How to Fix Low FPS and Stuttering in PC Games

There's nothing more frustrating for a PC gamer than being in the middle of an intense firefight or a critical boss battle, only to have your game turn into a slideshow. Low FPS (Frames Per Second) and stuttering can ruin an otherwise perfect gaming session. But don't worry—in most cases, these performance issues can be fixed.

FPS is how many images your computer can display per second. A higher FPS means smoother gameplay (60 FPS is the gold standard for most). Stuttering refers to hitches or freezes, even if your average FPS is high.

This ultimate guide will walk you through a complete checklist of solutions, from the simplest tweaks to more advanced optimizations, to get your games running smoothly again.

The Essentials: Quick Fixes That Make a Big Difference

Start with these three steps. For many players, this is all you'll need to do.

1. Update Your Graphics Card Drivers (The #1 Fix)

Your graphics card (GPU) drivers are the software that allows your hardware to communicate with your games. Outdated drivers are the most common cause of poor performance.

• For NVIDIA Cards: Go to the official NVIDIA GeForce Drivers page to download the latest version.
• For AMD Cards: Go to the official AMD Drivers and Support page.

2. Optimize Your In-Game Settings

Modern games have dozens of graphics settings, but a few have a much bigger impact on FPS than others. If you're experiencing low FPS, try lowering these settings first:

• Shadows: Often the biggest performance hog. Lowering from "Ultra" to "High" or "Medium" can provide a huge FPS boost.
• Texture Quality: If your GPU has limited VRAM (less than 6-8GB), lowering texture quality can reduce stuttering.
• Anti-Aliasing (AA): This smooths out jagged edges but is very demanding. Try lowering it or switching to a less intensive AA method like FXAA.
• Resolution: While playing at your monitor's native resolution is best, lowering it (e.g., from 1440p to 1080p) is a guaranteed way to increase FPS.

3. Close All Background Applications

Games need as much of your PC's resources as possible. Applications running in the background consume valuable CPU power and RAM. Before you start playing, make sure to close:

• Web browsers (especially Chrome)
• Streaming services like Spotify or Netflix
• File downloaders or update clients (Steam, Epic Games, etc.)

You can press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager and see what's using the most resources.

Dive Deeper: Windows and System Optimizations

If the basics didn't fully solve your problem, it's time to tweak your system settings.

4. Enable Windows Game Mode

Game Mode is a feature built into Windows that prioritizes your game, dedicating more system resources to it and preventing background tasks from interfering. To enable it, go to Settings > Gaming > Game Mode and turn it on.

5. Use the "High Performance" Power Plan

By default, Windows uses a "Balanced" power plan that can sometimes limit your CPU's performance to save energy. For gaming, you want maximum power.

• Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
• Select the "High Performance" plan.

6. Tweak Your GPU Control Panel

Both NVIDIA and AMD have control panels with settings that can override your games.

• For NVIDIA: Open the NVIDIA Control Panel, go to "Manage 3D Settings," and set "Power management mode" to "Prefer maximum performance".
• For AMD: Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and explore the "Gaming" tab for performance-tuning profiles.

Advanced Tweaks for Maximum Performance

7. Disable In-Game Overlays

Overlays from applications like Discord, Steam, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, and others can sometimes conflict with games and cause stuttering. Try disabling them in their respective settings to see if it improves performance.

8. Check for Overheating

If your game runs fine for a while and then starts stuttering, your CPU or GPU might be overheating. When hardware gets too hot, it automatically slows down (called "thermal throttling") to protect itself. Use a free tool like HWMonitor or MSI Afterburner to check your temperatures while gaming. If they are too high (e.g., above 85-90°C), your PC may need better cooling or cleaning.

Enjoy Your Smooth Gaming Experience

By working through this checklist, you should be able to identify and fix the cause of your low FPS and stuttering issues. Now that your PC is optimized for smooth performance, it's the perfect time to expand your library with new adventures without worrying about lag.

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