In fast-paced shooters, the delay between your click and the action on screen can decide a duel. Before upgrading hardware, these software settings deliver the biggest responsiveness gains.

• Cap your frame rate above your monitor’s refresh rate: Running uncapped or well above your refresh rate keeps the GPU feeding fresh frames, reducing the queue that causes lag.
• Enable the right sync mode: Turn off V-Sync or use the low-latency modes found in modern GPUs; traditional V-Sync adds a full frame of delay.
• Lower graphics presets that tax the CPU: Settings like shadows and reflections shift load onto the processor, which can bottleneck frame pacing. Lower them before touching resolution.
• Set your mouse polling rate and raw input: Use 1000 Hz polling if your mouse supports it, and enable raw input in-game to bypass Windows mouse acceleration.

In short, prioritize high and stable frame rates, disable V-Sync, and keep the CPU pipeline clear, and you will feel noticeably snappier aim.