cannot hold the target FPS. |
| V-Sync gameplay | Off | Avoids the latency added by waiting for vertical sync. |
| Custom frame limit | Monitor refresh rate, or 3 to 5 FPS below with VRR | A sensible cap can smooth frame times and stop the GPU sitting at 100%. |
| NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency | On + Boost | Use On if Boost causes extra heat or clock noise. This option applies to supported NVIDIA cards. |
| Graphics preset | Custom | The built-in presets change too many useful and wasteful options together. |
| Render resolution | 100 | Keep native rendering unless you deliberately use an upscaler. |
| Dynamic resolution | Off | Turn it on only if you prefer a hard FPS target over steady image sharpness. |
| Upscaling / sharpening | FidelityFX CAS at native; DLSS/FSR/XeSS Quality when needed | Quality mode is the cleanest first step at 1440p or 4K. Test it in a live match. |
| Frame generation | Off | Generated frames raise the displayed FPS but are a poor first choice for a competitive shooter. |
| VRAM scale target | 70 to 80 | Lower it if menus warn about VRAM or the game stutters after several matches. |
| Texture resolution | Low on limited VRAM; Normal on 8 GB or more | Textures cost memory more than input delay. Do not force Normal if the VRAM meter is full. |
| Texture filter anisotropic | Normal or High | Keeps angled ground and building textures clearer for little performance cost on modern cards. |
| Depth of field | Off | Keeps targets from being softened by a camera effect. |
| Particle resolution | Very Low | Reduces effect detail during busy fights. |
| Persistent effects | Off | Cuts visual clutter and avoids holding effects longer than needed. |
| Shader quality | Low | One of the first options to lower when GPU frame time is high. |
| On-demand texture streaming | Minimal | Reduces background downloads and the hitching they can cause. |
| Shadow quality | Low | Keeps basic depth cues without paying for high-quality shadows. |
| Screen-space shadows | Off | Saves GPU work and removes extra darkening. |
| Ambient occlusion / screen-space lighting | Off | Costs performance and can make dark corners harder to read. |
| Screen-space reflections | Off | Reflections add noise without helping target visibility. |
| Volumetric quality | Low | Lowers the cost of fog and lighting volumes. |
| Water quality | Off or Low | A safe performance cut for competitive play. |
| World and weapon motion blur | Off | Keeps the screen readable while turning and tracking. |
| Film grain | 0.00 | Removes artificial grain from the image. |
| First-person camera movement | Least | Reduces camera shake during movement and damage. |
Best Warzone settings for a low-end PC
On a PC close to Activision’s minimum specification, target a stable frame rate instead of chasing a number the hardware cannot hold. Use 1920×1080 if it runs cleanly. If it does not, try DLSS, FSR or XeSS in Quality mode, then Balanced. Lower the display resolution only after those tests.
- Set Texture Resolution to Low and VRAM Scale Target to 70.
- Use Very Low particles, Low shaders and shadows, and turn reflections, ambient occlusion, water quality and persistent effects off.
- Keep On-Demand Texture Streaming at Minimal.
- Turn frame generation off while testing. Judge responsiveness and frame time, not the large FPS number alone.
- Cap FPS at a number the PC can hold during a busy fight. A steady 90 feels better than swinging between 80 and 150.
Use the built-in counter from our Warzone FPS guide. Test in the same area or mode each time so the comparison means something.
DLSS, FSR, XeSS or FidelityFX CAS?
At 1080p, start with 100 render resolution and FidelityFX CAS for sharpening. At 1440p or 4K, Quality-mode DLSS, FSR or XeSS is the first upscaling option to test when the GPU is the limit. Balanced mode trades more image detail for speed.
Frame generation is different from normal upscaling. It inserts generated frames between rendered frames, so the FPS counter can rise without the same improvement to control response. Leave it off for the initial competitive setup. You can test it later if smooth presentation matters more than the lowest possible delay.
Should Warzone FPS be unlimited?
Unlimited is useful for finding the PC’s ceiling, but it is not always the smoothest daily setting. If the GPU stays pinned at 99 to 100%, cap the game near the frame rate it can actually hold. With G-Sync or FreeSync, start three to five FPS below the monitor’s maximum refresh rate. A 144 Hz display, for example, can start at 139 to 141 FPS.
If the PC cannot approach the monitor limit, cap closer to the lowest frame rate you see during real fights. Check the average and the bad dips. The Warzone FOV guide is also worth checking because a very wide FOV can add rendering work and make distant targets smaller.
What to change when Warzone stutters
- Lower VRAM Scale Target from 80 to 70 and set textures to Low.
- Leave enough free SSD space for updates and shader data. Activision currently lists an SSD with 116 GB free at launch.
- Finish shader preloading before joining a match.
- Install the current driver for the exact GPU rather than relying on an old Windows driver.
- Close browser tabs, recording tools and extra overlays during the test.
- Use Minimal texture streaming and check packet loss separately. A network hitch is not the same as an FPS drop.
- Compare CPU Time and GPU Time in Telemetry. The higher time points to the side holding the frame back.
If visibility is the problem rather than frame rate, keep the image neutral before adding driver filters. Our Warzone NVIDIA filters guide covers that separate step.
Current Warzone PC requirements
Activision’s current support page lists the following hardware tiers. Every tier calls for an SSD with 116 GB of available space at launch. The competitive tier is also the company’s Ultra 4K tier, so it is much heavier than a normal 1080p competitive setup.
| Tier | OS | CPU | RAM | GPU | VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Windows 10 64-bit | Ryzen 5 1400 / Core i5-6600 | 8 GB | RX 470 / GTX 970 or 1060 / Arc A580 | 3 GB |
| Recommended 60 FPS at high | Windows 11 64-bit | Ryzen 5 1600X / Core i7-6700K | 12 GB | RX 6600 XT / RTX 3060 / Arc B580 | 8 GB |
| Competitive / Ultra 4K | Windows 11 64-bit | Ryzen 5 5600X / Core i7-10700K | 16 GB | RX 9070 XT / RTX 4080 or 5070 | 12 GB |
The official minimum has changed substantially since the previous version of this guide. It now lists a Ryzen 5 1400 or Core i5-6600, 8 GB RAM, and an RX 470, GTX 970/1060 or Arc A580. Intel Arc cards require Resizable BAR according to the same support page.
Sources and testing notes
- Activision Support: Warzone PC system requirements for the current hardware, VRAM and storage tiers.
- Dexerto: Warzone PC settings for a current menu and competitor coverage check.
- Switchblade Gaming: Warzone PC settings for a second current comparison of display, quality, upscaling and view options.
Graphics recommendations were compared across current guides on September 6, 2026, then written as a safe starting point rather than a promised FPS result. Hardware, resolution, map and background apps all change the result.
