FPS Fundamentals

Maximum FPS captures a best-case moment, not the smoothness of an entire gaming session. Average FPS and 1% lows provide a more useful picture of overall performance and the drops that cause noticeable stuttering.

Windows 11/10 offers a Variable Refresh Rate option intended to reduce screen tearing and enable higher frame rates in games without native support. This guide covers changing the display refresh rate and enabling the feature, along with its stated hardware limitation.

Ben Wilson's testing found that the RTX 5080 averaged more than 135 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with maximum ray-tracing settings and DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation, compared with roughly 40 FPS without MFG. Occasional visual hitches remained, while the RTX 5090 generally reached 60 FPS at 1440p without frame generation.

Improve gaming frame rates with Windows settings, driver updates, and hardware changes, while keeping overclocking risks in mind. This guide also covers specific graphics settings for Valorant, Minecraft, Lunar Client, Warzone, and CS:GO.

Using Alt-Tab during a game can cause frame rates to drop on Windows 11/10. These troubleshooting steps cover display mode, background apps, Windows settings, graphics drivers, and recovery options.

Monitor game frame rates on Windows 11 with Xbox Game Bar, NVIDIA GeForce Experience, third-party utilities, or built-in game counters. This guide includes steps for Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, Valorant, Dota, and Halo Infinite.