Starfield is out NOW!

For a game that takes up 125 GB of storage and procedurally generates thousands of planets, it is no surprise that Starfield requires a powerful rig for it to run smoothly. Even on the new-gen Xbox consoles like the Series X/S, it only supports 30 FPS.

While at first glance, the game might not look that graphically intensive, an SSD is a mandatory requirement to run the game since your PC might struggle to load such a massive world.

Thankfully, if you’re playing Starfield on PC, you can tweak your graphics settings to get the best results. Here are the best PC settings for high FPS and better graphics in Starfield.

To play Starfield on PC, your system must meet the following requirements:

  MINIMUM RECOMMENDED
OS Windows 10 version 21H1 (10.0.19043) Windows 10/11 with updates
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i7-6800K AMD Ryzen 5 3600X / Intel i5-10600K
Memory 16 GB RAM 16 GB RAM
Graphics AMD Radeon RX 5700 / NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
DirectX Version 12 Version 12
Storage 125 GB available space (SSD required) 125 GB available space (SSD required)

If you don’t currently have a machine that meets these specifications, talk to us or try our custom PC builder!

Best Starfield PC settings for high FPS.

Here are the best-optimized graphics settings to run Starfield smoothly on your PC with 60 FPS and above:

  • Dynamic Resolution: On
  • Render Resolution: 75%
  • Graphics Preset: Custom
  • Shadow Quality: Medium
  • Indirect Lighting: Medium
  • Reflections: Low
  • Particle Quality: Low
  • Volumetric Lighting: Medium
  • Crowd Density: Low
  • Motion Blur: Off
  • GTAO Quality: Medium
  • Grass Quality: Medium
  • Contact Shadows: Medium
  • VSync: Off
  • Upscaling: FSR2
  • Enable VRS: On
  • Depth of Field: Off

Starfield is not intended to be played at native resolution, so you should set Render Resolution to less than 100%. Bethesda expect you to turn FSR 2 on while playing, and it does a decent job of upscaling without making the game look too bland. This is also why the highest graphics preset also sets Render Resolution to 75%.

For most games, you might be used to seeing four presets for FSR, such as Ultra Quality, Quality, Balanced, and Performance. Starfield’s graphics settings, however, give you a slider with percentage values. Unfortunately, there’s no DLSS option for Starfield.

The most performance-intensive graphics settings in Starfield are Shadow Quality, Volumetric Lighting, GTAO Quality, and Contact Shadows. Turn these down if you’re not happy with the framerate you’re getting. Motion Blur also has an impact on performance, so disable it if you don’t like the effect.

Two more significant settings are Crowd Density and Enable VRS. The former option is quite obvious; it makes the game world more populated, and it’s taxing on your CPU. VRS, on the other hand, which stands for Variable Rate Shading, can improve performance on some PCs.

Best Starfield PC settings for graphics.

Here’s how your graphics settings should look if you want the best graphics but with decent performance:

  • Dynamic Resolution: On
  • Render Resolution: 75%
  • Graphics Preset: Custom
  • Shadow Quality: Medium
  • Indirect Lighting: High
  • Reflections: Medium
  • Particle Quality: High
  • Volumetric Lighting: Medium
  • Crowd Density: High
  • Motion Blur: Off
  • GTAO Quality: High
  • Grass Quality: Ultra
  • Contact Shadows: Medium
  • VSync: On
  • Upscaling: FSR2
  • Enable VRS: On
  • Depth of Field: On

If your PC is able to handle the game quite well with the optimized graphics preset given above, you can try taking it up a notch. Options like Crowd Density and Contact Shadows add to the immersion, so you might want to increase it. The former can be quite CPU-intensive, while the latter doesn’t take up a chunk of your performance.

You should ensure that your graphics drivers are up-to-date before playing Starfield on PC. Here’s how you can do it:

For NVIDIA Graphic card users

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card on your PC, you can use the NVIDIA GeForce Experience app to update your drivers. You can download GeForce Experience from NVIDIA.com.

  1. Find the GeForce icon in the right-hand corner of your taskbar. Right-click and select NVIDIA GeForce Experience.
  2. Click on the Drivers tab.
  3. Select Check for updates. If an update is available, click on Quick Install.
  4. Wait for the installation process to complete.

For AMD Graphic card users

If you have an AMD graphics card on your PC, you can use the Radeon Settings app to update your drivers.

  1. Right-click on your desktop and select AMD Radeon Settings.
  2. Click on the Home Icon.
  3. Select New Updates on the bottom left and click on Check for update.
  4. Wait for the installation process to complete.