This guide is aimed at providing guidance on graphics setting in the game. Mark ones that have the most and least impact on performance so that you can tune your settings and get the most quality possibly on your hardware.

The game tested on the following configuration:
AMD 7800X3D
64 GB PC-6000 RAM
RTX 4090
4k Resolution

Volumetrics - MEDIUM
Global Illumination - DISABLE
Depth of Field - LOW or DISABLE
Shadows - LOW or DISABLE

• 0 Population
  
• Game on Pause
  
• Camera is pointing in the way to have horizon line on top 10% of the screen
  
• Trees, roads, water, sky, mountains in line of sight
  
• Download the save file here[drive.google.com] (savegame location %appdata%\..\LocalLow\Colossal Order\Cities Skylines II\Saves\[Steam ID])
  
• V-Sync DISABLED

FPS measurements taken from Steam's FPS counter over 10 seconds. Top and bottom 10% are discarded, then arithmetic mean is taken between lowest and highest remaining results.

Since Dynamic Resolution setting is based on outdated FSR version 1 technology, the drop in image clarity may be too high for the performance benefit it provides. Also, this setting lowers render resolution, which affects all other settings, since there is less pixels for GPU to work with.

Steps to reproduce:

• Options > Gameplay > Start Paused - Enable
  
• Load Test Scene save file
  
• Don't move the camera
  
• Open Graphics settings, set Global Graphics Quality to VERY LOW
  
• Set Dynamic Resolution Scale Quality to DISABLED
  
• Take Baseline measurement
  
• Open Graphics settings, change one setting, take measurements, change the setting back
  
• Repeat previous step for all settings variations

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution and DLSS are set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 180 FPS

Depth of Field HIGH: 138 FPS (24% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDIUM: 161 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Depth of Field LOW: 176 FPS
Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE

Global Illumination HIGH: 128 FPS (30% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 140 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 137 FPS
Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL

Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 165 FPS (9% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 170 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 177 FPS
Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE

Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 177 FPS (3% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 178 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 179 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 168 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Optimal setting is picked based on visual fidelity. TAA is just that good.

Clouds Quality HIGH: 164 FPS (10% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 164 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 180 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Fog Quality ENABLED: 178 FPS (2% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 124 FPS (32% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM + Fog ENABLED: 164 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Volumetrics Quality LOW + Fog ENABLED: 172 FPS
Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Reflections Quality HIGH: 166 FPS (9% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 167 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 176 FPS
Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Shadow Quality HIGH: 149 FPS (18% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 149 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 155 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Terrain Quality HIGH: 169 FPS (7% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 174 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 174 FPS (4% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Water Quality MEDIUM: 176 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 157 FPS (10% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 159 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 169 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE
Version 1.1 changed how culling works in the game. Now this setting depends even more on how much stuff in on screen. So my result is not representative on actual effect on game's performance.

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore.
Texture Quality does not affect performance for GPU used, not testing anymore

Patch 1.1.2f1 added a support for DLSS 3, which is supposed to be more advanced than FSR 1 with which the game was released. In this section I am covering the impact of both techs on image quality and performance.

As for the graphic quality settings, I am using settings that are marked as Optimal in the section above.

Due to hardware changes the test system, testing results from version version 1.0.15f1 and onward can't be directly compared to older versions.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution and DLSS is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 164 FPS

Depth of Field HIGH: 131 FPS (20% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 150 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Depth of Field LOW: 160 FPS
Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE

Global Illumination HIGH: 122 FPS (26% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 133 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 130 FPS
Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL

Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 153 FPS (7% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 157 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 163 FPS
Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE

Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 160 FPS (2% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 160 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 163 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 155 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE

Clouds Quality HIGH: 154 FPS (7% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 157 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 163 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Fog Quality ENABLED: 161 FPS (2% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 116 FPS (29% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM + Fog ENABLED: 154 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Volumetrics Quality LOW + Fog ENABLED: 159 FPS
Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Reflections Quality HIGH: 153 FPS (7% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 155 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 160 FPS
Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Shadow Quality HIGH: 140 FPS (15% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 141 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 146 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Seems that high frametime variation has been addressed in 1.1.2f1

Terrain Quality HIGH: 157 FPS (4% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 159 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 159 FPS (3% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Water Quality MEDIUM: 161 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 148 FPS (10% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 149 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 159 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE
Version 1.1 changed how culling works in the game. Now this setting depends even more on how much stuff in on screen. So my result is not representative on actual effect on game's performance.

