NBA 2K23 graphics settings – This guide will show you the best graphics settings for NBA 2K23, for low and medium-end gaming PCs. You will have a smoother experience in-game, and it might also help you eliminate various performance issues like fps drops and stuttering if you are having any, of course.
I don’t even know why I am writing this guide, but here we go. One of the biggest releases of 2022, NBA 2K23 is finally here. The game is doing extremely well on all the platforms combined. Just like the previous release, the console version, specifically the PS5 version, is the better choice this time, as well. Why? Because the PC version didn’t get a next-gen release again.
So, NBA 2K23 on PC looks exactly like 2K22 and 2K21. They didn’t even bother to change the settings. Yes, there are some new features that have been added. But the visuals are nowhere close to the PS5 version.
Anyway, I don’t have much to say about NBA 2K23 PC, because the graphics are literally the same. Still feels like a dated game. I did see some extra gameplay features that aren’t present in 2K22. But since this article is all about graphics, I don’t see a reason to talk about anything else.
Now let’s talk about how the game runs on PC. This runs just like 2K22. I didn’t face any performance issues on my GTX 1650, RTX 2060, RTX 3060 Ti, and RTX 3070 then, and I am not facing any now.
But I can understand that not everyone is sitting with a high-end rig. It looks like some players are experiencing performance-related issues in NBA 2K23. That is why I decided to make this graphics settings guide, catered towards the users with low and medium-end rigs. Let’s check out the guide now:
NBA 2K23 Graphics Settings
- Display Monitor: Choose the right one (In case you are using a dual-monitor setup)
- Display Resolution: 1920×1080 (All the settings have been recommended with 1080p resolution in mind. If you are on a higher resolution, consider lowering the setting further)
- Window Mode: Full Screen (Full Screen prevents performance loss)
- Anti-aliasing Level: 8 (The game looks a bit “jaggedy” on 4)
- Anti-aliasing Quality: 0 (This setting was greyed-out for me)
- Refresh Rate: 143.9Hz (I have a 144Hz monitor. Choose 60 if you have a 60Hz monitor)
- Vertical Sync: Off (I have G-sync on my Monitor, so I don’t need this. If you face severe screen-tearing then you can turn this on)
- Dynamic Vertical Sync: Off (Another greyed-out setting)
- Overall Quality: Custom
- Shader Detail Level: Medium (I couldn’t find any difference between the Medium and High settings)
- Shadow Detail Level: Low (A demanding setting. Keep this on Low if you have a low-end GPU)
- Texture Detail Level: High (Didn’t notice any performance improvements on Medium)
- Player Detail Level: High (I didn’t notice any changes between Medium and High. Low does make it look bad, though)
- Crowd Detail Level: Low (Crank this higher if you want more crowd. I personally don’t care about the crowd detail. Squeezing out some extra performance here is a good idea)
- Media People Detail Level: Medium (The camera flashes do look good, though)
- Hair Detail Level: High (Doesn’t matter. The hair quality is pretty bad for a 2022 game. The low polygon count is quite visible)
- Ambient Occlusion: Off (This setting takes away a good chunk of fps)
- Volumetric Lighting: On (Doesn’t have any effect on performance)
- Temporal Anti-aliasing: Off (Makes the game look unnecessarily blurry and washed out)
- Depth Of Field: Off (Personal preference. I don’t like my background to blur out in games)
- Motion Blur: Off (Personal preference. No effect on performance)
- Bloom: On (Personal preference. No effect on performance)
- Floor Reflections: On (This needs to be on. This is the only setting that can make the game look bland if you turn it off)
- Mirror Reflections: Off (You won’t get time to notice)
- Buffer Count: 3
- Max Anisotropy: 16
- Allow Compute Shaders: On
- Shader Preload: On (Will save you from stutters and sudden fps drops)
Specifications of the Test system
PROCESSOR | Ryzen 5 5600x |
GPU | Zotac GTX 1650 Super 4 GB |
RAM | 16 GB 3200mhz G.Skill Trident Z RAM |
MOTHERBOARD | Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi) Motherboard |
AIO | Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240P Mirage |
STORAGE | Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB |
DISPLAY | MSI Optix MAG241CR 144hz | BenQ GW2480 IPS (Dual Monitor Setup) |
PSU | Corsair AX 1200W Gold PSU |
OS | Windows 10 64-bit Version 21H2 |
GPU DRIVER | Nvidia Game Ready Driver 516.94 |
NBA 2K23 Performance Analysis
Minimum FPS | Average FPS | Maximum FPS |
58 FPS (Low 1%) | 98 FPS | 117 |
First, let’s take a look at how the game looks with the settings given above:
Let’s get straight to the performance of the game, first. I mean NBA 2K23 is literally 2K22 and 2K21, with a new name. This means the game is nearly 3 years old. So, I don’t see a reason why this game would have problems running on the latest hardware.
So, to answer your question, NBA 2K23, is well-optimized and ran smoothly during my testing. I did notice some FPS Drops or minor Stuttering at the beginning of the very first match that I started. But, it was just for like a second or two.
I didn’t experience any performance issues after that. Even if you have something like a GTX 1050 Ti, you shouldn’t have any problem getting 60 FPS on this thing. The Floor Reflections might seem like they are demanding. But trust me, they are not. In fact, I would say, that setting is the only thing that is hard-carrying the visuals of this game.
While playing Multiplayer, though. I did experience a significant amount of lag. But, that could be because of my internet connection. Strangely, I play games like Apex and Destiny, as well. No lag there.
If you want, you can actually check out my performance video of NBA 2K23. The game is running on a RTX 2060 paired with a Ryzen 5 5600x:
If you think this guide has helped, then let us know in the comment section below. And for more NBA 2K23 guides, keep an eye on Frondtech. We will be covering every single technical issue and bug of the game. Good luck!
That’s all, folks!
Last Updated on September 10, 2022
Shoaib
Shoaib, 30, is a simple guy who loves to play video games, and enjoys new cuisines sporadically. He has been gaming since he was 7 years old, and with an experience of 22 years, under his belt, there is not a single AAA game in this world, that he hasn’t played. Despite being a MBA Graduate he decided to follow his passion. And because of his love for gaming, Frondtech came into existence.