Settings menu on BlueStacks 4.210 and above

Exploring the Settings menu on BlueStacks

You can access the Settings menu either from the hamburger menu on top or the gear icon on the side toolbar, as shown below.

1. Display: You may change BlueStacks app player orientation, customize the resolution and DPI through the Display settings menu, to enhance your viewing and gaming experiencing on BlueStacks. Please close and restart BlueStacks to make your resolution and DPI settings effective.

2. Engine: This section lets you choose from various components that can vastly affect the performance of BlueStacks, depending on your PC configuration. 

The new Graphics engine mode option lets you choose between Compatible and Performance modes. Most games run smoothly on the Performance mode. Yet some games that require advanced graphic architecture will ask you to switch to Compatible mode before launching.

The Graphics renderer option lets you select between DirectX and OpenGL. If you switch between any of these options, you will need to restart BlueStacks for changes to take place.

Scroll down and you will be able to select the graphics texture compression decoding method to achieve high-quality graphics using ASTC. Read this to know how ASTC settings can affect game graphics in BlueStacks.

Further below is the Performance section. The CPU tab lets you allocate CPU cores and the RAM tab lets you allocate memory as you desire, as shown below.

To enter a value of your choice which is not already available in the menu, select the Custom option under CPU and RAM tabs.

NOTE: For users who have 8GB RAM or above, to achieve optimum performance in BlueStacks, please select "High" performance. 

Upon scrolling down, you will see the slider to adjust FPS as shown in the screenshot below. To know more about customizing FPS (frames per second) on BlueStacks, click here.

Then comes the ABI setting section. With the ability to switch between the ABI, you will be able to play the games which require ARM libraries to run. This support article will tell you all about selecting the right ABI settings for BlueStacks.

NOTE: Changes in Engine settings will take place after saving them and restarting BlueStacks.

3. Notifications: This tab will let you manage notifications on BlueStacks.

To know more about managing your notifications and the all-new Notification mode added on BlueStacks 4.210 and above, click here.

4. Preferences: This option helps you to customize your performance and platform related settings for BlueStacks such as switching between apps, creating desktop icons, changing the cursor during gameplay and game-pad detection.

Now manage any game's in-built gamepad controls at the click of a button, as shown below. To know more about Native gamepad support on BlueStacks, read this!

5. User data: 

The Disk cleanup option will let you free up the un-utilized disk space of BlueStacks.

With the Backup and restore option, you can backup the application data on BlueStacks and restore it later. For more information on how to use Backup and Restore on BlueStacks, please click here.

6. Advanced: This option will enhance the app compatibility on BlueStacks, as you may switch to a different device profile when the app of your choice is not compatible with the current device profile. For details on how to switch the device profile on BlueStacks 4, click here.

7. Shortcut Keys: BlueStacks lets you assign shortcut keys to perform various functions with just one click. To know in depth about how to assign keyboard shortcuts for various actions on BlueStacks 4.210 and above, read this. 

9. Game Settings: This is the latest addition to the Settings menu that gives you game-specific information and is different for every game. Access these settings while playing a game to get the insights specific to that game.

10. About: It provides information about the BlueStacks version installed on your PC. You can also check whether the latest BlueStacks version is available for you. This will keep you up to date with the latest releases.

Click Check for updates to see if any update is available. For more help on how to check for BlueStacks updates and installation, click here.

Thank you for choosing BlueStacks! We hope you enjoy using it. If you have any further questions, please contact us at support@bluestacks.com. Happy Gaming!

Last updated on June 4, 2020