The best The Last of Us Part II PC setup is a balanced 1440p profile using DLSS or FSR, medium-to-high shadows, high textures, and a sensible frame cap. Prioritize texture quality according to your VRAM, turn down volumetric effects and reflections before sacrificing textures, and let shader compilation finish before judging performance. On a modern RTX 3060-class PC, this approach can deliver a much smoother 60fps experience than simply selecting the Very High preset.
The PC version is a demanding port because it combines dense environments, detailed character models, foliage, volumetric lighting, and long streaming distances. A fast SSD and dual-channel memory matter here, too. You can confirm the official baseline on the Steam listing for The Last of Us Part II Remastered, but those requirements are starting points rather than guaranteed performance targets.
Start With the Right Performance Target
Before changing individual sliders, decide what your monitor and hardware are actually trying to achieve. A locked 60fps is usually the sweet spot for this third-person adventure. It gives aiming, camera movement, and stealth encounters a consistent rhythm without forcing a mid-range GPU to chase an unstable 90 or 120fps.
At 1080p, the RTX 2060, RTX 3060, RX 6600 XT, and newer equivalents are reasonable targets for a 60fps profile with upscaling. At 1440p, an RTX 3070, RTX 4070, RX 6800, or better gives you more room for high textures and heavier effects. Native 4K at 60fps is a high-end workload; expect to need something around an RTX 4080 or Radeon RX 7900 XTX, depending on the rest of the system and the scene.
| Target | Hardware Direction | Resolution Profile | Practical Expectation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p / 30fps | GTX 1060-class or RX 580-class | Low to Medium with upscaling | Playable, but expect compromises in dense areas |
| 1080p / 60fps | RTX 2060, RTX 3060, RX 6600 XT | Medium-High with DLSS or FSR | Best value target for most gaming PCs |
| 1440p / 60fps | RTX 3070, RTX 4070, RX 6800 | High with quality upscaling | Sharp image and stable exploration performance |
| 4K / 60fps | RTX 4080-class or RX 7900 XTX | High or Very High with upscaling | Premium target; native 4K is unnecessarily expensive |
Use the in-game performance overlay, not just the average FPS counter. A 60fps average can still feel rough if frame times spike to 30ms or more whenever the game streams a new district. If you are troubleshooting broader PC instability, our guide to PC crashes and FPS rescue fixes covers several useful Windows and driver checks that also apply here.
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View on Steammoz Store →The Best Graphics Settings for Max FPS
Start with the High preset, then make targeted cuts. The preset system is a decent baseline, but it spends performance in places you may barely notice during normal play. Textures are the exception: lowering them can make character clothing, brickwork, and environmental detail look soft, while often producing a smaller FPS gain than expected.
| Setting | Recommended Value | FPS Impact | Visual Trade-Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texture Quality | High with 8GB+ VRAM; Medium with 6GB | Low FPS impact, high VRAM use | Lower values visibly reduce surface detail |
| Texture Filtering | 8x or 16x | Very low | Keep high for clearer floors and roads |
| Shadow Quality | Medium | Medium to high | Softens distant shadows and contact detail |
| Reflection Quality | Medium | Medium | Less accurate wet-surface and window reflection |
| Ambient Occlusion | High or Medium | Low to medium | Lower values flatten corners and object contact |
| Volumetric Effects | Medium | High in foggy scenes | Less dramatic light shafts and mist |
| Depth of Field | Player preference | Minimal | Mostly cinematic blur, not a major FPS lever |
| Animation Quality | High | CPU-dependent | Lower settings can reduce animation fidelity |
| Level of Detail | High, then Medium if CPU-limited | Medium | More noticeable pop-in at lower values |
The three settings worth cutting first
Volumetric Effects is the easiest win. Fog, smoke, and shafts of light can hammer GPU frame times in areas such as downtown Seattle and the Seraphite Island sequences. Medium usually retains the mood while cutting a meaningful amount of render work.
Shadow Quality is next. High and Very High shadows look excellent in still screenshots, but the difference while sprinting through combat spaces is subtle. Medium keeps nearby shadows convincing and reduces the cost of multiple light sources.
Reflection Quality should be reduced if wet streets, glass, and water scenes cause dips. Keep Ambient Occlusion higher if possible; it does more to preserve the grounded look of Ellie, Abby, furniture, and cover objects.
Don't automatically set textures to Low because your GPU is struggling. Texture quality primarily fills VRAM rather than consuming raw shader performance. If the game begins hitching during camera movement, however, a full VRAM pool can cause asset swapping and stutter. In that situation, drop textures one level and restart the game.