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore

Texture Quality HIGH: 164 FPS (0% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 164 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 164 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Please note that the Texture Quality does not tax the GPU (an actual processing unit on a graphics card) directly, rather the bus between GPU and graphics memory and the graphics memory itself. Higher settings may cause stutters in case when there is not enough graphics memory to host all the textures game is using and when the game loads up new textures from the disk.
In case of the test setup, there is more than enough memory capacity to host all the textures needed for the test scene, so no performance impact is expected.
Therefore I'm considering excluding this test from the set.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 165 FPS

Depth of Field HIGH: 131 FPS (20% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 151 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Depth of Field LOW: 163 FPS
Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE

Global Illumination HIGH: 122 FPS (26% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 133 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 130 FPS
Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL

Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 156 FPS (5% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 158 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 164 FPS
Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE

Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 161 FPS (2% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 162 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 165 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 155 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE

Clouds Quality HIGH: 154 FPS (7% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 154 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 165 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Fog Quality ENABLED: 164 FPS (0% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 117 FPS (29% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM + Fog ENABLED: 154 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Volumetrics Quality LOW + Fog ENABLED: 159 FPS
Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Reflections Quality HIGH: 156 FPS (5% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 156 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 164 FPS
Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Shadow Quality HIGH: 140 FPS (15% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 141 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 146 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
High FPS and frametime variation we've seen in previous versions are now much more stable.

Terrain Quality HIGH: 158 FPS (4% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 163 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 162 FPS (2% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Water Quality MEDIUM: 162 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 150 FPS (9% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 150 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 158 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE
Version 1.1 changed how culling works in the game. Now this setting depends even more on how much stuff in on screen. So my result is not representative on actual effect on game's performance.

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore

Texture Quality HIGH: 165 FPS (0% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 165 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 165 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Please note that the Texture Quality does not tax the GPU (an actual processing unit on a graphics card) directly, rather the bus between GPU and graphics memory and the graphics memory itself. Higher settings may cause stutters in case when there is not enough graphics memory to host all the textures game is using and when the game loads up new textures from the disk.
In case of the test setup, there is more than enough memory capacity to host all the textures needed for the test scene, so no performance impact is expected.
Therefore I'm considering excluding this test from the set.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 174 FPS

Depth of Field HIGH: 135 FPS (22% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 157FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 166 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE

Global Illumination HIGH: 124 FPS (29% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 135 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 135 FPS
Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL

Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 160 FPS (8% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 163 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 173 FPS
Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE

Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 169 FPS (3% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 169 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 173 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 167 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE

Clouds Quality HIGH: 157 FPS (10% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 160 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 173 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Fog Quality ENABLED: 173 FPS (0% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 121 FPS (30% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM + Fog ENABLED: 160 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Volumetrics Quality LOW + Fog ENABLED: 163 FPS
Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Reflections Quality HIGH: 161 FPS (7% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 161 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 170 FPS
Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE

Shadow Quality HIGH: 140 FPS (19% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 144 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 150 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 166 FPS (5% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 168 FPS (3% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Water Quality MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 127 FPS (27% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 131 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 153 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore

Texture Quality HIGH: 173 FPS (0% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 173 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 173 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Please note that the Texture Quality does not tax the GPU (an actual processing unit on a graphics card) directly, rather the bus between GPU and graphics memory and the graphics memory itself. Higher settings may cause stutters in case when there is not enough graphics memory to host all the textures game is using and when the game loads up new textures from the disk.
In case of the test setup, there is more than enough memory capacity to host all the textures needed for the test scene, so no performance impact is expected.
Therefore I'm considering excluding this test from the set.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 179 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 135 FPS (25% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 157FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 173 FPS <==== OPTIMAL

