How to improve FPS in NBA 2K24 (PC)
NBA 2K24 arrives with Visual Concepts' ProCore engine polished after years of iteration, but its PC performance hides a trap many players don't see coming. Inside an actual game, graphics load is relatively contained. The problem appears the moment you step into The City or the Neighborhood, MyCareer's and MyTeam's social modes, where hundreds of avatars with clothing, animations, and effects load simultaneously in a far more demanding open space.
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Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks).
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +67% free FPS.
City/Neighborhood Population Density
This setting controls how many avatars of other players are rendered around you in the social hub. It's the parameter with the biggest impact on performance outside of games.
Crowd Density
Controls the number of individually simulated spectators in the stands during matches.
Shadow Quality
Dynamic shadows from players, referees, and arena elements are constantly recalculated during fast-motion animations.
Anti-Aliasing
NBA 2K24 uses edge smoothing with a noticeable rendering cost at high resolutions.
Post Processing
This setting groups bloom, vignetting, and color correction effects that ProCore applies full-screen.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Player Detail / Texture Quality
Facial scans and skin textures are the 2K series' technical trademark, and lowering this setting is immediately noticeable in close-ups.
Court/Arena Reflections
The shine of the hardwood and reflections from arena lighting use screen-space reflection techniques that consume GPU time each frame.
Hair Works / Cloth Simulation
Physical simulation of hair and clothing on players and coaches adds realism, but its cost grows with the number of characters simulated at once.
Resolution Scale
With no native DLSS, FSR, or XeSS, ProCore's internal resolution scaling is the most direct tool to recover FPS on tight GPUs.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •Enable Ultra low-latency mode in the NVIDIA control panel to minimize input lag in competitive online matches.
- •Use NVIDIA driver Image Sharpening as partial compensation if you lower internal resolution.
- •Cap FPS a few frames below your monitor's refresh rate using NVIDIA Reflex or the panel limiter.
AMD
- •Enable Radeon Anti-Lag to reduce input latency, especially useful in MyTeam's competitive online mode.
- •Use Radeon Image Sharpening after lowering the game's Resolution Scale to recover some lost sharpness.
- •Check that Radeon Chill is disabled during active gameplay.
Sistema
- •Install the game on an SSD; The City loads hundreds of other players' assets in real time.
- •Close third-party overlays while playing in the social hub, where CPU usage is already tighter.
- •Make sure you have at least 16GB of RAM free from background processes.
5. Known game issues
Severe FPS drops entering The City
Many players report the game running perfectly in matches but suffering drops of up to 50% FPS the moment they cross into The City.
Stuttering when loading other players' new cosmetics
While moving through crowded areas of the Neighborhood, streaming of other players' clothing and accessory textures can cause occasional micro-stutters.
High VRAM usage with Player Detail on Ultra
Setting Player Detail/Texture Quality to Ultra together with Resolution Scale at 100% can saturate VRAM on cards with 6GB or less.
6. Frequently asked questions
Why does it run fine in matches but terribly in The City?▾
Does NBA 2K24 have DLSS, FSR, or XeSS?▾
Which setting should I touch first if I have a mid-range GPU?▾
Is it worth lowering Player Detail to gain FPS?▾
Want to know exactly how many FPS YOUR PC will get?
Enter your GPU and CPU in our calculator and measure the real impact of each setting.
Calculate FPS for NBA 2K24 →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →