While PC games often have endless menus and submenus of graphics settings to fiddle with, historically console games worked the same way for everyone on the same device. Recently, as consoles have diverged into multiple versions, such as the PS4/PS4 Pro or Xbox Series X/Series S, you may get a choice between quality and performance modes (usually focusing on resolution or frames per second), but that’s about This subject.
However, in Hogwarts Legacy, the Xbox and PS5 versions of the game have up to five graphics settings available. This is more of the usual quality/performance split, and the details of each can be a bit opaque. This is especially true given one of the big selling points of console gaming is that you don’t have to worry about settings or compatibility issues.
Which one you choose depends on two things — your preference for bright eyes over smooth motion, and whether you have a TV that supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and HDR.
As a quick file, the five graphics settings for Hogwarts Legacy are:
- fidelity mode
- Precision mode with retracing
- performance mode
- Balanced mode
- HFR (High Frame Rate) mode
The question is: do you want the game to look better or run smoother? Quality settings, called Fidelity in this case, in console games generally increase resolution and add graphics detail and complexity, but often lock FPS to 30. Performance settings can drop resolution, remove graphics features, or downgrade, But they do offer higher frame rates, ideally at least 60fps – but not always. Newer TVs with higher refresh rates (or variable refresh rates) can play faster frame rates.
Precision mode with raytracing on the left, with more accurate reflection. Performance mode is on the right.
On the Hogwarts Legacy exam, it’s no surprise that I ended up in the balanced setting. It’s a shame to pass up the high-quality graphics that the PS5 (and Xbox Series X) is capable of. But at the same time, playing at 30fps feels choppy and unsatisfying. Hence, the choice is in the middle.
I also messed up by testing the game on a series of High end gaming computers. On the new Razer Blade 18, which has an Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU, I was able to run the game at its highest graphics settings at QHD resolution and get frame rates above 100fps in most cases.
Even a slightly older gaming laptop with an Nvidia RTX 3070 was able to run at a mostly flat 60fps at high graphics settings and FHD resolution. Both cases, when connected to a 65-inch LG OLED TV, were visually much better than any of the PS5 options and didn’t require me to choose graphics quality over frame rate.
What do all these performance mode settings actually do?
Since Hogwarts Legacy is exploration and conversation with some combat, you can walk away from Fidelity mode and not feel like you’re losing out on gameplay. Fast-paced action or competitive online games generally require higher frame rates to play effectively.
The addition of the ray tracing option tweaked the visuals a bit on the PS5, notably adding more realistic reflections. But it also seems to worsen performance. It’s worth checking out, but you may not be stuck with it.
Besides the Balanced setup, the Performance setup is also somewhere in the middle. It drops some detail from Balanced, but seems to hit 60fps more consistently without the occasional slowdown in Balanced mode.
The extreme option on the other extreme is HFR Performance, which maximizes the frame rate but makes the game look worse. Again, a normal adventure/exploration game like this doesn’t need anything over 60fps, and only some TVs support that.
What performance setting should I choose for Hogwarts Legacy?
For my money, if I were playing on a PS5 I would choose Balanced mode, but only after sampling the other available options as well. My second choice would be Fidelity mode, and in fact, I might switch back and forth between the two depending on my mood.
But the best overall experience will be on a gaming PC, and our breakdown of the specs required for that is here. Finally, below is a quick visual guide to settings on PS5 that I posted on TikTok earlier.