The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S come stacked with several exciting and powerful features, including high frame rates, ray-traced reflections and shadows, high-density crowds, and dizzying particle effects. There’s only one issue: Those features affect performance.
Many games now let you choose between visual pizzazz and smooth frame rates via two settings: Graphics Mode or Performance Mode. There’s no standardized rule book that developers follow when implementing these modes. The language and features included in each mode vary from title to title, too. Typically, you can find them in the game’s settings menu, in either the gameplay or video categories.
If you want to know what to expect from the modes, check out our breakdowns of Graphics Mode and Performance Mode below. But first, let's explore the terms you need to know to truly understand what these modes do.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales has incredible ray tracing that you can enable in the game's settings menu (Credit: Insomniac Games)What Is Ray Tracing?
Ray tracing is a technique that adds realistic light and shadows to a computer-generated scene. Ray tracing has been around for a while, but only recently have developers used it in a real-time fashion to add these effects to gameplay (instead of using a pre-rendered scene). We have a longer, more thorough deep dive in our ray tracing explainer.
How important is ray tracing? Well, it may be the defining next-generation feature. Realistic lighting and shadows make games more immersive, but the real showstopper is the way this technology handles reflections. Once you’ve played Insomniac’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PlayStation 5 with ray tracing, it’s hard to go back. Simply put, it's staggering to see Miles’ reflection in a skyscraper’s window as he swings through New York City. In fact, his Venom Blast's particle effects remain some of the best visuals in gaming.
Ray tracing requires a lot of power, so some games that use it must run at 30 frames per second. But what exactly does that mean?
The higher the frame rate, the smoother the gameplay (Credit: Marioysikax/PC Gaming Wik)What Is Frame Rate?
A frame is one still image in a video. A frame rate is the number of frames that are rendered per second. In modern video games, the frame rates we usually deal with are 30fps, 60fps, and occasionally 120fps. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the image.
A high frame rate is a borderline necessity in competitive genres like first-person shooters and fighting games, since you need the lowest possible latency for a snappy response. This isn’t to say that 30fps is a choppy mess; most game’s default display settings start at 30fps, and only recently have we seen releases with higher frame rates. Similar to ray tracing, you'll loathe returning to 30fps once you taste 60fps (or higher). Or course, you'll need a monitor or that lets you enjoy those high frame rates. TV Refresh Rates Explained: 60Hz, 120Hz, and Beyond is a good place to learn about how frame rates intersect with refresh rates.
What Is 4K Pixel Resolution?
4K or Ultra HD is a term to describe a screen resolution that is 3,840 by 2,160. The higher the resolution, the clearer and more detailed the image. This terminology is important when purchasing a monitor or television. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X output 4K visuals; the Nintendo Switch does not.
Final Fantasy XVI lets you select either Graphics or Peformance modes (Credit: Square Enix)What Is Graphics Mode?
Sometimes referred to as Fidelity Mode, Quality Mode, or Ray Tracing Mode, Graphics Mode prioritizes visuals over performance. By enabling Graphics Mode, you can access all the fancy special effects a title offers. Ray tracing, enhanced lighting, increased crowd density, and a 4K resolution are the features that lead to a stunningly beautiful gameplay experience. This, of course, varies from game to game.
The catch? These powerful visual effects come at a cost, so your game will run at 30fps. That isn't a big deal for some titles, but others (like the aforementioned competitive games) demand a solid 60fps rate.
What Is Performance Mode?
If you select Performance Mode, you should enjoy a stable 60fps. Some games use different language when describing this mode, you might see the phrase “targets 60fps." That means the frame rate could drop below 60fps from time to time. With this mode enabled, you often lose visual effects like ray tracing and a true 4K resolution. However, some developers mitigate this with checkerboarding or temporal techniques to replicate a 4K image when a game runs at 1440p or other lower resolutions.
How important is 60fps? Swinging through New York City as Miles Morales with ray tracing is cool, but doing it at 60fps is thrilling. Likewise, Devil May Cry 5 feels so much better running at 60fps, as there's no lag between your inputs and the on-screen action. In short, if you value game feel, Performance Mode is the way to go. If you want to learn how to view in-game frame rates, check out Performance Over Fidelity: How to See Your Frames Per Second (FPS) in Games.
PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S: We Review the Next-Gen ConsolesGame Mode vs. Performance Mode: Which Is Best?
That’s up to you! As with many tech preferences, it’s up to the person playing the game to decide what’s best. Typically, you can easily toggle between these modes, with the game sometimes kicking you back to the last save or checkpoint as the new setting takes effect.
Some releases have options that let you have your cake and eat it, too. For example, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ratchet and Clank include a Performance RT mode. This lets the titles run at 60fps, with ray tracing enabled. If a game features this type of hybrid setting, it's the best way to play.
