CoD4 Tweaks: Maximizing frame rate

Written by jockyitch
Wednesday, 14 November 2007

If you are running an antiquated computer system like me you might want to try and improve your frame rate as much as possible. Getting your frames-per-second count as high as possible is one sure way of improving your score in online CoD4 play.
Here are some tips to improve that frame rate:

Graphics Menu in-game:



Video Mode = Use native screen resolution for your monitor.

If your hardware cannot handle this resolution, set it lower and check out the resulting change in frame rate.

Anti Aliasing = Off

Vertical Sync = Off

Glow = No (for me, glow makes the game cartoonish and it gives you a framerate hit)

Dynamic Lights = OFF (if on, will create a -20 fps frame rate hit)

Screen Refresh = Set as high as your monitor can handle

Soften Smoke Edges = No

Depth of Field = No (creates a 5+ fps drop)

Rag Doll = No

Bullet Holes = No

Model Detail = Low (Low or medium models are for all intents and purposes produce equivalent frame rate)

Water Detail = Normal

Texture can be kept high, as in CoD2, it does not affect frame rate much.

If you are pushing the upper reaches of frame rate you will have noticed that the rate is now capped in-game. But, by changing the maxfps setting to 0, the frame rate can climb to whatever your system can handle. There is a temptation to "uncap" the frame rate using the

/com_maxfps 0

command in console. However, as mentioned in earlier posts, the best set up is one where the frame rate stays constant and you match it with a maxpackets value in such a way that results in an integer number when you divide frame rate into maxpackets (i.e. Maxpackets/FPS = integer). This idea is captured in the "Sweet Spot " post in our CoD2 tweak section).

Additional changes in console can be made to improve your frame rate as well:

/r_drawDecals 0

Normally set to 1, setting to null removes marks on the walls from gunfire, explosions and other related items. Frame rate improvements of 5 fps can be achieved.

/sm_enable 0

This turns off shadows and can improve frame rate by as much as 30 fps.