Marvel Rivals is built on Unreal Engine 5, which is notorious for being demanding on lower-end hardware. While the game’s 6v6 hero shooter gameplay is fast and fun, UE5’s Nanite geometry system and Lumen lighting can bring even mid-range GPUs to their knees if settings are not properly configured.
This guide targets players on GTX 1060 / RX 580 tier hardware (or equivalent) — the most common GPU segment in the Steam hardware survey. If your system meets the game’s minimum requirements but struggles to hold 60 FPS, these optimizations will get you there.
If Marvel Rivals is not launching at all, check our Marvel Rivals launch fix guide first. For team composition strategy, see our best team comps guide.
Marvel Rivals Minimum System Requirements
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel i5-6500 / Ryzen 5 1600 | Intel i7-10700 / Ryzen 7 3700X |
| GPU | GTX 1060 6GB / RX 580 8GB | RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 50 GB (SSD recommended) | 50 GB SSD |
| API | DirectX 12 | DirectX 12 |
If your hardware matches or slightly exceeds the minimum specs, this guide is specifically for you.
What Each Setting Does (Low-End Focus)
Not all settings impact FPS equally. On low-end hardware, you need to know which settings to crush and which to leave alone:
Global Illumination (Impact: Extreme)
This controls how light bounces around the environment. Marvel Rivals uses a version of UE5’s Lumen for this. On low-end hardware, set this to Low or Off. The FPS gain is massive — 20-30% — and the visual difference is subtle in the heat of a team fight. High and Ultra use screen-space and hardware ray tracing that your GTX 1060 cannot handle efficiently.
Shadow Quality (Impact: High)
Shadows are expensive in UE5, especially with multiple heroes casting dynamic shadows simultaneously. Set to Low. In a 6v6 team fight with 12 characters, abilities, and environmental effects all casting shadows, this setting alone can cost 15-20% FPS on Ultra vs Low.
Post Processing (Impact: Moderate)
Includes motion blur, depth of field, bloom, and ambient occlusion. Set to Low. Motion blur actively hurts gameplay in a fast-paced shooter, and the other effects are barely noticeable during gameplay. Turning this down gains 5-10% FPS and improves visual clarity.
Effects Quality (Impact: Moderate-High)
Controls particle effects from hero abilities, ultimates, and environmental destruction. In busy team fights, this is where low-end GPUs struggle most. Set to Low or Medium. Low reduces particle density noticeably but keeps gameplay readable.
Texture Quality (Impact: VRAM-Dependent)
The GTX 1060 6GB and RX 580 8GB have enough VRAM for Medium textures. The RX 580 can handle High thanks to its 8 GB buffer. Do not set textures higher than your VRAM allows — UE5 aggressively streams textures and will stutter when VRAM overflows.
View Distance (Impact: Low-Moderate)
Marvel Rivals maps are relatively compact compared to open-world games. Medium is sufficient. You will not miss any gameplay-relevant information at Medium because all hero abilities and player models render at full quality regardless of this setting.
Anti-Aliasing (Impact: Low)
UE5 uses Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) as its built-in AA. At 1080p, Medium provides acceptable quality. If you are using an external upscaler (FSR), it handles AA for you.
Recommended Settings for GTX 1060 / RX 580 Tier
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920×1080 (native) |
| Window Mode | Fullscreen |
| Upscaling | FSR Quality (see section below) |
| Global Illumination | Low |
| Shadow Quality | Low |
| Post Processing | Low |
| Effects Quality | Low |
| Texture Quality | Medium (GTX 1060) / High (RX 580) |
| View Distance | Medium |
| Anti-Aliasing | Medium (or handled by FSR) |
| V-Sync | Off |
| Frame Rate Limit | 60 (or monitor refresh rate) |
Expected result: 55-70 FPS at 1080p depending on the map and team fight intensity. Some maps with heavy environmental effects may dip to 50 FPS in large fights, but the experience should feel consistently smooth.
DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS: Which Upscaler for Low-End?
Upscalers render the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image, giving you a significant FPS boost. Here is which one to use on low-end hardware:
- DLSS — Only available on RTX GPUs. If you have a GTX card, you cannot use DLSS. Not an option for the GTX 1060.
- FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) — Works on any GPU, including GTX 1060, RX 580, and Intel integrated graphics. This is your best option. Use FSR Quality for minimal visual impact, or FSR Balanced if you need more FPS headroom. Avoid Performance and Ultra Performance modes — the image quality degradation is not worth it at 1080p.
- XeSS — Works on any GPU but uses AI acceleration on Intel Arc GPUs. On a GTX 1060 or RX 580, XeSS runs in its fallback mode which is similar in quality to FSR. Use FSR instead for slightly better performance on non-Intel hardware.
For a deep dive into how these upscalers compare across games, check our DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS full comparison.
Launch Options and Engine Tweaks
UE5 games respond well to launch parameter adjustments. In Steam, right-click Marvel Rivals > Properties > General > Launch Options and add:
-dx12— Forces DirectX 12 mode. Marvel Rivals is DX12 by default, but this ensures no fallback to DX11.-NOSPLASH— Skips the splash screen for faster loading.-USEALLAVAILABLECORES— Allows the game to use all CPU cores. Helpful on older quad-core CPUs like the i5-6500.
Warning: Some guides recommend editing UE5 engine INI files for additional performance. While this can work, Marvel Rivals uses anti-cheat that may flag modified config files. Stick to launch options and in-game settings for safety.
NVIDIA Control Panel Tweaks (NVIDIA GPUs Only)
These per-application settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel provide small but meaningful FPS gains:
- Right-click your desktop > NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings.
- Select or add Marvel Rivals from the list.
- Set the following:
- Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance
- Texture Filtering – Quality: High Performance
- Threaded Optimization: On
- Low Latency Mode: On (or Ultra if you experience input lag)
- Shader Cache Size: Unlimited (prevents re-compilation stutters)
AMD Adrenalin Tweaks (AMD GPUs Only)
- Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition > Gaming > Marvel Rivals.
- Radeon Anti-Lag: Enabled (reduces input latency).
- Radeon Boost: Disabled (conflicts with in-game upscaling).
- Radeon Chill: Set min to 55, max to 65 for stable 60 FPS frame delivery without overworking your GPU.
Addressing FPS-Dependent Mechanics
Marvel Rivals has a known issue where certain hero abilities behave slightly differently at different frame rates. While this has been partially patched, running at a stable 60 FPS is more important than achieving a fluctuating 70-90 FPS. Use the in-game frame rate limiter set to 60 to ensure consistent frame delivery and predictable ability behavior.
If you are experiencing FPS drops below the minimums described here, your hardware may need more aggressive tweaks or the issue may be a bug. Check our Marvel Rivals troubleshooting guide for crash and performance fixes.
More Marvel Rivals guides:
- Best Team Comps for Ranked (2026)
- Marvel Rivals Tier List: Best Characters
- Marvel Rivals Review: Is It Worth Playing?
- Fix Marvel Rivals Not Launching on PC
- How to Reduce Input Lag in PC Gaming
