Best PC settings for Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a highly compatible game available on last-gen and current-gen consoles and PC. The game runs flawlessly and in its best state on Microsoft Windows devices, but players can only obtain its maximum achievable performance on high-end devices. Regardless of your PC's specifications, the game offers you various audio, accessibility, and visual settings, which you can fine-tune to get the desired performance, frame rate, and experience.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Best settings for PC

Graphics

• Display
  • Display Mode: Fullscreen Exclusive
  • Display Monitor: Preferred high-refresh-rate monitor
  • Display Adapter: Discrete GPU
  • Screen Refresh Rate: Max available value
  • Display Resolution: Based on your monitor's resolution
  • Dynamic Resolution: Off
  • Aspect Ratio: Automatic
  • V-Sync (Gameplay): Off
  • V-Sync (Menu): Off
  • Custom Frame Rate Limit: Unlimited
  • Display Gamma: 2.2 (sRGB)
  • Brightness: 50, or some other value based on your preference
  • Focused Mode: Off
• Quality
  • Global Quality
    • Quality Presets: Custom
    • Render Resolution: 100
    • Upscaling / Sharpening: FidelityFX CAS
    • Anti-Aliasing: SMAA T2X
    • Anti-Aliasing Quality: Low
    • Video Memory Scale: 80
  • Details & Texture
    • Texture Resolution: Low, or put it to Normal if your device components are mid-high tier
    • Texture Filter Anisotropic: Normal
    • Nearby Level of Detail: Low
    • Distant Level of Detail: Low
    • Clutter Draw Distance: Short
    • Particle Quality: Low
    • Particle Quality Level: Very Low
    • Bullet Impacts & Sprays: On
    • Shader Quality: Low (the game will need a restart if you change this setting)
    • Tessellation: Off
    • Terrain Memory: Max
    • On-demand Texture Streaming: Off
    • Streaming Quality: Low
    • Volumetric Quality: Low
    • Deferred Physics Quality: Off
    • Water Caustics: Off
  • Shadow & Lighting
    • Shadow Map Resolution: Low
    • Screen Space Shadows: Off
    • Spot Shadow Quality: Low
    • Spot Cache: Medium, or put it to High if your device components are mid-high tier
    • Particle Lighting: Normal
    • Ambient Occlusion: Off
    • Screen Space Reflections: Off
    • Static Reflection Quality: Low
    • Weather Grid Volumes: Off
  • Post Processing Effects
    • Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: On + Boost, or put it to On for a mid-high tier device
    • Depth of Field: Off
    • World Motion Blur: Off
    • Weapon Motion Blur: Off
    • Film Grain: 0
• View
  • Field of View
    • Field of View (FOV): 105, or put it to some other value based on your preference because higher FOV causes some performance and FPS loss
    • ADS Field of View: Affected
  • Camera
    • 1st Person Camera Movement: Least (50 percent)
    • 3rd Person Camera Movement: Least (50 percent)

Keyboard & Mouse

• Gameplay
  • Movement Behaviors
    • Crouch Behavior: Toggle
    • Prone Behavior: Toggle
    • Automatic Sprint: Automatic Tactical Sprint
    • Tactical Sprint Behavior: Single Tap Sprint
    • Automatic Airborne Mantle: Partial
    • Share Slide and Dive Inputs: Independent
  • Combat Behaviors
    • Aim Down Sight Behavior: Hold
    • Change Zoom Shared Input: Sprint / Tactical Sprint / Focus
    • Equipment Behavior: Hold
    • Interact Behavior: Press
    • Weapon Mount Activation: Weapon Mount (Toggle)
    • Armor Plate Behavior: Apply All

Related: How to show FPS counter in Modern Warfare 2

In the Mouse column of this settings window, you can adjust various aspects related to your Mouse that will help you refine your aiming. You should always adjust the Mouse Sensitivity in every shooter game you launch for the first time. The remaining settings should be left at their default values unless you want to try something different and fine-tune your aim. Also, remember to always keep Mouse Acceleration disabled if it's not turned off by default.

Interface

• HUD
  • Mini Map Shape: Square
• Telemetry
  • FPS Counter: On
  • Server Latency: On
  • Packet Loss: On
  • VRAM Usage: On
• Advanced Interface Settings
  • Skip Introduction Movie: On
  • Tool Tips: On
  • Network In-game Alert Icons: On
  • Hardware In-game Alert Icons: On

You can turn on several other metrics in the Telemetry settings tab if you want detailed information on how your device performs. These were our recommended PC settings for Modern Warfare 2 for best performance, FPS, and gameplay. Although we've listed every major setting that you should change or look at, several other minor settings you can adjust based on your preference.

Stay tuned to Pro Game Guides for more Call of Duty content. In the meantime, head over to our article on Best equipment in MW2 & how to unlock.