Customizing the graphics of Resident Evil 4 (2023) for a weak PC

RE4 Remake Optimization Tips to Help You Get 60 FPS Without Hurt the Picture

Capcom continues to delight fans with high-quality remakes of their legendary games. The new version of Resident Evil 4 is a direct sequel to the 2019 RE2 remake. The game’s plot remained the same, but all dialogue was rewritten, and scenes were reworked and expanded. The remake looks great and is just as demanding on graphics cards as RE: Village released in 2021.

In this article, we will first analyze the performance of RE4 (2023), and then we will analyze in detail the graphics settings to increase performance while maintaining the beauty of the picture.

What kind of computer is needed for the Resident Evil 4 remake (system requirements)

We studied the tests of the game on different hardware at different resolutions and came to the conclusion that the official system requirements are very close to the truth. True, they lack recommendations for playing at 1440p and 4K – we added them based on the tests we studied.

Official minimum system requirements (1080p @ 60 FPS, min. preset):

• Operating system:Windows 10 (64-bit only!).
• Processor:Intel Core i5-7500 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Video Card:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 560.
• RAM:8 gigabytes.

Official recommended system requirements (1080p @ 60 FPS, high preset):

• Operating system:Windows 10 x64.
• Processor:Intel Core i7-8700 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
• Video card:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon RX 5700.
• RAM:16 gigabytes.

To play at 1440p @ 30 FPS (tested):

• Operating system:Windows 10 x64.
• Processor:Intel Core i5-9400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2400G.
• Video Card:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) / AMD Radeon RX 570 (8 GB).
• RAM:16 gigabytes.

To play at 1440p @ 60 FPS (tested):

• Operating system:Windows 10 x64.
• Processor:Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
• Video Card:NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT.
• RAM:16 gigabytes.

For 4K @ 30 FPS game (tested):

• Operating system:Windows 10 x64.
• Processor:Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
• Video Card:NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 / AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT.
• RAM:32 gigabytes.

To play in 4K @ 60 FPS (as tested):

• Operating system:Windows 10 x64.
• Processor:Intel Core i5-10600K / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
• Video card:NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT.
• RAM:32 gigabytes.

How Resident Evil 4 Remake works on GeForce GTX 1060 – the most popular graphics card of recent years

After analyzing the system requirements of the game and the test results, we can derive a number of theses about its performance:

1. The game is not very demanding on the processor, but it can parallelize calculations well. Maximum performance is achieved on 8 physical processor cores. A comfortable minimum is 4 physical cores running in 8 virtual threads, or 6 physical cores. Less than 6 processor threads the game is unstable.
2. The game has a rather high consumption of video memory. For high settings, 8 gigabytes of VRAM is enough at resolutions up to 1440p (2560×1440). For the maximum with ray tracing, you will need 10 already. And if you want to play in 4K, your video card must have at least 11 gigabytes on board. If there is not enough VRAM, it is not recommended to set the texture quality to high, in order to avoid microfreezes.
3. A living classic in the face of the GeForce GTX 1060 allows you to play the game at medium settings. On this still popular graphics card, you can get a stable 60 FPS at 1080p. This is also true for the Radeon RX 480 and RX 570 graphics cards.
4. For a stable 60 FPS on high settings at the same 1080p resolution, you will need at least a GeForce GTX 1080 or RTX 2070, and from Radeon video cards, at least the RX 5700 XT.
5. 1440p @ 30 FPS at high settings will require GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 6600 graphics cards, while 60 FPS will require RTX 2080 and RX 6700 respectively.
6. To play 4K @ 30 FPS at high settings, you will need at least a GeForce RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6600 XT. And for a stable 60 FPS at this resolution, you will need a GeForce RTX 3080 or Radeon RX 6900 XT.

Graphic settings in Resident Evil 4 (2023) / how to increase FPS (frame rate) in the game

Comparison of graphics quality from min. up to max. preset settings

Next, we will analyze in detail all the graphic settings. Testing was conducted on a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card in conjunction with a Core i5-10400F processor, the game was installed on an SSD.

