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Best Sea of Thieves settings for the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) (2026)

On a NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), Sea of Thieves runs at roughly 41 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 18FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) is a entry-level graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, and Sea of Thieves is a moderately demanding game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it is a real challenge at 1080p — about 41 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 18 FPS with everything on High.

Across resolutions you can expect around 41 FPS at 1080p and 24 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 14 FPS at 4K. The biggest free win is FSR upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.

ResolutionAll-High FPSOptimized FPS
1080p1841
1440p1124
4K614
🚀 Biggest free win: enable FSR (Balanced) — about +55% FPS for a small sharpness trade.
Recommended settings
Upscaling — FSRBalanced+55% FPS
Sea of Thieves supports FSR and a render-scale slider. The biggest GPU-side lever.
Water DetailLow+10% FPS
The famous ocean simulation - the showpiece and one of the heaviest settings. High is a strong trade over Ultra.
Shadow DetailLow+8% FPS
Shadow resolution and range. High is the value pick.
Model DetailLow+6% FPS
Geometry detail on ships, islands and players. High looks great; Medium for frames.
Lighting DetailLow+6% FPS
Lighting and reflection detail on the water and sky. High is a clean trade.
Particle Effects QualityLow+5% FPS
Cannon smoke, splashes and explosions. Lowering smooths sea battles.
Ambient OcclusionOff+4% FPS
Soft contact shadows. Cheap; Off for a minor gain.
Anti-AliasingOff+4% FPS
Edge smoothing. Medium/High keeps the cartoon look clean cheaply.
Texture DetailUltra-1% FPS
Surface sharpness - cheap if it fits your VRAM.

⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →

🎯 Can the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) run Sea of Thieves? See the verdict →

Sea of Thieves on other GPUs
Other games on the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB)
Frequently asked

What FPS does the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) get in Sea of Thieves?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) averages around 41 FPS at 1080p in Sea of Thieves — up from about 18 FPS with everything on High.

Can the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) run Sea of Thieves at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) averages roughly 24 FPS in Sea of Thieves; turn on upscaling or aim for a locked 60 for the best feel.

What are the best Sea of Thieves settings for the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB)?

Turn on FSR (Balanced), keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Water Detail and Shadow Detail down a notch. The full per-setting breakdown is above.

FPS figures are estimates from a generalized model (hardware tier × game load × per-setting weights), not live benchmarks — real performance varies by scene, drivers and game version.