Overwatch 2 Optimization Tips
Having graphics performance problems while playing Overwatch 2? Here are a list of settings you can change to improve dropped fps, stuttering, screen tearing and many other graphics performance issues you might be experiencing in Overwatch 2
Best Video Settings in Overwatch 2
These video options will have an impact on your performance, set the options below to their lowest setting to improve the performance of your game to get the highest fps in Overwatch 2
- Set Display Mode to Fullscreen
- Set the Resolution to the Native Resolution of your monitor.
- Turn OFF V-Sync
- Turn OFF Triple Buffering
- Turn ON Display Performance Stats
- Enable Nvidia Reflex if you have an NVidia GPU
- Set Limit FPS to Custom
- Set the Frame Rate Cap to a value above your monitors refresh rate, but below your maximum FPS you can get in game.
- Set the Graphics Quality to Low
- Set the Render Scale to 50% or 75%
- Texture Quality – LOW
- Texture Filtering Quality – LOW – 1X
- Local Fog Detail – LOW
- Dynamic Reflections – OFF
- Shadow Detail – OFF
- Model Detail – LOW
- Effects Detail – LOW
- Antialis Quality – OFF
- Refraction Quality- LOW
- Screenshot Quality – 1X RESOLUTION
- Ambient Occlusion – OFF
- Local Reflections – OFF
- Damage FX – LOW
Improve Performance in Overwatch 2
Open the Task Manager (Shift+Ctrl+Esc)
- In the Processes Tab, Right-Click any unnecessary processes and click End task.
- Only close programs you know are not vital to operating your computer.
- In the Startup tab, disable any programs to prevent them from loading when you power on your PC.
- Make sure to close the Task Manager while playing Overwatch 2, as it also uses resources to run.
Windows System Settings Fixes for Overwatch 2 Low FPS
Check for Windows updates
From the Settings Menu select Update & Security. Then Windows Update on the Sidebar. And click check for updates.
Switch on scheduling for GPUs that are hardware-accelerated (NVIDIA GPUs, only)
The hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling is a useful feature that reduces the workload of the processor, while also reducing delay at the same time. This feature is available only for NVIDIA GPUs.
It is accessible via System > Display > Scroll down to Graphics Settings , then turn on hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling.
You can also add Overwatch 2 to the list of apps and set it’s preference to High Performance. Click the Browse button and find the Overwatch 2 client in the directory. Then select Options and choose High Performance. Finally, Save this option.
Set High-Performance mode to on.
Your computer is trying to utilize its potential power the most efficiently it can but you’re sacrificing some of the potential performance. You’ll want to make use of every capability it has available when playing by activating the High-Performance mode will let you do that.
Click the Start button, and select Power Settings. If you’ve never changed anything there previously your Balanced Mode will be in effect. Change it to High-Performance and you can turn on Balanced after you’re finished gaming.
Reduce startup applications
Try clean booting into Windows by following the instructions at Microsoft Support.
Clean booting into Windows prevents any unnecessary programs or services from starting up, and helps narrow down the cause of your issues. If you continue to have trouble after performing a clean boot, it’s safe to assume that background programs and services aren’t the root cause. You can go back to your normal startup.
Optimize Windows Gaming Settings
Windows attempts to make gaming that is as enjoyable as it can be for gamers by offering all the tools for recording amazing moments or add additional performance settings that users can adjust. These tools could cause certain performance-related issues. That means that you’ll need to turn on some Windows settings, while other settings need to be switched off to ensure an improved gaming experience.
Turn on Game Mode
Game Mode setting wasn’t in the best of shape when it was first introduced however, it’s improved a lot since. You can switch it on to enjoy an improved gaming experience as it will allow your system to concentrate on delivering you the most efficient gaming experience.
- Open the settings in Windows 10.
- Select Gaming, and then locate Game Mode from the sidebar on the left.
- Switch on Game Mode.
Turn off background recording
Also, while you here select Captures from the sidebar and then disable “Record in the background while I’m playing a game.” This feature can cause performance issues as well.
Turn off Xbox Game Bar
Xbox Game Bar is one of the Windows features you could be required to disable, even if it’s with the best of intentions. It’s within the same directory with Game Mode, so you’ll have to go to the Gaming section within Settings.
When you’re there, on the sidebar look for Xbox Game Bar. Switch the bar off entirely.
Graphics Card and Drivers
Keep your drivers updated
While it’s rare, gamers can experience slow frames caused by driver problems that can only be rectified by new updates. Therefore, maintaining your driver’s version is the best method to avoid such problems since developers try their best to release updates as soon as they are available.
The two NVIDIA and AMD inform their customers whenever there’s a new driver available for their card. However, you can also go to their websites to check for updates to drivers and for any new driver that you can upgrade to manually.
