(Click for general game info.)
System requirements:
Latest drivers: (as at 21/12/2017)
Nvidia: 388.71
AMD: 17.12.2
Intel: Depends on your processor; download the driver update utility
Tips and tricks:
Benchmarks (NV), settings comparisons, and recommended settings (NV): See Nvidia's tweak guide. (Credit to AndyBNV.)
Various CPU/GPU benchmarks and data: See this GameGPU article.
Note: The article is in Russian, but the data is presented via graphs.
Cap the framerate/potentially improve frametimes: Download RivaTuner Statistics Server, input your desired framerate limit in the "Framerate limit" box, and hit enter (the program comes bundled with MSI Afterburner and earlier versions of EVGA PrecisionX). Alternatively, those with an Nvidia GPU have the option of Nvidia Inspector, which can also be used to impose a framerate cap, either in a similar manner to RTSS or by way of forcing a different vsync interval (click the small tool icon to open the game profile section).
Note: Useful if you your system can't maintain, say, 60fps and you're sensitive to the wild fluctuations, or you're experiencing uneven frametimes. The greater window the engine has to render a given frame, if you're imposing a lower framerate than the game can otherwise provide, may also help in alleviating stuttering related to data streaming.
Stop the game from crashing after 15 minutes on touch-capable systems running Windows 10: Open the task manager, switch to the Services tab and disable TabletInputService.
Re-enable graphics settings determined to be too demanding for your system: Open SteamApps\common\Call of Duty Black Ops III\players\config.ini and add RestrictGraphicsOptions = "0" (Credit to Treyarch.)
Graphics settings:
Display mode: Self-explanatory (game supports borderless window)
Monitor: Self-explanatory
Screen resolution: Self-explanatory
Refresh rate: Self-explanatory
Render resolution: 50%-200% in increments of 10% (i.e. native downsampling support)
Display gamma: Self-explanatory
Brightness: Self-explanatory
Field of view: 65-120 in increments of 1
Max frames per second: 24-240 in increments of 1
Sync every frame: On/Off
Draw FPS: On/Off
Texture quality: Low; Medium; High; Extra
Texture filtering: Low; Medium; High
Mesh quality: Low; Medium; High
Shadow map quality: Low; Medium; High; Extra
Dynamic shadows: On/Off
Subsurface scattering: On/Off
Order independent transparency: None; Medium; High
Volumetric lighting: None; Medium; High
Anti-aliasing: None; FXAA; SMAA 1x; Filmic SMAA 1x; SMAA T2x; Filmic SMAA T2x
Ambient occlusion: Disabled; Low; Medium; High; Extra
Motion blur: Disabled; Dynamic; Always on