Techniques for optimizing gain or noise figure of an RF receiver are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment a controller controls a capacitor bank between an LNA and a mixer of the RF front end of the receiver. For a given center frequency a first set of capacitors is switched to the mixer and a second set of capacitors is switched to ground. The ratio of capacitance of the second set to the first set of capacitors affects either gain of the RF FE or noise figure of the receiver. Therefore, the RF FE of the receiver may be controlled in such a way as to optimize for either RF FE gain or for receiver noise figure.