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL
Global Illumination HIGH: 131 FPS (27% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 144 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 152 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 161 FPS (10% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 166 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 172 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 172 FPS (4% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 172 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 173 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 169 FPS <==== OPTIMAL

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 155 FPS (12% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 159 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 175 FPS <==== OPTIMAL

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 167 FPS (3% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 116 FPS (35% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM + Fog ENABLED: 160 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Volumetrics Quality LOW + Fog ENABLED: 165 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 162 FPS (10% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 164 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 172 FPS

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE <==== OPTIMAL
Shadow Quality HIGH: 143 FPS (20% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 143 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 147 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 167 FPS (7% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 174 FPS (3% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Water Quality MEDIUM: 170 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 130 FPS (27% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 129 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 151 FPS <==== OPTIMAL
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore

Texture Quality HIGH: 176 FPS (2% reduction) <==== OPTIMAL
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 176 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 176 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE
Please note that the Texture Quality does not tax the GPU (an actuall processing unit on a graphics card) directly, rather the bus between GPU and graphics memory and the graphics memory itself. Higher settings may cause stutters in case when there is not enough graphics memory to host all the textures game is using and when the game loads up new textures from the disk.
In case of the test setup, there is more than enough memory capacity to host all the textures needed for the test scene, so no performance impact is expected.
Therefore I'm considering excluding this test from the set.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 168 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 134 FPS (20% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 152 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 166 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 127 FPS (24% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 141 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 148 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 158 FPS (6% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 163 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 168 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 160 FPS (5% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 165 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 168 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 165 FPS

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 148 FPS (12% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 153 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 163 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 167 FPS (1% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH + Fog ENABLED: 106 FPS (37% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality + Fog ENABLED MEDIUM: 153 FPS
Volumetrics Quality + Fog ENABLED LOW: 162 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 159 FPS (5% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 161 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 168 FPS

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 140 FPS (17% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 140 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 144 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 157 FPS (7% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 161 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 135 FPS (20% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 165 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 127 FPS (24% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 129 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 137 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality does not affect GPU performance in the test scene, not testing anymore

Texture Quality HIGH: 166 FPS (1% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 166 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 168 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

The game was tested on the following configuration:
AMD 5800X3D
64 GB PC-3333 RAM
RTX 4090
4k Resolution

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to CONSTANT

Baseline result: 230 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 216 FPS (6% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 219 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 222 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 200 FPS (13% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 203 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 212 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 222 FPS (3% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 225 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 225 FPS

Dynamic Resolution CONSTANT: BASELINE
Dynamic Resolution DISABLED: 156 FPS (32% reduction)

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 211 FPS (8% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 230 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 226 FPS
Notes: possibly conflicts with Dynamic Resolution setting

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 172 FPS (25% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 175 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 219 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 227 FPS (1% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 231 FPS (0% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 231 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 228 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 212 FPS (8% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 213 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 221 FPS

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 176 FPS (23% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 180 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 191 FPS

Terrain Quality HIGH: 208 FPS (10% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 216 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 224 FPS (3% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 225 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 175 FPS (24% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 187 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 216 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 226 FPS (2% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 230 FPS (0% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 230 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 230 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Since Dynamic Resolution setting is based on outdated FSR version 1 technology, the drop in image clarity may be too high for the performance benefit it provides. Also, this setting lowers render resolution, which affects all other settings, since there is less pixels for GPU to work with.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 163 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 127 FPS (22% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 147 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 158 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 126 FPS (23% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 138 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 143 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 150 FPS (8% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 154 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 156 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 154 FPS (6% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 154 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 160 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 160 FPS

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 131 FPS (20% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 131 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 154 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 158 FPS (3% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 157 FPS (4% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 158 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 161 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 152 FPS (7% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 152 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 158 FPS

