Best graphics settings to run Starfield on low or high PC

Starfield, the highly anticipated space exploration game from Bethesda, offers stunning visuals and expansive worlds. However, with such a vast game environment, not every PC can handle the most demanding graphics settings. Whether you’re playing on a low-end machine or a high-end rig, optimizing your settings can improve performance without sacrificing too much visual quality. In this quick guide, we’ll show you the best in-game graphics settings to run Starfield smoothly on both low-end and high-end PCs.

Graphics Settings for Low-End PCs

For those with lower-end systems, it’s important to find a balance between visual quality and performance. The goal is to ensure the game runs smoothly without stuttering or crashing. Here are the optimal settings for Starfield on low-end PCs:

  1. Borderless Full Screen - On

    • Borderless Full Screen mode reduces input lag and allows you to easily switch between apps, providing a smoother experience on lower-end systems.
  2. Window Size / Select Monitor - Native

    • Keeping your game’s window at native resolution ensures better performance without unnecessary scaling.
  3. Dynamic Resolution - Off

    • Turning off Dynamic Resolution ensures your PC renders the game at a consistent frame rate, reducing sudden drops or stutters during gameplay.
  4. Shadow Quality - Medium

    • Shadows can be demanding, so setting it to Medium provides a good balance between performance and visual quality.
  5. Indirect Lighting - Medium

    • Medium quality for indirect lighting helps maintain visual appeal without taxing your system too much.
  6. Reflections - Low

    • Reflections are visually impressive but resource-intensive. Setting them to Low improves performance significantly.
  7. Particle Quality - Low

    • Lowering the particle quality will help reduce the graphical load, ensuring smoother gameplay, especially during explosive or action-heavy sequences.
  8. Volumetric Lighting - Medium

    • Medium quality provides good effects without putting a strain on your GPU, creating nice lighting effects without overloading the system.
  9. Crowd Density - Medium

    • Reducing crowd density helps cut down on the number of characters rendered at once, improving frame rates in busy areas.
  10. Motion Blur - Off

    • Motion Blur can cause performance issues and distract from the action, so turning it off is a good idea for lower-end PCs.
  11. GTAO Quality - Medium

    • GTAO (Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion) improves lighting effects, but setting it to Medium ensures better performance while maintaining decent visual quality.
  12. Grass Quality - Low

    • Setting Grass Quality to Low helps improve performance, especially in outdoor areas where vegetation can be dense and taxing on the system.
  13. Contact Shadows - Medium

    • Medium-quality contact shadows ensure that objects have realistic shadows without taking too much from your system’s resources.
  14. VSync - On

    • VSync helps prevent screen tearing and provides a smoother gaming experience, which can be useful on lower-end PCs to stabilize frame rates.
  15. Upscaling - Off

    • Turning off upscaling ensures your GPU isn’t overworked, which can lead to better performance.
  16. Enable VRS - Off

    • Variable Rate Shading (VRS) is a performance feature that can be demanding on low-end systems, so it’s best to disable it.
  17. Film Grain Intensity - 0.00 (Off)

    • Turning off film grain removes a visual effect that may obscure the sharpness of the game, improving overall clarity.
  18. Enable Depth of Field - Off

    • Disabling Depth of Field can provide a sharper image and improve performance, especially in detailed environments.

Graphics Settings for High-End PCs

Best Graphics Settings, Starfield, Low-End, High-End, PC Game
For those with high-end gaming rigs, Starfield can be enjoyed at its maximum graphical potential. Here are the settings to maximize visuals without compromising performance too much:

  1. Borderless Full Screen - On

    • Keeping this on enhances multitasking and stability while maintaining the full-screen immersion.
  2. Window Size / Select Monitor - Native

    • Set this to native resolution for the sharpest and most detailed visuals possible.
  3. Dynamic Resolution - Off

    • Disable dynamic resolution to prevent the game from adjusting resolution automatically, ensuring the highest possible image quality.
  4. Shadow Quality - High

    • With a high-end system, you can push shadow quality to High, giving you more detailed and realistic shadows.
  5. Indirect Lighting - High

    • Set this to High for more realistic lighting interactions, making environments look more immersive and detailed.
  6. Reflections - High

    • With powerful hardware, you can push reflections to High for a more realistic rendering of water, glass, and reflective surfaces.
  7. Particle Quality - High

    • High particle quality ensures explosions, smoke, and other visual effects look crisp and immersive.
  8. Volumetric Lighting - High

    • High-quality volumetric lighting provides stunning atmospheric effects like fog, light shafts, and more, adding depth to the game world.
  9. Crowd Density - High

    • On a high-end PC, you can max out crowd density to have bustling cities full of NPCs and activity.
  10. Motion Blur - Off

    • Many high-end players prefer to turn off motion blur for a sharper image and a more responsive feel to the gameplay.
  11. GTAO Quality - High

    • Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion enhances lighting and shadows in small crevices and corners, providing realistic depth and shadow effects.
  12. Grass Quality - High

    • High grass quality makes lush environments and terrains look more detailed, perfect for high-end systems with powerful GPUs.
  13. Contact Shadows - High

    • High-quality contact shadows make for more realistic object and character interactions with their surroundings.
  14. VSync - On

    • VSync is generally beneficial to prevent screen tearing, but ensure your frame rate is high enough to make full use of it.
  15. Upscaling - Off

    • Disable upscaling to get the best image quality, as your high-end PC will handle native rendering without issues.
  16. Enable VRS - On

    • Enabling Variable Rate Shading improves performance while maintaining visual quality, especially in less important areas of the screen.
  17. Film Grain Intensity - 0.00 (Off)

    • While this can be an aesthetic choice, disabling film grain ensures clarity and sharpness in every frame.
  18. Enable Depth of Field - On

    • Enable Depth of Field to create cinematic focus effects, especially in dialogue scenes and detailed environments.

Conclusion

Whether you're running Starfield on a budget PC or a top-tier gaming rig, fine-tuning your settings is key to achieving smooth gameplay. On low-end PCs, focusing on medium or low-quality settings ensures a more fluid experience, while high-end PCs can take full advantage of the game's stunning visuals with the highest graphical settings. Use this guide as a starting point and adjust based on your system’s performance to enjoy Starfield at its best!

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