BF2: Best FPS Video Settings

You could nearly consider me an expert on this subject. I play(ed) BF2 competitivly in prize and money leagues... and boy did I learn some performance tricks.

Note: With each patch the video configuration settings are reset to default (Medium for everything).

First: In BF2 there are two video settings that make more of an impact then all of the others combined. They are Terrain and Lighting. I recommend never going beyond med for terrain and low for lighting; no matter what video card you own. Sure my 7900GT can play everything on the "High" settings, but then I would see shadows when I want to see the enemy. My custom recipe sheet for the BF2 video settings is this:

Terrain = med
Effects = low
Geometry = high
Texture = high
Lighting = low
Dyn Shadows = med
Dyn Light = med
AA = off
Text Filter = high

I get over 100 FPS full time in the game with these settings. While in-game, go to your console using the "~" key, and type in "renderer.drawfps 1". It will show FPS and time between frames in ms.

 

Ouhhh, your settings might come in handy once I upgrade my video card
Thanks!

By the way, did you have luck in winning in those BF2 competitions?

 

What video card do you run now? I used these settings all the way back when I had an ATI X800GT; even then I would normally see 90-100 FPS.

We (Hostile Faction =]-[f=) won many of the leagues and tournaments, and a few we lost. I am amazed at the skill level of some clans, but they make up less then 1%. All in all it was high stress competition, and I couldn't see doing it anymore because all of the fun was gone. It was robotic, the way we played.

 

lol my video card is a Radeon Xpress 200 (integrated video card built on the X300 core)... let's not speak of it anymore

Yeah, when games become a competition where your pride is on the line, it's no longer a game for fun

 

Do you have a picture with these settings. I'm just curious...

 

hi Das,

mine telling us what resolution are you referring to?

ultimately it will be the resolution that determines whether some things CAN or CANNOT be turned on.

 

Here is my Video Options screen showing the competition settings:


Remember that "renderer.drawfps 1" displays the current frames per second (FPS) and the time in milliseconds between frames in the upper left corner of the screen.

References were all done on 16-player size Karkand, MEC side, get into tank without moving anything, and taking the screen shot using a 1280x1024 screen resolution.

Here is the LOWEST SETTINGS 100FPS reference screen shot:


Here is the COMPETITION SETTINGS 100FPS reference screen shot:


Here is the HIGHEST SETTINGS (with highest AA) 37FPS reference screen shot:


Now keep in mind, this is on my old overclocked ATI X800 GT, which still posts 100FPS with the competition settings. Obviously my SLI 7900GTX's will post much faster FPS speeds, but that's not the point of these settings. You will notice major differences in how objects stand out with the competitive settings. Try them and see for yourself.

 

thx. interesting. i'm using X800GT myself, OCed of course.

but i play at 1024x768 instead (15" LCD)

usually i play at 2xAA and most of the details at high.

from my tests so far, Dynamic Lights and Shadows are the killer. and AA of course.

what is your opinion?

 

Seems simple enough to reach a high framerate in that static scene.
The issue is what happens when you have plenty of troops and vehicles moving in view. I bet your "competition" settings will drop more than the "lowest" settings, and the question is just how far the framerate will drop.

Cheers
Olle

 

I don't really play for the competition but for fun. And I like my games when the graphics don't look like it came from a console from the 80's.

 

I just played on my system with the ATI X800 GT with 1280x1024 resolution and using the competition settings. 16-Player size Strike at Karkand was used, and I tried my best to keep the reference items all the same. For the round, I held an average FPS of 65.

Anything over 60FPS is great.

As far as settings and their effects go: the "Lighting" and "Terrain" settings tax the VPU most in this game. Other settings, such as "Dynamic Light" and "Anti Aliasing" also have an impact, but not as much as the aforementioned items. Some items have no effect at all, such as Texture Filtering and Geometry.

In the end this article is for competition settings, which allow targets to stand out. If you want everything to look great, just put everything at its highest settings and largest resolution. If your card can't push those settings, adjust the taxing settings I mentioned above; starting with "Lighting" and "Terrain".

 

i'm addicted to AA =P

i think AA should be enabled in med/high-end ATI cards, its not such a fsp killer unlike those nV cards..

 

Thanks Ill try these out to see if I get a difference

 

Thanks for the advice