Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Best PC Graphics Settings

Usually, the best graphical settings for a game don't require a whole guide. Gamers with high-end PCs simply slide all of their sliders to the maximum and expect a brilliant performance going forward. But that's not how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 works. It's closer to the opposite.

Given that the difference between winning and losing a firefight in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is measured in fractions of a second, players will be looking for any edge they can get. And this is done by sacrificing every possible ounce of graphical fidelity in exchange for performance. Some non-minimums are understandable. For example, players will need to differentiate between a helmet and the grass. Compensations have been made in this guide to adjust for this.

Naturally, these settings are dependent upon the player's specific PC. Some setups don't suffer any framerate drops at all for graphical settings just off of the minimum. Each gamer needs to make that determination on their own. Start with these settings and monitor performance carefully when increasing them.

Display

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II V Sync Differences

Display Mode	Fullscreen Exclusive
Display Monitor	Use the best monitor available
Display Adapter	Use the best GPU available
Screen Refresh Rate	Auto
Display Resolution	Auto
Dynamic Resolution	Off
Dynamic Resolution Frame Rate Target	N/A
Aspect Ratio	Automatic
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
Restart Shaders Optimization	N/A
Shader Optimization	N/A
Display Gamma	2.2 (SRGB)
Brightness	80
Constrain Mouse To Game Window	Off
Focused Mode	Off
Focused Mode Opacity	N/A

Fullscreen Exclusive is the first and most meaningful change that can be made. When it is set, all resources will be poured into making the game look better at the expense of anything running in the background. That's a no-brainer as the graphics of everything in the background are unimportant during a game.

Setting the gameplay custom framerate is also a big deal. Creating a limit is senseless; let the framerate be as high as it can possibly be during a game. For the menus and out of focus (when the game is minimized or tabbed out) is much less important, cap those to give the GPU a break in between games.

Brightness at 80 might seem high, but this is a simple way to distinguish between opponents and the environment. Set at the recommended 50, players are often indistinguishable from the shadows or against a darker backdrop. Too high and then the opposite problem occurs; light backgrounds make it hard to differentiate. Split the difference and go for a 75. Barring a new game mode that creates extra light or darkness, this is a healthy place to do.

Quality

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II (2022) Render Resolution Differences

Quality Presets	Custom
Render Resolution	100
Upscaling/Sharpening	FidelityFX CAS
FidelityFX CAS Strength	100
Anti-Aliasing	SMAA T2X
Anti-Aliasing Quality	Low
Video Memory Scale	90
Texture Resolution	Very Low
Texture Filter Anisotropic	High
Nearby Level Of Detail	Low
Distant Level Of Detail	Low
Clutter Draw Distance	Short
Particle Quality	High
Particle Quality Level	Very Low
Bullet Impacts & Sprays	On
Shader Quality	Low
Tessellation	Off
Terrain Memory	Max
On-Demand Texture Streaming	Off
Allocated Texture Cache Size	N/A
Enable Download Limits	N/A
Daily Download Limit	N/A
Streaming Quality	Low
Volumetric Quality	Low
Deferred Physics Quality	Off
Water Caustics	Off
Shadow Map Resolution	Very Low
Screen Space Shadows	Off
Spot Shadow Quality	Low
Spot Cache	Low
Particle Lighting	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Off
GTAO Quality	N/A
Screen Space Reflections	Off
Static Reflection Quality	N/A
Weather Grid Volumes	Off
Reflex Low Latency	On + Boost
Depth Of Field	Off
World Motion Blur	Off
Weapon Motion Blur	Off
Film Grain	0.00

Full disclosure: The game will look awful with these settings. However, it will be smooth and ridiculously easy to tell the difference between a player and the environment. For gamers who simply can't bare to look at a game this bad, consider turning the very low settings up to low.

The big difference-maker here is in letting the upscaling/sharpening use FidelityFX CAS and setting the strength to 100. This will create an extremely precise outline of opponents and their bodies, eliminating any blur between the model and the background.

To play against weaker opponents when using a mouse and keyboard, be sure to enable crossplay. The combination of the crisp and smooth settings with a superior aiming device can't be beaten.

View

Field Of View	120
ADS Field Of View	Affected
Weapon Field Of View	Wide
3rd Person Field Of View	90
Vehicle Field Of View	Wide
1st Person Camera Movement	Least (50%)
3rd Person Camera Movement	Least (50%)
3rd Person ADS Transition	3rd Person ADS
Default Spectator Camera	Game Perspective

The field of view may be the most important setting in the game. Being able to see more is a specific advantage, always set this to the maximum value. Make the field of view wide to shrink the amount of space the gun takes up on the screen, further increasing visibility. Some of the best perks rely on seeing enemies clearly, making them even better.

Some players prefer to fight in 3rd person mode. If this is the case, the same rules apply, set the field as high as it can go.

Camera movement set to least will greatly reduce the disruptive nature of explosions visually. There is no way to reduce recoil or weapons shaking due to taking fire, but stopping the screen from shaking so much is certainly advantageous as players battle through this. Coupling this with the best aim sensitivity settings gives players unparalleled control.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Call of Duty Should Bring Back The Prestige Shop