DLSS, FSR, Resolution Scaling, and Frame Generation
For Nvidia users, DLSS Quality is the first mode to try at 1440p or 4K. At 1080p, its reconstruction has fewer pixels to work with, so native resolution or a modest resolution scale can look cleaner. AMD and Intel owners should start with FSR Quality and move to Balanced only when the GPU cannot maintain the chosen frame-rate target.
Quality upscaling renders below your display resolution and reconstructs the missing detail. That lowers shader, lighting, and post-processing cost, but it can introduce shimmering around foliage, wires, and thin geometry. Balanced mode gives a larger FPS boost, but it is best reserved for 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, Balanced can make hair and vegetation look noticeably unstable.
| Display Resolution | First Choice | Fallback | What to Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | Native or DLSS/FSR Quality | Dynamic resolution targeting 60fps | Balanced unless absolutely necessary |
| 1440p | DLSS/FSR Quality | Balanced with a 60fps cap | Very High preset without upscaling |
| 4K | DLSS/FSR Quality or Balanced | Performance on weaker GPUs | Native 4K with Very High effects |
| Ultrawide | Quality upscaling plus a frame cap | Dynamic resolution | Chasing uncapped FPS in heavy scenes |
Frame generation can raise the displayed FPS on supported hardware, but it doesn't replace real render performance. If your base rate is 35fps, generated frames won't make controls feel like native 70fps. Aim for at least 50-60 real FPS first, then enable frame generation if you value smoother camera motion over the smallest possible input delay. Competitive players don't need to worry here; this is a cinematic single-player game, so the trade-off is more forgiving.
Cap the frame rate slightly below your display's refresh rate when using VRR. A 58fps cap on a 60Hz screen or a 117fps cap on a 120Hz screen can produce steadier frame pacing than allowing the engine to bounce against the refresh ceiling. Use the game's limiter first, then test your GPU driver's limiter if frame times remain uneven.
Fix Stutter Before Lowering Every Setting
Not every hitch is a graphics-quality problem. The Last of Us Part II PC builds shader data during its initial startup and may continue streaming assets as you enter new areas. Let the shader process complete, keep the game on an SSD, and avoid running it from a nearly full mechanical hard drive. A SATA SSD is workable; an NVMe drive is preferable for faster streaming and shorter reloads.
Use the latest stable GPU driver, close browser tabs and overlays, and leave at least 16GB of system RAM available for the game and Windows. 16GB total memory can work, but 32GB gives the streaming system more breathing room. If you have 8GB of VRAM, don't pair Ultra textures with a high resolution and heavy reflections just because the preset allows it.
CPU-limited players should watch GPU utilization. If the GPU sits below roughly 90 percent while FPS refuses to rise, lowering resolution won't solve the problem. Reduce Level of Detail and Animation Quality, close background applications, and check that the processor isn't throttling. Dense enemy encounters and large explorable areas can expose CPU limits more than quiet interiors do.
For a useful comparison, our higher-FPS settings guide explains why frame pacing and visual consistency are often better goals than a flashy average number. The same principle applies here: a locked 60 feels better than a wildly fluctuating 75.
My Recommended Profiles
These profiles are designed as starting points, not rigid rules. Every PC port responds differently to drivers, background software, and CPU scheduling, so test the same demanding section after each change. The flooded Seattle streets, heavy weather, large combat arenas, and Seraphite encounters are better benchmarks than a quiet room.
| Profile | Resolution and Upscaling | Core Settings | Expected Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | 1080p, Quality or Balanced | Textures Medium, shadows Medium, volumetrics Low, reflections Low | Stable 60fps on mainstream hardware |
| Balanced | 1440p, DLSS/FSR Quality | Textures High, shadows Medium, volumetrics Medium, reflections Medium | Best overall clarity-to-performance ratio |
| Visual | 1440p or 4K, Quality | Textures High/Very High, shadows High, volumetrics High | Excellent image quality with occasional heavy-scene dips |
For most players, choose Balanced, cap at 60fps, enable VRR, and adjust only after checking frame times. If you own an RTX 4070-class card or better, try High textures and High ambient occlusion while leaving volumetrics at Medium. If you have a 6GB GPU, use Medium textures, Quality upscaling, and a 30 or 40fps cap rather than chasing unstable 60fps.
Finally, remember that the official PlayStation game page and Naughty Dog support portal are the best places to check for patch notes and known issues. If another PC game is also crashing or stuttering, Steamoz’s guides for crashing and low-FPS troubleshooting and max-FPS graphics tuning offer solid follow-up checks.
The short version is simple: use Quality upscaling, keep textures as high as your VRAM allows, cut volumetrics and shadows before image-critical settings, and cap the frame rate. That combination preserves The Last of Us Part II’s dense, cinematic look without asking your PC to render every effect at its most expensive setting.