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Best Valheim settings for the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti (2026)

On a NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-13500H (laptop)-class CPU), Valheim runs at roughly 156 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 156FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti is a mainstream 1080p graphics card with 6GB of VRAM, and Valheim is a relatively light game to run. Paired with the Intel Core i5-13500H (laptop), it flies at 1080p — about 156 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings. That already clears a smooth frame rate on High, so our tuning keeps the visuals as high as possible instead of chasing extra frames.

Across resolutions you can expect around 156 FPS at 1080p and 94 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 63 FPS at 4K. Valheim doesn't use upscaling, so the gains come from trimming the heaviest settings below.

ResolutionAll-High FPSOptimized FPS
1080p156156
1440p9494
4K5363
💡 Valheim: Runs on modest hardware, but big built-up bases tax the CPU and point lights — lower those before world detail.
Recommended settings
Vegetation QualityHighbaseline
Density of grass, bushes and trees across the procedural world — the heaviest GPU setting in the Meadows and Black Forest. Medium clears a lot of frames.
Draw Distance (Clutter)Highbaseline
How far ground clutter and world detail render. Lowering it helps most in open Plains and Ocean biomes.
Shadow QualityHighbaseline
Shadow resolution and range. Valheim's dynamic day/night shadows are a real cost — Medium looks fine.
Anti-AliasingTAAbaseline
TAA is cheap and clean; SSAA supersamples the whole frame and is very heavy. Stick to TAA unless you have headroom.
Point LightsHighbaseline
How many torches, fires and lamps cast real light at once — heavy inside a lit base. Lower it if your longhouse tanks FPS.
Point Light ShadowsOnbaseline
Shadows cast by torches and fires. Turning them off is a big saving in built-up bases at little visual cost.
Ambient Occlusion (SSAO)Onbaseline
Soft contact shadows in corners and under objects. Cheap — leave it on unless you need frames.

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

🎯 Can the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti run Valheim? See the verdict →

Valheim on other GPUs
Other games on the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti
Frequently asked

What FPS does the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti get in Valheim?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti averages around 156 FPS at 1080p in Valheim — up from about 156 FPS with everything on High.

Can the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti run Valheim at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti averages roughly 94 FPS in Valheim — a smooth experience.

What are the best Valheim settings for the NVIDIA GTX 980 Ti?

Use a balanced preset, keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Vegetation Quality and Draw Distance (Clutter) 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.