• “Frame frequency”. For many weak PCs, it is worth limiting the frame rate to 60 or even 30 units. This will reduce CPU overhead and provide smoother footage without increasing input lag.
• “Screen mode”. Full screen mode is the most stable in terms of performance, but does not allow you to easily move the cursor between two monitors. If the latter is important to you, then select a full screen window without a border.
• “Vertical Synchronization”. You should not turn on vertical sync if the game has the ability to limit the frame rate. It differsfrom a simple FPS limit in that it evens out the frame rendering time, which increases the input lag.
• “Ray tracing”. As with most modern games, the RE4 remake is pretty demanding ray tracing. However, it noticeably improves lighting and reflections only in some scenes. Better disable to get up to 2x higher FPS.
• FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.Unfortunately, the game does not have NVIDIA DLSS smart upscaling technology. Therefore, you will have to be content with the FSR of the second version. In the “Quality” mode, the picture will be barely noticeably blurry, but the number of frames will increase by 30 percent. It is better not to use the first version of FSR.
• “Image quality”. This is the resolution fullness for rendering. It allows you to reduce the resolution of the 3D graphics themselves, without harming the interfaces and menus. However, this approach has become obsolete since the advent of DLSS and FSR. Therefore, it is better to leave the value 100% here.
• “Render Mode”. Another deprecated option. Interlaced rendering can increase performance by about 25%. But the image will become unpleasant (as if from an old TV). Better leave the usual rendering.
• “Smoothing”. Unfortunately, only undemanding FXAA anti-aliasing cannot be selected in the game. Although TAA also works slowly only on very old models of video cards (older than 2014). Choose TAA + FXAA – visually it looks a little better than just TAA with almost the same performance.
• texture quality. Does not affect performance as long as you have enough video memory. The best option is “High: 1 GB”. Textures will remain high enough for a resolution of 1920×1080, while friezes and crashes will disappear. If you’re playing at 2560×1440, set it to High: 2 GB.
• “Texture Filtering Quality”. As with most games, anisotropic filtering has little to no effect on performance, even at maximum quality. Set it to “ANISO 16x” to bring sharpness back to surfaces seen at an angle.
• Mesh quality. The game has enough chamber locations, even on the streets of the town. Therefore, reducing the detail in the distance can reduce the load on the processor and graphics card. Set it to Medium here.
• Shadow quality. At medium quality, the shadows already have soft edges and good map resolution. Therefore, this will be the best option, which will add a few performance frames.
• “Shadow Cache”. It might be better to disable it if the game is on an old hard drive. And if you play with an SSD, then it’s better to turn it on. This will reduce the load on the processor and make the gameplay smoother.
• “Contact shadows”. Quite a complex effect for older models of video cards (until 2016). You can turn it off if your PC can’t even boast a GeForce GTX 1060 or RX 480. On newer ones, turning it on makes the shadows denser and more connected without a noticeable decrease in FPS.
• “Diffused Shading”. Supply the SSAO method. It is not as detailed, but it works a little faster and more stable. It can also be turned off completely if contact shadows are enabled. This will give an increase of about 15% performance.
• “Quality Volumetric Lighting”. The effect of rays penetrating the branches and other directional lighting. Perhaps still affected by the fog. Medium quality looks almost the same as high quality. At the same time, performance increases by 10-20% in different scenes. It is better to choose it.
• “Quality of Particle Lighting”. Leave high quality as this setting has little effect on performance.
• “Glow”. Increases the brightness of illuminated areas of surfaces. No effect on FPS. Leave it on.
• “Reflections in Screen Space”. Makes the surface of the water not so muddy at the cost of a couple of frames. Reflections can also be left enabled.
• “Subsurface Scattering”. Improved skin display due to light absorption effect. Doesn’t affect performance – turn it on.
• Hair Detail. It is better to choose low quality. This will make Leon and Ashley’s hair look less “next-gen” but increase FPS by about 20%.
• “Dismemberment of the bodies.” Doesn’t affect performance. It’s more of a censorship option.
• “Non-disappearing bodies”. The “Many” option may slightly increase memory consumption. It won’t affect FPS at all. Set to “Little” if you have less than 6 gigabytes of video memory or an outdated computer.
• “Physics of bodies”. There are no particularly advanced physical effects in the game. Most still alive video cards and processors will cope with the maximum value.
• Various enemy animations. In general, similar to the previous parameter. Makes similar enemies behave differently. You can turn it on if your PC is not quite ready to go to the dump yet.
• “Motion Blur”. The effect of speed for fast moving objects and blurring the background when the main character runs. Doesn’t affect performance. Adjust to your taste.
• “Rain quality”. Low quality looks noticeably worse than high quality. This is especially noticeable during the scenes with a downpour. However, performance can increase by about 10% if lowered. The choice is yours.
• “Environment Detail”. Incorrect translation of the Terrain parameter. The idea is to include tessellation applied to the ground, which makes its surface more embossed. In practice, the visual difference is negligible. But the FPS on the streets of the town sags by 10 percent. Therefore, it is better to turn it off.
• “Destroyed Objects”. Slightly improves damage marks from exploding barrels and similar effects. Virtually no performance impact. You can leave it on.
• “Glare”. Purely cosmetic effect. Adjust to your taste.
• “Lens Distortion”. Slightly more resource-intensive cosmetic effect. Turning it off will remove video-style distortion and add a couple of FPS.
• “Depth of field”. Background blur in cutscenes, in some open locations. Turning it off will add a couple more frames, but the lack of depth of field can make the picture look less cinematic.
• “Quality of resource-intensive lighting”. It is not entirely clear what is meant. Global Illumination? Light mines? In any case, reducing the quality gives only a small increase in FPS. Although there is almost no visual difference. Set it to low quality.
• “The quality of resource-intensive effects”. Makes special effects like sparks or directed beams of light a little more detailed. The performance impact rarely exceeds 5%, but quality can be lowered for better frame rate stability in action scenes.

