Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 ships with 800+ customization options across graphics, gameplay, input devices and interface, and it configures settings from your hardware the first time you start it. So the useful question is not where the menu is. It is which option to drop first when frames are short, and which ones actually change how well you see a target. This guide puts those in order using only what two official sources state: the PC tech article published on September 29, 2026 and the official PC requirements page that carries an October 1, 2026 update stamp. Everything here was re-checked on October 17, 2026. The full game releases at midnight local time on October 23 (the Steam store page shows October 22), and right now digital pre-purchasers are inside Campaign Early Access. The option names below are the feature names used in the official announcement, so expect the shipped menu to label some of them differently. One more thing: if you intend to capture gameplay on PC, decide your recording values before the game starts: resolution, frame rate and clip length.
The short answer: upscaler, then visibility, then ray tracing — and lock your recording values before launch
The order is not arbitrary. The official article frames upscaling and frame generation as the choice you make to maximize performance for your graphics card, which means it moves render resolution and therefore has the widest effect on frames. Visibility comes second because the new structure makes it cheap: Depth of Field is split into World Depth of Field and Weapon Depth of Field, and the new sharpness slider is global to any upscaler, so you can get a cleaner image without paying much in frames. Ray tracing goes last because the official requirements page gives it its own tier: 32 GB of RAM, a Radeon RX 9070 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, and 16 GB of video memory, described as ultra specs to run High quality ray tracing at 4K upscaled. The Recommended tier, by contrast, is a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700, 16 GB of RAM, an RX 6600 XT, RTX 3060 Ti or Arc B580, and 8 GB of video memory, and it is defined as 90 FPS in multiplayer on High. If your machine sits below that tier, do not treat 90 FPS as your target. Take the Average FPS the Benchmark Tool reports and set your target from that number. A few things belong before the menu. Recommended drivers are AMD 26.7.1, NVIDIA 616.56 and Intel 32.0.101.8974, and the page states that an ASD-compatible NVIDIA driver will be made available on October 21, before launch. All tiers require a broadband connection and DirectX 12, Intel Arc cards require Resizable BAR, and only Intel and AMD processors with the AVX instruction set are supported at this time. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are not preferences here: the official page lists them as required to play. It is just as useful to be clear about what the official sources do not say. There is no documented frame cap option, no statement about fullscreen versus borderless window support, and no published range for the Enhanced FOV value. Check those in the shipped Display options and in official patch notes rather than trusting a number from a forum. If the game still feels unplayable after you have taken the heavy options down, it is better to decide while a refund is still possible; the Steam conditions are collected in how Steam refunds work. Once the in-game side is settled, handle recording last, before you launch the game.
The order to work through Modern Warfare 4 settings
- 1Clear the driver and platform work firstThe official recommended drivers are AMD 26.7.1, NVIDIA 616.56 and Intel 32.0.101.8974, with an ASD-compatible NVIDIA driver listed for October 21. Every tier needs DirectX 12, and Intel Arc cards need Resizable BAR. If you want Advanced Shader Delivery, which sends precompiled shaders ahead of time, the article asks you to install the XBOX PC app regardless of which PC platform you play on. It also notes that app is only necessary if you want to use ASD.
- 2Take a baseline with the Benchmark Tool before touching anythingThe built-in Benchmark Tool runs a simulated multiplayer sequence and shows Average FPS, CPU, GPU, Ping and Input Latency while it runs. Run it once on the settings the game picked for you and write the numbers down. After the sequence you get a breakdown across all zones and in each individual zone, plus setting suggestions, which tells you where your frames actually fall apart.
- 3Choose the upscaler that matches your graphics cardThe official lineup is NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3 and Filmic SMAA T2X. The first three are vendor technologies, so the choice follows your card. Filmic SMAA T2X is described as the default post process effect for reducing perceived jagged edges, which makes it the reference point if you would rather not upscale at all. When a heavier upscale setting softens the image, pull it back with the global sharpness slider instead of changing three options at once.
- 4Set the visibility optionsTune World Depth of Field and Weapon Depth of Field separately, then work through shading quality, Screen Space Reflections, Shadow Filtering Quality, and occlusion and screen space lighting. Muzzle effects are dynamically masked at the point of aim, so targets stay visible without you turning effects off. HDR10+ interacts with your screen brightness in real time and adjusts contrast and lighting, which the article says removes the need to set manual sliders.