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 133 FPS (19% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 133 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 133 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 150 FPS (8% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 157 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 160 FPS (2% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 160 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 115 FPS (30% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 120 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 133 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 157 FPS (4% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 162 FPS (0% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 162 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 162 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED

Baseline result: 181 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 125 FPS (31% reduction)
Depth of Field LOW: 156 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 134 FPS (26% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 142 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 148 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 167 FPS (8% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 175 FPS

Dynamic Resolution CONSTANT: BASELINE
Dynamic Resolution AUTOMATIC: 121 FPS (33% reduction)
Dynamic Resolution DISABLED: 121 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 166 FPS (8% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 164 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 166 FPS (Note: possibly conflicts with Dynamic Resolution setting, needs clarification)

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 145 FPS (20% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 150 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 166 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 164 FPS (9% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 172 FPS (5% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 172 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 174 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 158 FPS (13% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 158 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 161 FPS

Motion Blur Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Motion Blur HIGH: 168 FPS (7% reduction)
Motion Blur MEDIUM: 169 FPS
Motion Blur LOW: 169 FPS (Note: test scene is static, result may not worth much)

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 163 FPS (10% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 178 FPS (Note: high FPS variation with this setting enabled)

Terrain Quality HIGH: 161 FPS (11% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 161 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 169 FPS (7% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 164 FPS (???)
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 150 FPS (17% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 150 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 158 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 175 FPS (3% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE (Note: test scene is static, result may not worth much)

Texture Quality HIGH: 169 FPS (7% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 174 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 176 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to CONSTANT

Baseline result: 215 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 200 FPS (7% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 206 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 209 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 187 FPS (13% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 191 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 195 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 204 FPS (5% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 210FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 216 FPS

Dynamic Resolution CONSTANT: BASELINE
Dynamic Resolution AUTOMATIC: 149 FPS (30% reduction)
Dynamic Resolution DISABLED: 149 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 192 FPS (10% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 200 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 200 FPS
Notes: possibly conflicts with Dynamic Resolution setting

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 173 FPS (20% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 171 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 205 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation oh HIGH and MEDIUM

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 203 FPS (6% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 209 FPS (3% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 209 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 215 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 190 FPS (12% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 199 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 199 FPS

Motion Blur Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Motion Blur HIGH: 195 FPS (9% reduction)
Motion Blur MEDIUM: 198 FPS
Motion Blur LOW: 201 FPS
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 144 FPS (33% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 151 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 151 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 165 FPS (23% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 169 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 163 FPS (24% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 168 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 140 FPS (34% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 142 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 158 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 215 FPS (0% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 200 FPS (7% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 200 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 201 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Since Dynamic Resolution setting is based on outdated FSR version 1 technology, the drop in image clarity may be too high for the performance benefit it provides. Also, this setting lowers render resolution, which affects all other settings, since there is less pixels for GPU to work with.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 151 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 124 FPS (18% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 139 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 146 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 120 FPS (21% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 131 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 136 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 141 FPS (7% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 144 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 149 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 148 FPS (2% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 148 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 149 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 152 FPS

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 136 FPS (10% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 136 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 147 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 147 FPS (3% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 150 FPS (1% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 150 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 150 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 142 FPS (6% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 142 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 148 FPS

Motion Blur Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Motion Blur HIGH: 147 FPS (3% reduction)
Motion Blur MEDIUM: 147 FPS
Motion Blur LOW: 150 FPS
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 130 FPS (14% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 129 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 134 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 144 FPS (5% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 146 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 147 FPS (3% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 148 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 140 FPS (7% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 143 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 143 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 149 FPS (1% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 151 FPS (0% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 151 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 151 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to CONSTANT

Baseline result: 225 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 204 FPS (9% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 211 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 214 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 193 FPS (14% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 208 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 200 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 213 FPS (5% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 218 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 220 FPS

Dynamic Resolution CONSTANT: BASELINE
Dynamic Resolution AUTOMATIC: 152 FPS (32% reduction)
Dynamic Resolution DISABLED: 152 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 222 FPS (1% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 222 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 225 FPS
Notes: possibly conflicts with Dynamic Resolution setting

