Best Graphics Settings for Horizon Zero Dawn
Complete optimization guide — 6 presets, 75–260 FPS
📋 Quick Summary
Presets
6
FPS Range
75–260
Best Quality
Ultra
Best FPS
Streaming
📑 Table of Contents
💎 Horizon Zero Dawn Ultra Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 75–105 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
Ultimate Quality
Texture Quality
Ultimate
Model Quality
Ultimate
Shadow Quality
Ultimate
Reflection Quality
High
Cloud Quality
High
Ambient Occlusion
High
Vegetation Quality
Ultimate
Water Quality
High
Anisotropic Filtering
16x
Anti Aliasing
TAA
Motion Blur
On
Depth of Field
High
Adaptive Performance FPS
Off
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
On
Frame Rate Limit
120
HDR
On
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Quality
FSR 2
Off
Dynamic Resolution
Off
DirectX Version
DX12
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for Ultra
GPU
RTX 4070 Ti or better
CPU
Intel i7-13700K / Ryzen 7 7700X
RAM
32 GB DDR5
🎨 Horizon Zero Dawn High Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 100–145 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
High
Texture Quality
High
Model Quality
High
Shadow Quality
High
Reflection Quality
Medium
Cloud Quality
Medium
Ambient Occlusion
Medium
Vegetation Quality
High
Water Quality
Medium
Anisotropic Filtering
8x
Anti Aliasing
TAA
Motion Blur
Off
Depth of Field
Medium
Adaptive Performance FPS
Off
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
Off
Frame Rate Limit
144
HDR
On
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Balanced
FSR 2
Off
Dynamic Resolution
Off
DirectX Version
DX12
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for High
GPU
RTX 3070 / RX 6800 XT
CPU
Intel i5-12600K / Ryzen 5 5600X
RAM
16 GB DDR4
⚖️ Horizon Zero Dawn Medium Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 125–180 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
Medium
Texture Quality
Medium
Model Quality
Medium
Shadow Quality
Medium
Reflection Quality
Low
Cloud Quality
Low
Ambient Occlusion
Low
Vegetation Quality
Medium
Water Quality
Medium
Anisotropic Filtering
4x
Anti Aliasing
FXAA
Motion Blur
Off
Depth of Field
Low
Adaptive Performance FPS
Off
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
Off
Frame Rate Limit
165
HDR
Off
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Performance
FSR 2
Balanced
Dynamic Resolution
Off
DirectX Version
DX12
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for Medium
GPU
RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT
CPU
Intel i5-11400 / Ryzen 5 3600
RAM
16 GB DDR4
🏎️ Horizon Zero Dawn Low Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 150–220 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
Low
Texture Quality
Low
Model Quality
Low
Shadow Quality
Low
Reflection Quality
Off
Cloud Quality
Off
Ambient Occlusion
Off
Vegetation Quality
Low
Water Quality
Low
Anisotropic Filtering
2x
Anti Aliasing
Off
Motion Blur
Off
Depth of Field
Off
Adaptive Performance FPS
On
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
Off
Frame Rate Limit
200
HDR
Off
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Ultra Performance
FSR 2
Performance
Dynamic Resolution
On
DirectX Version
DX11
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for Low
GPU
GTX 1650 / RX 580
CPU
Intel i3-10100 / Ryzen 3 3300X
RAM
8 GB DDR4
🎮 Horizon Zero Dawn Competitive Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 170–260 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
Custom Low
Texture Quality
Medium
Model Quality
Medium
Shadow Quality
Off
Reflection Quality
Off
Cloud Quality
Off
Ambient Occlusion
Off
Vegetation Quality
Medium
Water Quality
Low
Anisotropic Filtering
4x
Anti Aliasing
Off
Motion Blur
Off
Depth of Field
Off
Adaptive Performance FPS
On
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
Off
Frame Rate Limit
Unlimited
HDR
Off
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Ultra Performance
FSR 2
Performance
Dynamic Resolution
On
DirectX Version
DX11
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for Competitive
GPU
RTX 3060 Ti or better
CPU
Intel i5-12400F / Ryzen 5 5600
RAM
16 GB DDR4
📹 Horizon Zero Dawn Streaming Settings
📐 1920x1080
🎯 110–150 FPS
Graphics Quality
Graphics Preset
High
Texture Quality
High
Model Quality
High
Shadow Quality
Medium
Reflection Quality
Medium
Cloud Quality