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx
https://www.amd.com/en/support
Disable GeForce Experience In-Game Overlay
Open the NVidia GeForce Experience. Click the Settings Icon in the top right of your window, to the left of your account name. Scroll down and deselect In-Game Overlay.
NVidia Image Scaling
Newer Graphics Drivers have this option to improve frame rates by scaling the render resolution as well as sharpening image clarity.
Try Enabling or Disabling FreeSync on AMD Graphics Cards:
If you have an AMD Graphics Card and a Monitor that supports FreeSync, install the latest AMD Radeon drivers and software and follow these steps:
- Step 1: Open AMD Radeon Settings.
- Step 2: Select the Settings icon.
- Step 3: Select the Display tab. If you have multiple displays, select the display you want to apply the setting to.
- Step 4: Turn AMD FreeSync to On.
That will turn on FreeSync universally for your monitor. You can turn the feature off for certain games if you want to, though. To do so, open up Radeon Settings again and follow these steps:
- Step 1: Select the Gaming tab.
- Step 2: Click Add in the top-right corner if you don’t see the game you want to change.
- Step 3: Navigate to the game installation and add it to your library.
- Step 4: Select the game to open the settings menu.
- Step 5: Change the AMD FreeSync setting to On or Off, depending on what you want.
Turn on Radeon Anti-lag
Sometimes it could be the fact that the GPU and CPU are not working optimally together. Anti-lag can help with that. Follow these steps to turn it on:
- Step 1: Open Radeon Software (Hotkey: Alt + R)
- Step 2: Click the Gaming Tab
- Select Game Tab
- Step 3: Click on Overwatch 2
- Step 4: Scroll down to the Graphics section
- Enable Radeon Anti-lag
Set your video driver software to the default settings
Video drivers typically come with software that allows you to make custom preferences, build graphics profiles, and manage other settings of your video card. Examples of these software are Catalyst Control Center (AMD) and Nvidia Control Panel. These settings may cause issues with the in-game video settings and can result in FPS problems. Resetting your software to its default settings could help ease problems.
To reset AMD driver software to the default settings:
- Right-click on your desktop and select Catalyst Control Center or AMD Radeon Settings.
- In the upper-right corner of the window, select Preferences.
- Select Restore Factory Defaults.
To reset Intel driver software to the default settings:
- Right-click on your desktop and select Graphic Properties.
- Click 3D.
- Click Restore Defaults.
To reset Nvidia driver software to the default settings:
- Right-click on your desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel.
- Click Manage 3D Settings.
- In the upper-right corner, click Restore Defaults.
Adjust settings in the control panel of your graphics card.
The AMD and NVIDIA GPUs feature their own control panels which gamers can modify the performance settings for their graphics cards. Users are able to access these panels by right-clicking the empty area on their desktop. The setting of the control panel will be listed among the menu options. After opening, the information provided beneath each setting ought to be sufficient to make the required adjustments in performance.
If you’re not familiar with the settings or aren’t sure what is the best option for gaming, it’s possible to locate guides that are specifically tailored to specific games. It is possible to search the web for a manual for the control panel to your GPU model and follow these instructions to tailor your specific graphics card for highest performance.
Try updating your bios
Here’s the normal procedure that is the same regardless of whether your motherboard is operating in UEFI or in legacy BIOS mode:
- Download the most recent BIOS (or UEFI) on the manufacturer’s website
- Copy it to a backup USB flash drive
- Restart your computer, and then go to the BIOS or UEFI (usually repeatedly press the Delete key on startup)
- Find in the menus to upgrade the BIOS/UEFI
It’s a good idea to keep an extra copy of the most important files backed up before you begin. Although the failure of a BIOS update won’t affect the data stored on the hard drive however, you’ll be able browse your data and work with them on a different computer, if you’ve got backups with an external drive.
You could also create backups of your BIOS. Sometimes, this can be automated in the update process, however should you need to manually do it make sure you don’t skimp this process.
Overheating
Overheating can cause performance issues with all computers, depending on the application the symptoms can different.
Some common signs of overheating:
- Odd or very loud fan sounds.
- BSOD (Blue screen of death)
- Repeated restarts or shut downs
- Non-fan-based CPU overheating
- High temperature
Final Thoughts
Completing all the steps above should increase your framerate, but if you’re still averaging suboptimal frames, then you might have no choice but to upgrade your gaming rig with more recent hardware. Even if you keep your gaming PC in good shape over the years by cleaning it, there will come a time when it’ll be too old to run some of the next-gen titles. Considering game developers try to use every opportunity to offer a better experience for gamers, players will also need to keep up with the times at some point to enjoy newer games.