Best Modern Warfare 4 beta PC settings for more FPS and better visibility
By TourneyTime ·
The short version
The biggest frame-rate wins in the Modern Warfare 4 beta are the same three moves in every guide we checked: turn every ray tracing option off, drop Shadow Quality, Particle Resolution and Detail Quality to Low, and set VRAM Scale Target to 80 (70 if you are on an 8GB card). If you are still GPU-limited after that, add DLSS, FSR or XeSS on Quality rather than dropping your display resolution.
For visibility rather than frames: Motion Blur off (world and weapon), Depth of Field off, V-Sync off, NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency on + Boost. Those four are unanimous across Tier1Settings, Sportskeeda and MitchCactus.
One caveat up front: Activision has not published an official settings guide. Everything below is merged from three independent PC guides published between 20 and 22 August. Where they disagree, we have said so rather than picked a side.
Quality tab
| Setting | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Graphics Quality | Custom |
| Render Resolution | 100 |
| Upscaling | DLSS / FSR / XeSS on Quality |
| VRAM Scale Target | 80 (70 on 8GB cards) |
| Texture Resolution | See the disagreement below |
| Texture Filter Anisotropic | Ultra |
| Detail Quality | Low |
| Shadow Quality | Low |
| Shadow Filtering Quality | Low |
| Volumetric Quality | Low |
| Particle Resolution | Low |
| Ray Tracing (reflections, shadows, AO) | Off |
| Screen Space Reflections | Off |
| Depth of Field (world and weapon) | Off |
| Motion Blur (world and weapon) | Off |
| Variable Rate Shading | Off |
| DLSS Frame Generation | Off |
The logic behind the two that look counter-intuitive: Render Resolution stays at 100 because upscaling on Quality gives you a bigger, cleaner gain than scaling the render target down by hand, and Frame Generation stays off because it adds latency in a game where you are shooting at people who are also shooting at you.
Not every setting appears in all three guides — Variable Rate Shading and DLSS Frame Generation come from Sportskeeda’s list, Volumetric Quality and Screen Space Reflections from Tier1Settings. Nothing in the table is contradicted by another guide.
Display tab
| Setting | Set it to |
|---|---|
| Display Mode | See the disagreement below |
| Display Resolution | Native |
| V-Sync (gameplay) | Off |
| V-Sync (menus) | Off |
| Custom Frame Rate Limit | A few frames below your refresh rate (141 on a 144Hz panel) |
| NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency | On + Boost |
| Background Shader Preloading | On |
| High Dynamic Range | Off |
The two settings the guides do not agree on
1. Texture Resolution. Sportskeeda runs High. Tier1Settings runs High, dropping to Medium on 8GB cards. MitchCactus recommends Low or Medium. The split tracks VRAM rather than taste — textures are close to free on a card with headroom and expensive on one without it. On 12GB or more, run High. On 8GB, run Medium. On less, run Low.
2. Display Mode. Two of the three prefer Exclusive Fullscreen; Sportskeeda prefers Fullscreen Borderless. If you alt-tab constantly, borderless is the easier life. If you want the lowest latency the game will give you, exclusive is the pick two out of three guides make.
Do this before you launch the beta
- TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot must be enabled. Both MitchCactus and Tier1Settings state they are required for online play — this is a RICOCHET requirement, not a suggestion, and it is a BIOS trip rather than an in-game one.
- Install on an SSD. Both guides list it as mandatory; MitchCactus notes mechanical drives cause constant hitching.
- Update your GPU driver to at least NVIDIA 610.47, AMD 26.7.1 or Intel 32.0.101.8861.
- Clear the space. MitchCactus puts the beta download at roughly 30GB with about 50GB free space recommended.
All four are cheap to do on a Thursday and miserable to discover at 6pm on a Friday.
When you can actually use this
Beta Weekend Two opens on Friday 28 August, and unlike Weekend One it needs no pre-order and runs on all supported platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2 (The Source).
Worth remembering that this is still a beta build. Settings menus get renamed, defaults get retuned, and performance patches land between now and the 23 October launch (Activision). We will re-check this page against the retail build.
Sources we check
There is no first-party Activision settings guide for the Modern Warfare 4 beta, so there is no primary source to anchor this to — we have merged three independent PC guides published 20-22 August (Tier1Settings, Sportskeeda, MitchCactus) and flagged the two places they disagree rather than presenting a merged list as settled fact. The driver versions and the TPM 2.0 / Secure Boot requirement are each carried by two of the three. Beta dates are from a dated report of Activision’s own schedule. If the retail build renames or retunes any of these, this page gets updated.
FAQ
What are the best MW4 beta PC settings for FPS?
Ray tracing off, Shadow Quality, Particle Resolution and Detail Quality Low, VRAM Scale Target 80 (70 on 8GB), and DLSS/FSR/XeSS on Quality if you are still GPU-limited. Leave Render Resolution at 100.
What settings improve visibility?
Motion Blur off (world and weapon), Depth of Field off, V-Sync off. Unanimous across all three guides we checked.
Do I need TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot?
Yes — both are listed as required for online play, alongside an SSD install.
What GPU driver do I need?
At minimum NVIDIA 610.47, AMD 26.7.1 or Intel 32.0.101.8861.
When does the second beta weekend start?
Friday 28 August, open to everyone with no pre-order, on all supported platforms including Nintendo Switch 2.