Medium
Ambient Occlusion
Medium
Vegetation Quality
High
Water Quality
Medium
Anisotropic Filtering
8x
Anti Aliasing
TAA
Motion Blur
Off
Depth of Field
Medium
Adaptive Performance FPS
Off
Display Settings
Display Mode
Fullscreen
Resolution
1920x1080
VSync
Off
Frame Rate Limit
120
HDR
On
Advanced Settings
DLSS
Quality
FSR 2
Off
Dynamic Resolution
Off
DirectX Version
DX12
🖥️ Recommended Hardware for Streaming
GPU
RTX 3070 or better (NVENC)
CPU
Intel i7-12700K / Ryzen 7 5800X
RAM
32 GB DDR4
🖥️ Hardware Recommendations
| Preset | GPU | CPU | RAM | FPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra | RTX 4070 Ti or better | Intel i7-13700K / Ryzen 7 7700X | 32 GB DDR5 | 75–105 |
| High | RTX 3070 / RX 6800 XT | Intel i5-12600K / Ryzen 5 5600X | 16 GB DDR4 | 100–145 |
| Medium | RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT | Intel i5-11400 / Ryzen 5 3600 | 16 GB DDR4 | 125–180 |
| Low | GTX 1650 / RX 580 | Intel i3-10100 / Ryzen 3 3300X | 8 GB DDR4 | 150–220 |
| Competitive | RTX 3060 Ti or better | Intel i5-12400F / Ryzen 5 5600 | 16 GB DDR4 | 170–260 |
| Streaming | RTX 3070 or better (NVENC) | Intel i7-12700K / Ryzen 7 5800X | 32 GB DDR4 | 110–150 |
⚡ FPS Optimization Tips for Horizon Zero Dawn
🎮 In-Game Optimizations
- ▸ Disable V-Sync for lower input lag (use G-Sync/FreeSync instead)
- ▸ Turn off Motion Blur — no FPS benefit, hurts visibility
- ▸ Lower Shadow Quality from Ultra to Medium for 10-20% FPS boost
- ▸ Use FXAA instead of MSAA for anti-aliasing (much lighter on GPU)
- ▸ Reduce Draw Distance and LOD if frame drops occur
- ▸ Enable DLSS or FSR if supported for major FPS improvement
🖥️ System Optimizations
- ▸ Update GPU drivers (NVIDIA GeForce Experience / AMD Adrenalin)
- ▸ Set Windows Power Plan to "High Performance"
- ▸ Close Chrome, Discord, and other background apps while gaming
- ▸ Enable Game Mode in Windows Settings
- ▸ Install games on SSD for faster loading (NVMe preferred)
- ▸ Enable XMP/EXPO in BIOS for optimal RAM speed
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
For Horizon Zero Dawn Ultra settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 75-105 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: RTX 4070 Ti or better GPU, Intel i7-13700K / Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, and 32 GB DDR5 RAM.
For Horizon Zero Dawn High settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 100-145 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: RTX 3070 / RX 6800 XT GPU, Intel i5-12600K / Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, and 16 GB DDR4 RAM.
For Horizon Zero Dawn Medium settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 125-180 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT GPU, Intel i5-11400 / Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, and 16 GB DDR4 RAM.
For Horizon Zero Dawn Low settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 150-220 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: GTX 1650 / RX 580 GPU, Intel i3-10100 / Ryzen 3 3300X CPU, and 8 GB DDR4 RAM.
For Horizon Zero Dawn Competitive settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 170-260 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: RTX 3060 Ti or better GPU, Intel i5-12400F / Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, and 16 GB DDR4 RAM.
For Horizon Zero Dawn Streaming settings at 1920x1080, you can expect 110-150 FPS. This preset includes 3 individually optimized settings. Recommended hardware: RTX 3070 or better (NVENC) GPU, Intel i7-12700K / Ryzen 7 5800X CPU, and 32 GB DDR4 RAM.
To maximize FPS in Horizon Zero Dawn: 1) Lower resolution to 1920x1080, 2) Disable anti-aliasing and motion blur, 3) Set shadows and reflections to Low, 4) Reduce draw distance, 5) Close background applications, 6) Update GPU drivers, 7) Use our optimized Low or Competitive preset for the best balance.
Use GameOptix's 'Can My PC Run This Game' feature. Login, add your PC specs, and we'll automatically recommend the best preset for Horizon Zero Dawn based on your GPU and CPU performance scores.
For most systems, 1920x1080 (1080p) offers the best balance of performance and visual quality in Horizon Zero Dawn. If you have a high-end GPU (RTX 3070+), 2560x1440 (1440p) is ideal. Only use 4K if you have an RTX 4080 or better.
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