Far Cry 4 - i5 4670K - GTX 770 4GB - Benchmark - 60 FPS

After many hours of tweaking, these were the settings that I have found to achieve the highest graphical quality while maintaining 60+ FPS. Note that the FPS tends to drop to 50-55 when traveling by vehicle, but rarely drops below 50. I wrote below how much of an FPS gain/loss to expect to achieve when adjusting each parameter, as well as the effect of each on the game. FPS: 48-80; average ~60 [while using ShadowPlay] -------------Video Settings--------------------- Textures: Ultra [cost of 1-2 FPS; lowering will help with stuttering] Shadows: Soft Shadows [Cost of 3-4 FPS compared to "low"] - Worth it for the small cost of FPS. This and God Rays alone are enough to make Far Cry 4 visually pleasant. Post FX: low [little to no effect on FPS] - This setting has more to do with taste, as it adds depth perception and blurring. Not my thing. Geometry: High [Cost of 2 FPS, saving of 5 FPS] - Ultra will cost you about 7 FPS compared to Low. This setting is related to pop-in of larger objects as you approach an area from afar. Geometry is much more noticeable than the "environment' setting since it includes rendering of large objects such as trees and buildings. I found 'High' to be a nice medium between Low and Ultra, while maintaining visual quality and immersion. Vegetation: Ultra [cost of 1-2 FPS compared to low] - Adds correct lighting / interaction with vegetation. Not an expensive setting so I recommend keeping it. Terrain: High [Cost of 4-5 FPS compared to low; Ultra's cost is 6-7 FPS compared to low] - This parameter will determine foliage and mountain pop-in and the terrain's texture quality at a distance. Setting this too low can break immersion as the environment is constantly changing before your eyes. 'High' still maintains a very playable experience, with a gain of 2-3 FPS and very little reduction in quality. Low and medium I would avoid like the plague as they greatly distort the environment. Water: Low [Gain of 3 FPS] - Lowering the water quality does nothing to the look or physicality of the water, but instead just lowers the distance in which the reflection of the water captures the environment. This is almost imperceptible unless you are looking for it, and for that I recommend saving the frames. Environment: Low [Saves 2 FPS compared to Ultra] - Although 2 FPS is a small gain for switching a parameter from Ultra to low, I still recommend it because of the very small visual effect that Ultra adds. The Ultra setting will make the game render Shadows and lighting effects on objects when you are very far from the area, rather than just loading the effects as you approach the area. The result is wasted FPS on visual effects that you may not even experience in the scene. This is why I recommend setting it to low and investing the 2 FPS elsewhere. Ambient Occlusion: HBA0+ [Cost of 6 FPS] - SSBC will save your FPS by 3, but is much less visually accurate. Anti-Aliasing: SMAA [Cost of 2-3 FPS] - Although TXAA is visually preferred, the GTX 770 handles the game much better with SMAA. [TXAA 4x will cost you around 10 FPS] I have read accounts of people running the game better with TXAA 2x vs SMAA, while others claim no effect from TXAA 2x - so check for yourself on your system. TXAA is generally preferred because of the reduction in "shimmering" caused by aliasing adjusting to motion in the screen. SMAA does a fine job in my opinion though. MSAA is a frame hog, as usual. God Rays: Enhanced [Cost of 3-4 FPS, compared to "Off"] - Turning God Rays off is okay if you wish to save 3-4 frames, however I feel that this is a huge visual improvement for a small cost. This setting adds realistic light rays that react to the environment, rather than being a static part of the environment, how light rays are rendered in most other games. Fur: On [cost of 3-4 FPS] - Adds a little flair to the game, effects FPS when animals present. Turn off if you're having issues. Tree Relief: Off - This adds an unnoticeable tessellation of trees. For a cost of 3 FPS I recommend keeping it off. --Other Tweaks---- Alpha To Coverage (ATOC): OFF - [Gain of 3-4 FPS] - NOT found in the in-game video settings: Go to Users/[you]/My Documents/My Games/ Far Cry 4/ GameProfile.XML: - Change AlphaToCoverage from 1 or 2 to 0. - Almost no increase in visual quality when this is on, but there is an increase in performance when turned off. Has to do with aliasing of grass, but is not worth it because it was poorly implemented. GPU Max Frames Ahead: 1-3 (change by going into the NVidia Control Panel, Manage 3D settings) - will help you with stuttering if you switch it to 1-3, however it will increase input lag. NOTE: on co-op this will cause a bug where you load NPC's that your friend cannot see. For more information on each setting: http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/far-cry-4-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide