In a sim, a smooth picture is worth more than a pretty one. You brake on a marker you see for a fraction of a second. If the frame rate drops right there, you miss it.
So the goal with iRacing is simple. A frame rate that never moves, with as much detail as your PC can hold on top of that.
Here is how I would set it up.
One note before the tables. iRacing ships a new build every season and the options screen gets reshuffled now and then. The names below are the ones iRacing uses in its own support pages, checked in October 2026. If a label is slightly different on your screen, look for the closest one in Options, Graphics.
Start with the automatic setup
The first time you launch the sim, iRacing asks to configure the graphics for you. Let it. It reads your card and your monitor and gives you a base that works.
You can run it again any time from the iRacing app, under the settings, and in the sim you change everything by hand in Options, Graphics. If that configuration will not start at all, I have a separate fix here: why iRacing will not launch the graphics configuration.
Then drive, look at the frame rate counter, and work through the lists below.
What PC you need in 2026
These are the current numbers from the iRacing system requirements page.
| Minimum | Recommended | High end | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | 4 cores: Core i5-6600, Core i7-4790, Ryzen 3 4300G | 6 cores: Core i5-11600, Ryzen 5 5600X | 8 cores or more: Core i7-14700, Core Ultra 7, Ryzen 7 9700X |
| Graphics card | 6 GB: GTX 1070, RX 5600 XT | 8 GB: RTX 2070, RX 5700 XT | 10 GB or more: RTX 4070, RX 6800 XT, RX 9070 |
| Memory | 16 GB | 16 GB | 32 GB or more |
| Storage | 40 GB | 225 GB for every car and track | 225 GB for every car and track |
| System | Windows 11, 64-bit | Windows 11, 64-bit | Windows 11, 64-bit |
The old advice of a 2 GB card is long gone. Rain, the newer tracks and the big multiclass grids all pushed the sim up. If your card has less than 6 GB, expect to run most of the list below on low.
iRacing also leans hard on the processor, and mostly on one core. That is why a full grid at the start hurts more than any graphics option.
The settings to lower first
These cost the most and give you the least while you drive.
| Setting | What I would use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Crowd Detail | Low | You never look at the grandstands at 250 km/h. iRacing support names this one as a quick FPS win |
| Object Self-Shadowing | Off | Cars and objects casting shadows on themselves is one of the heaviest options in the sim |
| Dynamic Objects (shadows) | Off | Shadows from moving objects cost a lot when the grid is full |
| Number of Lights | 3 or lower | It only matters at night, and at night it matters a lot |
| Shadow filtering | pcf4 or off | The soft shadow filters cost more than they give back |
| Screen Space Reflections | Off for driving | Pretty on a wet track, expensive everywhere. You can leave it on for replays |
| Cockpit mirrors | 4 or fewer | Every mirror draws the scene one more time |
| Max Cars | 20 to 30 on a weak PC | Fewer cars drawn means less work for the processor at the start |
| Pit objects | Low | Pit crews and pit boxes are heavy on the processor |
Do them in that order, one at a time, and watch the counter. Most people get the frame rate they want before they reach the bottom of the table.
Shadows are the big one. On a sunny afternoon at a track with trees, the shadow options alone can decide if you hold your frame rate or not. And at night, the Number of Lights setting does the same job.
The settings to keep high
These are the things your eyes use on every lap.
| Setting | What I would use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | The native resolution of your monitor | Anything lower is blurry, and blur hides your braking marker |
| Car Detail | High | You look at the car in front for the whole race |
| Track Detail | High | Kerbs, patches and marker boards are your reference points |
| Anisotropic filtering | 16x | Keeps the asphalt sharp far ahead of the car. It costs almost nothing |
| Anti-aliasing | MSAA 4x | Stops the fences and the white lines from shimmering. Drop to 2x or FXAA on a weak card |
| Shader Quality | High | A lot of the look of the sim hangs on it |
| Render Dynamic Track Data | On | It shows the rubber line and the marbles. That is information, so keep it |
If you have to choose, keep the sharpness and lose the decoration. A sharp, plain track is faster to drive than a soft one with nice reflections.
Frame rate and sync
| Setting | What I would use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Max Frames Per Second | Your refresh rate, or 2 to 5 below it | A capped frame rate is smoother than one that jumps around |
| Max Prerendered Frames | 1 | Less delay between your hands and the picture |
| Vertical sync | Off, with the frame cap on | Vsync adds delay. Use it only if the tearing bothers you |
| Enable replay spooling | Off if you get stutters | The sim stops writing the replay to the disk while you drive |
| Full screen | On | The sim gets the whole graphics card |
Pick a number your PC holds in the worst case. That means 30 cars around you, at the start, in the place where the track is heaviest. Cap it there.
If you have a G-SYNC or FreeSync monitor, cap a few frames under the refresh rate and leave vsync off. And if you get stutters you cannot explain, iRacing support suggests trying with G-SYNC and NVIDIA Reflex turned off, just to rule them out.
The memory sliders
There are two sliders in the graphics options that tell the sim how much memory it may use. One is for the system memory and one is for the video memory.
Set both about 20% under what your PC has. With 16 GB of RAM, that is around 12 to 13 GB. With an 8 GB card, around 6.5 GB.
It sounds backwards, but giving the sim everything makes it worse. Windows and your other programs need their share, and when the memory runs out the sim starts to swap and you get stutters.
If the sliders will not go as high as your hardware, iRacing support gives the manual way. Open the file rendererDX11Monitor.ini in your Documents, iRacing folder, find the Graphics Options section and edit the two lines SysMemToUseMB and VidMemToUseMB. The values are in megabytes.
If it still stutters
A low frame rate and a stutter are two different problems. If the counter says 120 and it still hitches, go through this list from iRacing support:
- Turn off Enable replay spooling in the replay options.
- Lower Max Cars and the number of pit objects.
- Set the Windows power plan to High Performance.
- Turn off Auto HDR in Windows 11. It is known to cause trouble with the sim.
- Close overlays and hardware tools you do not need: RGB software, monitoring apps, browser tabs with video.
- Keep 30 GB or more free on the drive iRacing is installed on.
In the sim, the small boxes next to the frame rate counter help too. They show if the limit is the processor, the graphics card or the network. If the processor box goes red at the start, lowering shadows will not help. Lower Max Cars.
Triples and VR
Three screens are three times the pixels. Everything on this page still applies, you just start lower: shadows and reflections off, mirrors down, then build back up.
VR is harder again, because a dropped frame in a headset makes you feel sick. Hold the headset refresh rate at all costs. I go through it in my iRacing VR guide, and how to supersample iRacing in VR covers the sharpness side. If you are still choosing between the two, read iRacing VR vs monitor.
How I would test it
- Load an AI race or a test with a full field at a heavy track.
- Turn the frame rate counter on.
- Do the start and the first lap in the pack.
- Note the lowest number you see.
- Change one setting, repeat.
Testing alone on an empty track tells you nothing. The race start is the only number that counts.
More iRacing guides
- iRacing wheel and FFB settings
- How to hide the steering wheel in iRacing
- iRacing keyboard shortcuts
- iRacing tips
FAQ
What are the best graphics settings for iRacing?
Native resolution, car and track detail on high, anisotropic filtering at 16x and MSAA 4x. Then turn down crowds, shadows, reflections and mirrors until the frame rate holds at the race start.
How do I get more FPS in iRacing?
Lower Crowd Detail, turn off Object Self-Shadowing and Dynamic Objects, cut the Number of Lights to 3 or less and reduce Max Cars. Those give you the most frames for the least loss in picture.
Where are the graphics settings in iRacing?
In the sim, open Options and then the Graphics tab. Some options need a restart of the sim before they apply.
What should I set Max Frames Per Second to in iRacing?
Your monitor refresh rate, or 2 to 5 fps below it. On a 144 Hz monitor that is 139 to 144, if your PC can hold it in traffic. If it cannot, cap lower.
Why does iRacing stutter with a high frame rate?
Most of the time it is memory or the disk. Set the memory sliders 20% under what you have, turn off replay spooling, turn off Windows Auto HDR and close the overlays.
How much VRAM does iRacing need?
iRacing lists 6 GB as the minimum, 8 GB as recommended and 10 GB or more for the high end tier.
Is iRacing heavier on the processor or the graphics card?
Both, but the processor is usually the limit in a race. The sim leans on one core, so a big grid drops the frame rate even with a strong graphics card.