Best Modern Warfare 3 PC settings for FPS, graphics, visibility, more

Having the best PC settings for Modern Warfare 3 will give you a competitive edge and the smoothest experience possible. Here’s a rundown of the best graphics settings to use in MW3 that maximize your game’s graphical fidelity, FPS, and visibility.

Like the majority of newer Call of Duty titles, MW3 is a resource-heavy game on PC. This means having the right settings is essential if you want to make gameplay as smooth as possible.

There are three main setting tabs that you can adjust in Modern Warfare 3: Display, Quality, and View. With all of these having their own toggles and sliders it can be overwhelming to work out what works best and knowing how each affects your game.

To make that task easier here are the best settings to use in Modern Warfare 3 to maximize your game’s performance and visuals.

Best Display Settings for MW3

Display settings are the most important of all as they are imperative to making the most out of your PC. Not getting these just right will hold back everything else so there’s little room for error.

These are the best display settings to use in Modern Warfare 3:

• Display Mode: Fullscreen Exclusive – Best for latency reduction
• Display Monitor: Choose your primary display with the highest refresh rate
• Display Adapter: This is just your graphics card (GPU)
• Screen Refresh rate: Maximum on your monitor (60hz, 144hz, 240hz, etc.)
• Display Resolution: Set this to 1080p – If you have a high-end GPU and a suitable display, use 1440p instead. 4K is not recommended as it will significantly impact FPS.
• Aspect Ratio: Automatic
• Display Gamma: 2.2 [SGRB]
• Brightness: 50
• Constrain Mouse to Game Window: Preference
• Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost
• EOC Mode Preset: Custom
• V-Sync (Gameplay): Off
• V-Sync (Menus): Off
• Custom Frame Rate Limit: Custom
  • Gameplay Custom Frame Rate Limit: 300
  • Menu Custom Frame Rate Limit: 60
  • Out of focus Custom Frame Rate Limit: 30
• Menu Render Resolution: Optimal
• Pause Game Rendering: Off
• Focused Mode: Preference

Best Quality Settings for MW3

Quality settings affect the specific visual fidelity of character models and environments. Not only do these have a substantial impact on performance but they also determine how good your game will look.

These are the best quality settings to use in Modern Warfare 3:

• Quality Presets: Custom
• Render Resolution: 100
• Upscaling / Sharpening: FidelityFX CAS if 1080p, Nvidia DLSS/AMD FSR 3.0 if 1440p
  • FidelityFX CAS Strength: 100 – This will make the game sharper without impacting FPS much at all.
  • Nvidia DLSS Preset & Sharpness: Quality, 50 – Only for Nvidia GPUs
  • AMD FSR 3.0 Preset & Frame Generation: Quality, On – Only for AMD GPUs
• Path Tracing + Ray Reconstruction: Off – It may look pretty but this setting massively reduces frame rate.
• VRAM Scale Target: 90 – You want to use the max VRAM available, but drop to 80 if you experience any frame stuttering.
• Variable Rate Shading: On – Provides a sizable FPS boost but can cause stability issues on some machines.
• Texture Resolution: Normal
• Texture Filter Anisotropic: Normal
• Depth of Field: Off
• Detail Quality Level: Low
• Particle Resolution: Very Low
• Bullet Impacts: Preference
• Persistent Effects: Off
• Shader Quality: Low
• On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off
• Local Texture Streaming Quality: Low
• Shadow Quality: Very Low
• Screen Space Shadows: Off
• Ambient Occlusion: Off
• Screen Space Reflections: Off
• State Reflection Quality: Low
• Tessellation: Off
• Volumetric Quality: Low
• Deferred Physics Quality: Low
• Weather Grid Volumes: Off
• Water Quality: Off

Best View Settings for MW3

View settings impact your perspective and how you interact with the game. These are largely preference, but still play an important role in making your game look as good as possible.

These are the best view settings to use in Modern Warfare 3:

• Field of View: Preference – However, a FOV between 90 – 110 is recommended for most players.
• ADS Field of View: Affected
• Weapon Field of View: Default
• 3rd Person Field of View: Preference – However, the maximum of 90 will let you see more of your surroundings.
• Vehicle Field of View: Default
• World Motion Blur: Off
• Weapon Motion Blur: Off
• Film Grain: 0.00
• 1st Person Camera Movement: Least (50%)
• 3rd Person Camera Movement: Least (50%)
• 3rd Person ADS Transition: Preference
• Spectator Camera: Preference
• Inverted Flashbang: Preference

For more Modern Warfare 3 content, check out our guides below:

Best MW3 loadouts: Meta weapons and classes | All MW3 multiplayer maps | Best controller settings in Modern Warfare 3 | How to claim MW3 and Warzone Prime Gaming rewards (April 2024)