Best PC settings for Modern Warfare 3: High FPS, visibility, graphics, more
ActivisionIf you want to dominate and win matches in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you’ll need clear visuals and smooth FPS. So, here are the best PC settings for MW3 to enhance your FPS, graphics, visibility, and more.
Modern Warfare 3 comes with tons of nostalgic content like the remastered version of every classic MW2 2009 map as well as brand-new weapons and highly requested changes such as the Ninja Perk and classic minimap.
To fully enjoy all the new content, it’s essential that you optimize your PC’s performance. While cranking up the settings to their maximum can deliver breathtaking visuals, you might find your game suffers from low FPS and stuttering issues, which can put you at a disadvantage in fast-paced game modes like multiplayer.
So, here are the best Modern Warfare 3 PC settings to help you boost your FPS while making sure the game feels and looks great.
- Modern Warfare 3 PC system requirements
- Best Modern Warfare 3 graphics settings for low-end hardware
- Best Modern Warfare 3 graphics settings for high-end hardware
- How to update graphics drivers
Modern Warfare 3 PC system requirements
Before you jump into Modern Warfare 3 and start adjusting the settings, you can check out the system requirements:
| Minimum | Recommended | Competitive/ 4K Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) | Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64 Bit (latest update) | Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64 Bit (latest update) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 | Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X |
| RAM | 8GB | 16GB | 16 GB |
| Storage Space | SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB with COD HQ and Warzone already installed) | SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB with COD HQ and Warzone already installed) | SSD with 149 GB available space at launch (78 GB with COD HQ and Warzone already installed) |
| Hi-Rez Assets Cache | Up to 32 GB | Up to 32 GB | Up to 64 GB |
| Video Card | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / GeForce GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti / RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800XT |
| Video Memory | 2GB | 8GB | 10 GB |
| Graphic Driver | NVIDIA: 537.58 or AMD: 23.10.2 | NVIDIA: 537.58 or AMD: 23.10.2 | NVIDIA: 537.58 or AMD: 23.10.2 |
| Network | Broadband internet connection | Broadband internet connection | Broadband internet connection |
| Sound Card | DirectX 12 compatibility | DirectX 12 compatibility | DirectX 12 compatibility |
Best MW3 graphics settings for low-end hardware
ActivisionDisplay
- Display Mode: Fullscreen Exclusive
- Display Monitor: Your primary gaming monitor
- Display Adaptor: Your graphics card
- Screen Refresh Rate: Refresh rate of your monitor (e.g. 144)
- Display Resolution: Your monitor’s resolution (e.g. 2560×1440)
- Aspect Ratio: Automatic
- V-Sync: Off
- Display Gamma: 2.2 (sRGB)
- Brightness: 55 (adjust for your preference)
- NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost
Sustainability
- Eco Mode Preset: Custom
- V-Sync (Gameplay): Off
- V-Sync (Menus): Off
- Custom Frame Rate Limit: Custom
- Gameplay Custom Frame Rate Limit: Your monitor’s refresh rate (e.g. 144)
- Menu Custom Frame Rate Limit: 120
- Out of Focus Custom Frame Rate Limit: 30
- Focused Mode: Off
High Dynamic Range
- High Dynamic Range (HDR): Off
Global Quality
- Quality Presets: Custom
- Render Resolution: 100
- Dynamic Resolution: Off
- Upscaling/Sharpening: FidelityFX CAS
- FidelityFX CAS Strength: 80
- Anti-Aliasing: FILMIC SMAA T2X
- Anti-Aliasing Quality: Normal
- VRAM Scale Target: 80
- Variable Rate Shading: On
Details & Textures
- Texture Resolution: Low
- Texture Filter Anisotropic: Medium
- Detail of Field: Off
- Detail Quality Level: Low
- Particle Resolution: Normal
- Bullet Impacts: On
- Persistent Effects: Off
- Shader Quality: Medium
- On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off
- Local Texture Streaming Quality: Low
Shadow & Lighting
- Shadow Quality: Low
