Modern Warfare 4 runs on a GTX 1060 at minimum and targets 90 FPS in multiplayer on High at the recommended spec, an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6600 XT. Every PC needs TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, DirectX 12 and an SSD with 115 GB free. Below are the official specs, then the settings that make the biggest difference to frame rate without hurting how well you see enemies.
MW4 PC system requirements
From the official Call of Duty blog, 29 September and Activision Support:
| Minimum | Recommended (90 FPS, High) | Ray tracing (Ultra) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit |
| CPU | Ryzen 5 1400 / Core i5-6600 | Ryzen 5 3600 / Core i7-8700K | Ryzen 7 3700X / Core i7-10700K |
| GPU | RX 470 / GTX 970 or 1060 / Arc A580 | RX 6600 XT / RTX 3060 Ti / Arc B580 | RX 9070 XT / RTX 5070 Ti |
| RAM and VRAM | 8 GB, 3 GB VRAM | 16 GB, 8 GB VRAM | 32 GB, 16 GB VRAM |
| Storage | 115 GB on an SSD, more for updates | ||
The CPU must support AVX, and Intel Arc cards need Resizable BAR turned on. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required on every tier. If you have not checked yours, our TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot guide walks you through it.
Before you change anything: run the Benchmark Tool
MW4 has a built-in Benchmark Tool that plays a simulated multiplayer sequence and shows average FPS, CPU, GPU, ping and input latency, then suggests settings for your system. Run it once on the default settings so you have a number to compare against, change a few settings, and run it again.
Settings that raise FPS the most
Upscaling
MW4 supports NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone and Intel XeSS 3. Pick the one made for your card and start on a quality or balanced mode at 1440p, performance mode at 4K. Upscaling is usually the single biggest FPS gain. The game also has a sharpness slider that works with any upscaler, so you can win back crispness if the image looks soft.
Latency and frame cap
Turn V-Sync off, and turn NVIDIA Reflex on if you have an NVIDIA card. Cap your frame rate at or just under your monitor's refresh rate. A steady frame rate feels better than one that jumps around.
Ray tracing and shadows
Ray tracing is available in every mode, but it costs a lot of frames and gives no gameplay advantage. Leave it off for multiplayer and Warzone. Shadow quality and screen space reflections are the next settings to lower if you need more FPS.
Textures and VRAM
Texture quality barely changes FPS as long as it fits in your video memory. If you have 8 GB of VRAM or less and see stutter, lower texture quality one step.
Settings that help you see enemies
- Enhanced FOV (PC only) widens the view at the edges of your screen without changing the centre, so you notice flanks sooner.
- World and Weapon Depth of Field are now separate. Turn World Depth of Field off for a sharp background and keep Weapon Depth of Field if you like the look when aiming.
- Motion blur off. It hides movement you want to see.
Get into the game faster
MW4 uses Advanced Shader Delivery to download precompiled shaders, which cuts the wait on first launch and after updates. To use it, install the Xbox PC app, whichever launcher you play on, and keep your graphics driver up to date.
What we saw in our own test
On an RTX 5070 Ti at 1440p, tuned settings gave us about 60 FPS more than the defaults. Your number will differ with your CPU and map, which is why the Benchmark Tool before and after is worth the minute it takes.
Playing MW4 with Pandora's Box
Our Call of Duty build is external, so it runs beside the game with its own overlay, and one key covers MW4 multiplayer and Warzone. See what it includes on the MW4 cheat page, compare plan lengths on the pricing page and check the live status page before you play.