The final optimal settings for Resident Evil 4 (2023) for a weak (and not only) PC

Optimal settings for a weak PC (i5-7500 + GTX 1050 Ti):

• Screen resolution:
• Frame rate:
• Screen mode:full screen.
• Vertical sync:
• Ray tracing:
• FidelityFX Super Resolution 2:
• Image quality:100%.
• Rendering mode:
• Antialiasing:FXAA+TAA.
• Texture quality:5 GB average.
• Texture filtering quality:ANISO 16x.
• Mesh quality:
• Shadow Quality:
• Shadow cache:enable (on SSD) / disable (on HDD).
• Contact shadows:
• Ambient shading:
• Volumetric lighting quality:
• Particle lighting quality:
• Glow:
• Screen Space Reflections:
• Subsurface Scattering:
• Hair detailing:
• Dismemberment of bodies:
• Non-disappearing bodies:
• Body physics:
• Various enemy animations:
• Motion blur:
• Rain quality:
• Environment detail:
• Destructible objects:
• Glare:
• Lens distortion:to your taste.
• Depth of field:
• Quality of resource-intensive lighting:
• Quality of resource-intensive effects:

Best settings for an entry-level gaming PC (RTX 2060 / RX 5600):

• Screen resolution:
• Frame rate:
• Screen mode:full screen.
• Vertical sync:
• Ray tracing:
• FidelityFX Super Resolution 2:
• Image quality:100%.
• Rendering mode:
• Antialiasing:
• Texture quality:high 2 GB.
• Texture filtering quality:ANISO 16x.
• Mesh quality:
• Shadow Quality:
• Shadow cache:enable (on SSD) / disable (on HDD).
• Contact shadows:
• Ambient shading:
• Volumetric lighting quality:
• Particle lighting quality:
• Glow:
• Screen Space Reflections:
• Subsurface Scattering:
• Hair detailing:
• Dismemberment of bodies:
• Non-disappearing bodies:
• Body physics:
• Various enemy animations:
• Motion blur:
• Rain quality:
• Environment detail:
• Destructible objects:
• Glare:
• Lens distortion:to your taste.
• Depth of field:
• Quality of resource-intensive lighting:
• Quality of resource-intensive effects:

Testing the game on video cards of medium power of different generations

Optimal settings for a mid-range PC (RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT):

• Screen resolution:
• Frame rate:
• Screen mode:full screen.
• Vertical sync:
• Ray tracing:
• FidelityFX Super Resolution 2:
• Image quality:100%.
• Rendering mode:
• Antialiasing:
• Texture quality:high 4 GB.
• Texture filtering quality:ANISO 16x.
• Mesh quality:
• Shadow quality:
• Shadow cache:enable (on SSD) / disable (on HDD).
• Contact shadows:
• Ambient Shading:Fidelity FX CACAO.
• Volumetric lighting quality:
• Particle lighting quality:
• Glow:
• Screen Space Reflections:
• Subsurface Scattering:
• Hair detailing:
• Dismemberment of bodies:
• Non-disappearing bodies:
• Body physics:
• Various enemy animations:
• Motion blur:
• Rain quality:
• Environment detail:
• Destructible objects:
• Glare:
• Lens distortion:to your taste.
• Depth of field:
• Quality of resource-intensive lighting:
• Quality of resource-intensive effects:

Optimal settings for a pre-top PC (RTX 3080 / RX 6800 XT):

• Screen resolution:
• Frame Rate:
• Screen mode:full screen.
• Vertical sync:
• Ray tracing:
• FidelityFX Super Resolution 2:
• Image quality:100%.
• Rendering mode:
• Antialiasing:
• Texture quality:high 4 GB.
• Texture filtering quality:ANISO 16x.
• Mesh quality:
• Shadow quality:
• Shadow cache:enable (on SSD) / disable (on HDD).
• Contact shadows:
• Ambient Shading:Fidelity FX CACAO.
• Volumetric lighting quality:
• Particle lighting quality:
• Glow:
• Screen Space Reflections:
• Subsurface Scattering:
• Hair detail:
• Dismemberment of bodies:
• Non-disappearing bodies:
• Body physics:
• Various enemy animations:
• Motion blur:
• Rain quality:
• Environment detail:
• Destructible objects:
• Glare:
• Lens distortion:to your taste.
• Depth of field:
• Quality of resource-intensive lighting:
• Quality of resource-intensive effects:

That’s all. Write in the comments if you have any questions about graphics settings in Resident Evil 4 Remake or if you have technical problems with the game – we will try to help you!