Most cards generally run on optimal power, at least the gtx cards from the nvidia range i'm used to the past decade or so

furthermore ... before i forget it, the perfect candidate for sharpening is a perfect pixel right?

I don't mind your shout outs but i do hope the next one will make more sense

on another note

i belief i can't do without
ray traced reflections and ray traced indirect diffused lightning anymore
mod makers should hurry

might even be inclined to throw a dime their way

this so beats adjusting brigtness and gamma rays for that distinct border between dark and light

1) I'll almost always turn the music off,
2) check the hotkeys and
3) turn it to english.

1. Sometimes I'll leave the music on for a few sessions - especially if it already creates a good atmosphere in the menu. Eventually I'll turn it off.

2. The hotkeys are partly a thing of looking up what actually has hotkeys to begin with, partly actual customization before I even start playing.

3. English is about having the original language. Since I am german all kinds of platforms aparently believe it a great idea to default to german, no matter how often I tell them not to -.-
Don't get me wrong: I outright love language and of course that's 1st of all my beloved mothertongue german. It is however for precisely that reason that I just refuse to suffer the horrid translations that almost every game delivers. Now I could say "I'd do that 1000x better if I'd translate that - although my english is pityful...", but then it's probably not so much about poor translators and more about the unwillingness to pay a good translation's price. Half the games settle for what could be google translate, the other half doesn't seem to pay a translator that actually played the game and has some poor sob translate text fragments out of context. It's just the rape of poetry what they do. Be it as epic, well written and heartfilled a story as it will: They won't show mercy.

4. The actual game options are scrutinized more thoroughly, which usually applies when starting a game. It depends on game and genre, but often options like "Ironman" and such are hidden in some expanded options submenu. Unless it is a genre I am really bad at I'll go for that and check out what else is to be done for difficulty adjustment. Then again I rarely go for content changes, be it given options or mods & DLCs.

Yes. Always first: I decrease the volume of the in-game music.
If necessary: I change the resolution to my screen's native resolution (1920x1080).
Sometimes: I have a look at the controls (and maybe change them, if the default isn't to my liking (but usually, I try the default before)).

What about games where English *isn't* the original language? (For example, I believe the Realms of Arkania games were originally in German, and that every Japanese game, of course, was originally in Japanese?) Would you choose that language over English if it's an option?

I've ran into situations where the smallest resolution supported by the game is higher than my native resolution, particularlt with my old monitor (that I believe was a nice 1024x768).

My current monitor is actually a cheap 720p TV.

I usually play around before deciding what settings I'd like to change. Regarding consles games, I switch to Japanese language whenever it is available (DQ11, for example).

Subtitles = On
EAX = On if supported
Depth of Field = Off
Motion Blur = Off
Film Grain = Off
Graphics settings up to max if permitted, reduce AA depending on whether it stops me going over 50fps (sweet spot for my G-Sync)

Some things that I will do:
* Turn OFF rumble, if I'm playing with a setup that would allow it to work.
* Turn OFF voices. If there's a subtitle option, it gets enabled (though I'm more inclined to play games where the text, rather than the voices, is the main thing).
* Turn OFF things like head bobbing and screen shake.
* If there's a color blind mode, I may turn it ON, or experiment with different settings (though I might play the game first until it becomes an issue).
* If the menu makes it clear how to do this, I will change the graphics settings to favor performance over graphical fidelity. (Suggestion for game developers; for the video options, please include an explanation of the effect on performance, and in particular indicate which setting gives the best performance.) I will also enable V-Sync if it's an option (though I haven't actually noticed it doing anything in most cases), as it would be nice to reduce heat generation on my desktop with broken cooling.
* If there's any options relating to the save system, I will choose the most player-friendly options; in particular, I will disable permadeath if the game has that as a setting.

Auto save is turned off, first thing done.

1. Check if I agree with the graphics settings it has selected. at least to switch off some I consider useless. I'll probably have to revisit these later too after seeing how the game runs.

2. Probably set the game difficulty higher, if it is at "normal" by default.

3. Oh yeah, and subtitles on, if possible.

Yes, always.

* If the game automatically started in German translation, I search for language options to set it to the original language.
* I make sure my desktop resolution is set.
* I toggle on Vsync if possible and not set yet, just in case.
* I might enable subtitles or toggle them off, on a case to case basis.

I think that's it for the start. I might return to the options menu later to turn down music a bit, if it's too intrusive and makes voiceovers harder to hear, or to check the controls and maybe redefine keys if necessary, or to change mouse sensitivity, or to invert y-axis controls, etc. but only retroactively, not before starting the game.

1. Turn off V-Sync (since GeForce is doing it, might cause issues)
2. Set video mode to Windowed Borderless (if applicable)
3. Set resolution to native Desktop (or 1280x720 for pre-2005 games)
4. Disable motion blur if enabled by default
5. Check key mappings and set WSAD + E / F (action / secondary), Ctrl (for crouch), Shift (for run), Space (for jump) and put flashlight always on mouse middle button
6. If my card is capable enough then set textures, physics, water and other effect on max / ultra max
7. If game is old and have issues check for patches (usually on PCGamingWiki)
8. Subtitles almost always on for Action/RPG and almost always off for anything else
9. Start a new game at least on normal + 1 more difficulty (e.g. normal hardcore / hard), usually on previous to last difficulty among available (e.g. locked for first play through ultra hard are not taken into account)

I'll give the configuration pages a quick browse. And the first thing I tend to do is cut out any post-processing effects like Chromatic Ghosts, Motion Blur, or Bobblehead Mode.

Disable any post processing.

Max other graphics. AA must not be FXAA. If it is the only option, then it gets disables.

Determine aspect ratio. If properly implemented, I play with 16:9 (2560x1440) or if it leads to any kind of stretching and an old game does not have a widescreen patch, I play it in the original 4:3 (1920x1440)

Rebind crouch from Ctrl to C where applicable (most games default to Ctrl).

Turn on subtitles.

Start the game on the hardest difficulty, unless the hardest difficulty is some gimmick option like Nightmare in Doom. In that case, I start on the hardest "normal" difficulty.

Invert Y-axis