Your graphics settings control how much detail your game asks your PC to render. Higher settings can make things look prettier, but they also ask more from your hardware and may result in lower or less stable FPS.

There's no single perfect setup for every PC. If you're running into performance issues, try lowering the more demanding settings below, test your game, then gradually turn things back up until you find the balance between performance and visual quality that works for you.

What Should I Lower First?

Setting names vary between games, but these options tend to have a bigger impact on performance:

  • Shadows
  • Effects, particles, and post-processing
  • Environment, detail, or material quality
  • Anti-aliasing and other image-enhancement effects
  • Texture quality

Start by lowering a few settings at a time and testing the game again. If you're happy with the performance, you can gradually increase individual settings until you find your preferred balance.

If performance is still lower than expected, reducing your resolution can also reduce the amount of work your PC has to do, though this will have a more noticeable impact on image quality.

You can also try using Fullscreen display mode if available. This may improve performance on some systems by keeping the game focused on the display.

VSync can help prevent screen tearing by synchronizing the game's frame rate with your monitor. Disabling it may improve performance or reduce input delay in some cases, but it can also cause visible screen tearing. Test both options and use whichever works best for your setup.

League of Legends

 

In-game, press Esc and select Video. If you're trying to improve performance, start by adjusting:

  • Character Quality
  • Environment Quality
  • Effects Quality
  • Shadows
  • Anti-Aliasing
  • Wait for Vertical Sync
  • Frame Rate Cap

For a stronger performance test, try lowering the quality options and disabling Shadows and Anti-Aliasing. You can also test with Wait for Vertical Sync disabled, but keep in mind that turning off VSync may cause screen tearing.

You can also reduce some interface rendering under Esc > Interface, including HUD animations and other optional visual indicators.

Test new settings in a Custom Game before jumping into a match with other players.

VALORANT

 

Go to Settings > Video > Graphics Quality. If you're trying to improve performance, the most useful settings to adjust include:

  • Material Quality
  • Texture Quality
  • Detail Quality
  • UI Quality

You can also try disabling additional visual effects such as:

  • Improve Clarity
  • Experimental Sharpening
  • Bloom
  • Distortion
  • Cast Shadows

Under Settings > Video > General, you can also test Fullscreen display mode.

If you test with VSync disabled, keep in mind that this may cause visible screen tearing. Turn it back on if the tearing is more noticeable than any performance improvement.

Lower the settings gradually and test how the game performs after each change. If performance improves, you can turn individual options back up until you've found the right balance for your PC.

Other Riot PC Games

 

Graphics options vary between games, but the same general approach applies. Open the game's Video or Graphics settings and look for options related to:

  • Shadows
  • Effects or particles
  • Post-processing
  • Detail or quality levels
  • Anti-aliasing
  • Resolution
  • Display mode
  • VSync

Start by lowering the more demanding visual settings and test the game again. You can also compare Fullscreen with your current display mode where available.

If you disable VSync, remember that you may see screen tearing. Once performance is where you want it, gradually increase the settings you care about most.