- Screen Space Shadows: Low
- Ambient Occlusion: Both
- Screen Space Reflections: Off
- Static Reflection Quality: Medium
Environment
- Tessellation: Near
- Terrain Memory: Medium
- Volumetric Quality: Medium
- Deferred Physics Quality: Off
- Weather Grid Volumes: Normal
- Water Quality: Default
View
- Field of View: 105
- ADS Field of View: Affected
- Weapon Field of View: Wide
- Vehicle Field of View: Wide
Camera
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- World Motion Blur: Off
- Weapon Motion Blur: Off
- Film Grain: 0
- 1st Person Camera Movement: Default (100%)
- Spectator Camera: Game Perspective
- Inverted Flashbang: On
Best MW3 graphics settings for high-end hardware
ActivisionDisplay
- Display Mode: Fullscreen Exclusive
- Display Monitor: Your primary gaming monitor
- Display Adaptor: Your graphics card
- Screen Refresh Rate: Refresh rate of your monitor (e.g. 144)
- Display Resolution: Your monitor’s resolution (e.g. 2560×1440)
- Aspect Ratio: Automatic
- V-Sync: Off
- Display Gamma: 2.2 (sRGB)
- Brightness: 55 (adjust for your preference)
- NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost
Sustainability
- Eco Mode Preset: Custom
- V-Sync (Gameplay): Off
- V-Sync (Menus): Off
- Custom Frame Rate Limit: Custom
- Gameplay Custom Frame Rate Limit: Your monitor’s refresh rate (e.g. 144)
- Menu Custom Frame Rate Limit: 120
- Out of Focus Custom Frame Rate Limit: 30
- Focused Mode: Off
High Dynamic Range
- High Dynamic Range (HDR): Off
Global Quality
- Quality Presets: Custom
- Render Resolution: 100
- Dynamic Resolution: Off
- Upscaling/Sharpening: FidelityFX CAS
- FidelityFX CAS Strength: 80
- Anti-Aliasing: FILMIC SMAA T2X
- Anti-Aliasing Quality: Normal
- VRAM Scale Target: 80
- Variable Rate Shading: On
Details & Textures
- Texture Resolution: Medium
- Texture Filter Anisotropic: Medium
- Detail of Field: Off
- Detail Quality Level: Medium
- Particle Resolution: Normal
- Bullet Impacts: On
- Persistent Effects: Off
- Shader Quality: Medium
- On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off
- Local Texture Streaming Quality: Low
Shadow & Lighting
- Shadow Quality: Normal
- Screen Space Shadows: Low
- Ambient Occlusion: Both
- Screen Space Reflections: Off
- Static Reflection Quality: Medium
Environment
- Tessellation: Near
- Terrain Memory: Medium
- Volumetric Quality: Medium
- Deferred Physics Quality: Off
- Weather Grid Volumes: Normal
- Water Quality: Default
View
- Field of View: 110
- ADS Field of View: Affected
- Weapon Field of View: Wide
- Vehicle Field of View: Wide
Camera
- World Motion Blur: Off
- Weapon Motion Blur: Off
- Film Grain: 0
- 1st Person Camera Movement: Default (100%)
- Spectator Camera: Game Perspective
- Inverted Flashbang: On
How to update graphics drivers for MW3
ActivisionRunning Modern Warfare 3 on your PC with an outdated graphics driver can lead to significant problems. To achieve the best gameplay experience, we highly recommend ensuring that your graphics drivers are updated to their latest version, and here’s how:
How to update NVIDIA graphics driver
If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, the GeForce Experience app will handle this for you.
- Download GeForce experience through NVIDIA.com.
- Launch GeForce experience.
- Select the ‘Drivers’ tab.
- Click ‘Check for updates’ in the upper right corner.
- If an update is available, simply follow the steps.
How to update AMD graphics driver
If you have an AMD GPU, you can use the Radeon Settings to update your drivers.
- Right-click on your desktop.
- Select AMD Radeon Settings.
- Click on the Home icon.
- Click ‘New Updates’ on the bottom left.
- Select ‘Check for update.’
- If an update is available, simply follow the steps.
For more on Modern Warfare 3, be sure to check out our other guides:
How to get MGB Tactical Nuke Killstreak in MW3 | When is Ranked Play coming to Modern Warfare 3? | Modern Warfare 3 War mode explained | Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Zones explained | Modern Warfare 3 Cutthroat game mode explained | How to play MW3 Zombies in third-person | Does Modern Warfare 3 have skill-based matchmaking?