The following guide will discuss the PC performance of Alan Wake 2 before diving into the best graphics settings to keep.
Alan Wake 2 Best PC Graphics Settings for Performance
The official specs give out the DLSS/FSR2 that you should mix with your PC. It does not get better after that either, as we see below with the different resolutions and FPS:
Minimum requirements (1080p/30FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K or similar AMD hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060/AMD Radeon RX 6600
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 6GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Quality
Recommended requirements (1440p/30FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060/AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 8GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Balanced
Recommended requirements (1080p/60FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070/AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 8GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Performance
Ultra requirements (4K/60FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070/AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 12GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Performance
Low Ray Tracing requirements (1080p/30FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070/AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 8GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Quality
Medium Ray Tracing requirements (1080p/60FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 12GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Quality
High Ray Tracing requirements (4K/60FPS)
- OS: Windows 10/11
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or similar Intel hardware
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080
- Storage: 90GB SSD
- VRAM: 16GB
- RAM: 16GB
- DLSS/FSR2: Performance
The great hope from the developers is that players are packing an RTX 40 series GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the best ray tracing specs do not have AMD options either, given the rarity of FSR 3.
When you begin with the medium specs across the forested region of the game initially, the graphics do look very inviting and well-made.
Players without an RTX GPU card will struggle to get at or above 30FPS even with the latter versions of the GTX series and upscaling turned to Ultra Performance. You will be in the early to mid-20s about FPS.
Players with the new Intel Arc A750 can reach the 30s of the FPS scale on Medium settings, and no upscaling is required. Keeping it to Low can increase your FPS towards the backend of 30s.
The main sticking point is to keep native Resolution on these systems. However, no clarity exists on how the RTX 40 series will perform for each individual.
The RTX 4070 Ti gives good gameplay with ray-tracing at 4K by keeping High quality, low ray tracing, Quality DLSS, and frame generation, taking it to 53 FPS. The RTX 4060 reached 57FPS at 1080p on Low, with Quality DLSS dragging it to 65FPS on High.
You can also get 56FPS with the DLSS at Quality and frame generation combined with ray-traced 1440p with other things on Low. If you do not turn these on, Low gets you 39FPS, and High comes at 28FPS.
The high demands of the game are certainly a setback for players without the top-end hardware required, with the developers focusing on making the game as visually appealing as possible. Alan Wake 2 has also not been launched on the Steam Deck, with a potential compatibility issue.
The Best Graphics Settings on PC for Alan Wake 2
All three low, Medium, and High quality are bunched together, so players do not have too much discrepancy in the FPS.
This is why it can be beneficial to go through the individual settings provided, given the benefits of upscaling and ray tracing, too. You can get up to 49FPS on 1080p with the RTX 4060.
Render resolution/Resolution upscaling.
You will find it tough to let go of upscaling at 1080p as well. DLSS will reach 65FPS and FSR 2 to 64FPS when set to Quality. Balanced is a little quicker with 69FPS on DLSS and 67FPS on FSR 2, so you can take it for 1440p monitors.
Players who keep their screens’ native Resolution will not have to care about the DLSS or FSR 2 being left alone since the game will go on minus upscaling and with solid anti-aliasing if you have Nvidia DLAA.
DLSS frame generation
Only possible for players with RTX 40 cards, but works superbly and can greatly boost your FPS as well.
Motion blur
While you may be accustomed to switching it off in other games, Alan Wake 2 has the opposite effect, i.e., the FPS drops down so you can keep it on.
Film grain
Like motion blur, you can let it be to keep the same levels of FPS.
Post-processing quality
You can get this to Low and achieve 52FPS, and you will not have too much of an impact visually except when taking down enemies in the dark.
Texture resolution
Set it to High.
Texture filtering
As you want.
Volumetric lighting
You can keep it to Low to gain a fractionally better FPS rate.
Volumetric spotlight quality
No change from Low to High and vice versa.
Global illumination quality
Same as the previous one.
Shadow resolution
You can set it to High as there is no difference.
Shadow filtering
Keep to Medium.
Shadow detail
Keep to Medium as High decreased the FPS by one point.
SSAO
Keep it on.
Global reflections
If you completely keep it off, then FPS does get a boost but the water regions get less pleasing to watch. So, you can stick with High.
Screen space reflections (SSR)
Low goes better than High with 52FPS and is better than switching off completely.
Fog quality
Keep High; there is no difference.
Terrain quality
Medium.
Far object detail (LOD)
Set to Medium with no big difference.
Scattered object density
Medium will be your best bet since you would want to keep the density at a good level for Alan Wake 2.
Ray tracing preset
Low is the best, giving you 29FPS, with Medium at 22FPS and High at 19FPS.
DLSS Ray Reconstruction
It is turned on in the game and appears to decrease performance, so you can let it be. It is also necessary for the path tracing settings.
Direct lighting
If you keep it off, it is noticeable in the game with light effects, but the FPS boost is solid. You can keep it on if your PC can handle it as the game is benefits visually.
Direct lighting denoising quality
It only matters if you kept Ray Reconstruction off, and if you did, keep this to Low as High has a significant decrease on FPS.
Path traced indirect lighting
It is slower than the settings we have discussed above and mainly cannot be used without an RTX card. So, go ahead with Ray Reconstruction and the ordinary ray tracing.
The path traced indirect lighting denoising quality
You can choose Ray Reconstruction or go ahead without tracing unless you have a huge GPU.
Transparency
Keep to Low.
While all these settings can work visually, the performance part does lag a bit. Here is what you can go ahead with for a ray-tracing absence:
- Render resolution / Resolution upscaling: DLSS / FSR 2 on Quality
- Post-processing quality: Low
- Volumetric Lighting: Low
- Screen space reflections (SSR): Low
- Far object detail (LOD): Medium
- Scattered object density: Medium
- Remaining: High preset equivalent
If upscaling is absent, you can get 57FPS on Low. Keeping DLSS on Quality mode gets you 80FPS, which increases to 116FPS after pairing with DLSS 3 frame generation. You can use FSR 2 as the other option, especially for 1440p and 4K.
Players who do have the capability for ray tracing can do the following too:
- Ray tracing preset: Low
- DLSS Ray Reconstruction: On, if supported
- Direct Lighting: On
- Path Traced Indirect Lighting: Off
- Transparency: Low
Thus, that is all the information players will need regarding the myriad of settings available for PC players of Alan Wake 2.
You will be out of luck if you do not have a high-end system without an RTX graphics card. Nevertheless, there is a lot of tinkering that awaits players in the initial stages so you can figure out the best options for you.
Last Updated on January 20, 2024
A FIFA junkie who can also mix it up with Call Of Duty and racing games. GTA was his first love. Now can be found spending time between writing on what he plays and playing what he will write on.