- 5Decide on Enhanced FOV and ray tracingEnhanced FOV is available only on PC and widens the field of view near your monitor edges while leaving the center FOV alone, described as useful if you prefer a smaller FOV but still want wider awareness. No numeric range is published, so step through the values and compare. Ray tracing is supported across Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ, but the official tier for it starts at 32 GB of RAM and 16 GB of video memory, so anything below that should be benchmarked with it off and on before you commit.
- 6Lock the recording values before launch, then benchmark twiceIf you record with DOR, set resolution, frame rate, clip length and aspect ratio before you start the game. The defaults are 1080p and 30 fps, 60 fps is selectable, and 1440p and above plus 120 fps and above are Pro. If you play ultrawide you can set the capture ratio to 21:9 or 32:9. Then run the same in-game benchmark twice, once with recording off and once with it on, and compare Average FPS and Input Latency.
Official Modern Warfare 4 PC settings and how to use them (checked October 17, 2026)
| Item | What the official sources state | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Performance target | 90 FPS in multiplayer on High at Recommended Specs, and the article states no manual setting tweaks are needed to reach it. | If your PC is below the Recommended tier, drop 90 FPS as a target and rebuild it from the Average FPS the benchmark reports. |
| Upscaling and frame generation | NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3 and Filmic SMAA T2X, the last described as the default post process effect that reduces perceived jagged edges. | Pick the one that matches your card's vendor, then use the global sharpness slider if the image softens. |
| Enhanced FOV | PC exclusive. It uses physically accurate lens effects to widen the field of view near your monitor edges without affecting the center FOV. | No value range is published, so raise it one step at a time and compare edge awareness against distortion near your aim point. |
| Depth of Field and sharpness | Depth of Field is now two settings, World and Weapon, and the sharpness slider is global to any upscaler. | Keep the world sharp and leave the weapon effect in place if you prefer it. Tune the two separately. |
| Ray tracing | Supported in Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ. The official ray tracing tier is 32 GB RAM, RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti, and 16 GB of video memory. | That tier is stated for 4K upscaled at High quality. Below it, benchmark the same run with ray tracing off and on before you decide. |
| Built-in Benchmark Tool | Runs a simulated multiplayer sequence showing live Average FPS, CPU, GPU, Ping and Input Latency, then gives a per-zone breakdown with setting suggestions. | Change one option, rerun the same sequence, and read the per-zone numbers to find which scenes cost you frames. |
Before you call the settings done
- Installed the recommended driver version for your card: AMD 26.7.1, NVIDIA 616.56 or Intel 32.0.101.8974.
- Took an Average FPS and Input Latency baseline with the Benchmark Tool before changing options.
- Picked the upscaler that matches your card's vendor and corrected softness with the global sharpness slider.
- Set World Depth of Field and Weapon Depth of Field separately.
- Compared ray tracing off and on with the same benchmark run before leaving it on.
- If you plan to record, set resolution, frame rate, clip length and aspect ratio before launching the game.
If you also record: measure the cost on your own PC instead of guessing
DOR is a free Windows desktop app. Titles launched through Call of Duty HQ are detected automatically, and if a new title does not appear in the list you can check it under Settings > Games. Call of Duty is one of the full-session titles in DOR, so the app records from launch to exit as a single video. When a moment has just happened you press F8 and the last 30 seconds is saved separately; the length is 15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds in settings. For a longer stretch, F7 starts a screen recording and F7 again ends it. Order matters here. Set resolution, frame rate, clip length and aspect ratio before you launch. The defaults are 1080p and 30 fps, 60 fps is selectable, and 1440p and above plus 120 fps and above are Pro. You do not have to guess what recording costs you: run the in-game Benchmark Tool once with recording off and once with DOR recording on, then compare Average FPS, CPU, GPU and Input Latency. The gap you see is the gap on your hardware, not someone else's. If it is wide, drop capture to 1080p and 30 fps and measure again. Watch free space too. The game asks for an SSD with 115 GB available at launch and your recordings sit on top of that. DOR warns you below 30 GB free and will not start a recording under 20 GB. If you also use Steam's own recording feature, its storage settings are covered in fixing low disk space for Steam game recording. Clips you keep can be trimmed in the app library to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1.
