Best Modern Warfare 3 graphics settings

A character in Modern Warfare 3 equipped with a tactival vest
Credit: Activision

A character in Modern Warfare 3 equipped with a tactival vest
Credit: Activision
December 20, 2023: Season 1 has come to Modern Warfare 3 and we've got all the intel on the best graphics settings to keep the game running smoothly.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has stepped into its first season, and fans are wondering - what are the best graphics settings to enjoy the latest entry in the iconic FPS franchise?

While the console version of Call of Duty offers enough options to customise your experience, like a FOV slider, the PC players get to tinker with their experience down to every minute detail making it the preferred way to enjoy COD in recent times.

So you may find some of the options we present here useful, but for the most part, this is tailored to PC players who may have different rigs. We'll present an option for those with high-end gear to fully enjoy Modern Warfare 3 and an option for those who want to optimise it for less powerful hardware.

Modern Warfare 3 - Best graphical settings

If you don't know about them, we recommend you check out the Modern Warfare 3 PC system requirements. With that said, let's take a look at the best graphical settings for players with high-end rigs.

MW3 best graphics settings for high-end PCs

Global Quality

  • Quality Presets: Recommended
  • Render Resolution: 100
  • Fidelity CAS: On
  • AMD Fidelity CAS Strength: 75
  • Anti-Aliasing: SMAA T2X
  • Nearby Level of Detail: High

Details & Textures

  • Texture Resolution: Medium
  • Texture Filter Anisotropic: Low
  • Particle Quality: High
  • Bullet Impacts & Sprays: On
  • Shader Quality: Low
  • Tessellation: Nearby Only
  • On-Demand Texture Streaming: On
  • Streaming Quality: Low

Shadow & Lighting

  • Shadow Map Resolution: Low
  • Spot Shadow Quality: Low
  • Cache Spot Shadows: On
  • Cache Sun Shadows: On
  • Particle Lighting: Normal
  • Ambient Occlusion: Off
  • SSR: Off

Post Processing Effects

  • NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost
  • Depth of Field: Off
  • World Motion Blur: Off
  • Weapon Motion Blur: Off
  • Film Grain: 0.00

View

  • Field of View: 110
  • ADS Field of View: Affected
  • Weapon Field of View: Wide
  • 3rd Person Field of View: 80
  • Vehicle Field of View: Default
  • 1st Person Camera Movement: 100
  • 3rd Person Camera Movement: 100

MW3 optimised graphics settings for medium and low-end PCs

Modern Warfare 3 character in an open field
expand image
Credit: Activision
Optimise your experience with our recommended settings

Now, if you don't own a powerful rig, we recommend these settings.

Global Quality

  • Quality Presets: Recommended
  • Render Resolution: 100
  • Fidelity CAS: On
  • AMD Fidelity CAS Strength: 75
  • Anti-Aliasing: SMAA T2X
  • Nearby Level of Detail: High

Details & Textures

  • Texture Resolution: Low
  • Texture Filter Anisotropic: Medium
  • Particle Quality: Medium
  • Bullet Impacts & Sprays: Off
  • Shader Quality: Low
  • Tessellation: Off
  • On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off
  • Streaming Quality: Low

Shadow & Lighting

  • Shadow Map Resolution: Low
  • Spot Shadow Quality: Low
  • Cache Spot Shadows: Off
  • Cache Sun Shadows: Off
  • Particle Lighting: Medium
  • Ambient Occlusion: Off
  • SSR: Off

Post Processing Effects

  • NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost
  • Depth of Field: Off
  • World Motion Blur: Off
  • Weapon Motion Blur: Off
  • Film Grain: 0.00

View

  • Field of View: 95 – 110
  • ADS Field of View: Affected
  • Weapon Field of View: Wide
  • 3rd Person Field of View: 80
  • Vehicle Field of View: Default
  • 1st Person Camera Movement: 100
  • 3rd Person Camera Movement: 100

And that's it! If you're looking for more Modern Warfare 3 content, we have plenty! Check out the full equipment and killstreak list right here. Also don't forget to check how to inspect weapons in MW3.