So whether you are #gaming on Linux or PC, playing on Ultra graphics settings have been the true #benchmark. Since all graphics settings present different performance capabilities. Even with high end hardware, there are some graphic settings that do not offer that much in visual quality but do have a significant impact on framerate. Therefore if you are gaming on older hardware, these settings are the specifics you should turn down to boost your framerate. While not making the visuals of the game look terrible, especially with Civilization VI coming to Linux.
So keeping mind, these graphics settings and their impact do not apply all games. Seeing many of the Linux games are developed in Unity 3D and the Linux and OpenGL advantage. So not every game will have these options. Therefore these changes can vary greatly from game to game. So for the best performance it’s a good idea to see which game-specific optimizations not only apply but make a difference. Consequently these are the settings that generally provide the best out of the box “bang” versus performance.
- Shadows
Since Shadow effects are surprisingly performance intensive. Making the edges of a shadow look more vivid doesn’t do much to the image quality. You do not have to turn them off, but if you are struggling with frame rates, turn them down to low or medium.
- Motion BlurSo motion blur has been used as a good effect in racing games. While this is also a setting with a cost in performance, something most people typically dislike. Particularly in fast-paced games such as first-person shooters. So motion blur is one to disable.
- Depth of FieldWhile in game, depth of field refers to an effect that blurring things in the background. Since it pretends your ‘eyes’ in-game are cameras, this creates a film-like quality that does not look great. So can affect performance significantly, depending on the graphics settings. So this is one to turn way down or disable, depending on personal preference.
- Dynamic Reflections
Since this is one option that depends on the game you’re playing. Hence this matters in terms of image quality. So dynamic reflections is that one setting shows players and moving objects reflecting in pools of water. While also very performance-intensive. So turning them off can significantly boost fps percent.
- Supersampling (SSAA)
So while having supersampling enabled, it renders frames at a higher resolution than the display resolution. Hence then reducing them back down to the size of your screen. Since it can make games look better, it really is better suited for those who own a beastly rig. Because supersampling will destroy your performance. Most of the time, it’s not worth the upgrade, especially when there are many other more efficient anti-aliasing alternatives. - Fast Approximate (FXAA): Rather than analyzing the 3D models (i.e. MSAA, which looks at pixels on the edges of polygons). FXAA is a post-processing filter, so it applies to the whole scene after it has been rendered. Since it is very efficient, but also catches edges inside textures which MSAA misses.
- Multisampling (MSAA): While this achieves good results. This is typically the standard, baseline option in games.
Since we are not trying to cover all of Linux graphics settings to disable. We do hope these details do help make increasing framerates easier.
What are the graphics settings you typically disable? What other steps do you use to improve frame rates on Linux?