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 170 FPS (24% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 172 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 205 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 212 FPS (6% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 212 FPS (6% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 219 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 219 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 204 FPS (9% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 205 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 216 FPS

Motion Blur Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Motion Blur HIGH: 215 FPS (4% reduction)
Motion Blur MEDIUM: 218 FPS
Motion Blur LOW: 220 FPS
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 169 FPS (25% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 172 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 180 FPS

Terrain Quality HIGH: 215 FPS (4% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 215 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 218 FPS (3% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 220 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 175 FPS (22% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 183 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 211 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 223 FPS (1% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 225 FPS (0% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 225 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 225 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE

Since Dynamic Resolution setting is based on outdated FSR version 1 technology, the drop in image clarity may be too high for the performance benefit it provides. Also, this setting lowers render resolution, which affects all other settings, since there is less pixels for GPU to work with.

Baseline configuration:
Resolution - 3840x2160
Global Graphics Quality - Very Low
V-Sync DISABLED
Dynamic Resolution is set to DISABLED

Baseline result: 153 FPS

Depth of Field DISABLED: BASELINE
Depth of Field HIGH: 127 FPS (17% reduction)
Depth of Field MEDUM: 138 FPS
Depth of Field LOW: 150 FPS

Global Illumination DISABLED: BASELINE
Global Illumination HIGH: 119 FPS (22% reduction)
Global Illumination MEDIUM: 134 FPS
Global Illumination LOW: 137 FPS

Ambient Occlusion DISABLED: BASELINE
Ambient Occlusion HIGH: 145 FPS (5% reduction)
Ambient Occlusion MEDIUM: 147 FPS
Ambient Occlusion LOW: 153 FPS

Anti-Aliasing DISABLED: BASELINE
Anti-Aliasing HIGH SMAA: 152 FPS (1% reduction)
Anti-Aliasing LOW SMAA: 153 FPS
Anti-Aliasing FXAA: 153 FPS
Anti-Aliasing CUSTOM (TAA, High, 8x): 156 FPS

Clouds Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Clouds Quality HIGH: 127 FPS (17% reduction)
Clouds Quality MEDIUM: 129 FPS
Clouds Quality LOW: 142 FPS

Fog Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Fog Quality ENABLED: 153 FPS (0% reduction)

Volumetrics Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Volumetrics Quality HIGH: 156 FPS (0% reduction)
Volumetrics Quality MEDIUM: 156 FPS
Volumetrics Quality LOW: 156 FPS

Reflections Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Reflections Quality HIGH: 145 FPS (5% reduction)
Reflections Quality MEDIUM: 148 FPS
Reflections Quality LOW: 150 FPS

Motion Blur Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Motion Blur HIGH: 148 FPS (3% reduction)
Motion Blur MEDIUM: 151 FPS
Motion Blur LOW: 148 FPS
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Shadow Quality DISABLED: BASELINE
Shadow Quality HIGH: 130 FPS (15% reduction)
Shadow Quality MEDIUM: 127 FPS
Shadow Quality LOW: 128 FPS
Notes: high FPS variation with this setting enabled

Terrain Quality HIGH: 148 FPS (3% reduction)
Terrain Quality MEDIUM: 150 FPS
Terrain Quality LOW: BASELINE

Water Quality HIGH: 150 FPS (2% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: 152 FPS
Water Quality LOW: BASELINE

Level of Detail HIGH: 117 FPS (24% reduction)
Level of Detail MEDIUM: 118 FPS
Level of Detail LOW: 129 FPS
Level of Detail VERY LOW: BASELINE

Animation Quality HIGH: 154 FPS (0% reduction)
Water Quality MEDIUM: BASELINE
Notes: test scene is static, result may not worth much

Texture Quality HIGH: 153 FPS (0% reduction)
Texture Quality MEDIUM: 153 FPS
Texture Quality LOW: 142 FPS
Texture Quality VERY LOW: BASELINE