[SOLVED] high settings vs high resolution

Solution
The way I do it is first check for any settings that don't add anything to image clarity. I always turn off Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Chromatic Aberration, Bloom, and Film Grain. Even Sharpen if there is such a setting, should be left at default, because raising it beyond that can add a sort of dotted fuzziness called video noise.

Some games even have heavy filters that cause blur and mute colors, or add sepia tones, such as The Evil Within's Glare Filter. Fortunately they offered a way to disable it in an update via a command. A lot of the above options lower FPS when on too.

If it's a game that I struggle to get 60 FPS with, I'll use 1080p, then beyond the above options being turned off, I start looking at things like Shadows to...
The way I do it is first check for any settings that don't add anything to image clarity. I always turn off Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Chromatic Aberration, Bloom, and Film Grain. Even Sharpen if there is such a setting, should be left at default, because raising it beyond that can add a sort of dotted fuzziness called video noise.

Some games even have heavy filters that cause blur and mute colors, or add sepia tones, such as The Evil Within's Glare Filter. Fortunately they offered a way to disable it in an update via a command. A lot of the above options lower FPS when on too.

If it's a game that I struggle to get 60 FPS with, I'll use 1080p, then beyond the above options being turned off, I start looking at things like Shadows to turn from Ultra down to High. It's an option that can eat up a ton of FPS at max.

If it's a popular game though, chances are there's a good performance guide on it. Some even show screenshots of each setting and detail what the FPS difference is, like the GeForce guides.

You need to be more specific though. As drivinfast mentioned, it's very subjective. Things like higher res can take more VRAM, but it's dependent on the game you're playing, and how high the res. It would help to know your exact spec and what games you're trying to dial in.
 
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