Top 5 Ways to Boost Your FPS in Games
Published on January 15, 2025 • 5 min read
Are you experiencing low FPS in your favorite games? Whether you're playing competitive shooters or exploring open-world RPGs, smooth frame rates are essential for an enjoyable gaming experience. Here are the top 5 proven ways to boost your FPS.
1. Optimize Your Graphics Settings
The quickest way to improve FPS is to adjust your in-game graphics settings. Start by lowering settings like shadows, anti-aliasing, and post-processing effects. These are often the most demanding options with minimal visual impact when reduced.
Use our FPS Calculator to estimate your expected performance with different settings and hardware configurations.
2. Update Your Graphics Drivers
Outdated GPU drivers can significantly impact performance. Both NVIDIA and AMD regularly release driver updates that optimize game performance and fix bugs. Visit your GPU manufacturer's website to download the latest drivers.
3. Check for CPU/GPU Bottlenecks
A bottleneck occurs when one component (usually CPU or GPU) limits the performance of the other. If your GPU is always at 100% while your CPU is at 50%, your GPU is the bottleneck. Conversely, if your CPU is maxed out, it's limiting your GPU's potential.
Use our Bottleneck Calculator to check if your CPU and GPU are properly balanced.
4. Close Background Applications
Background applications consume CPU, RAM, and GPU resources. Close unnecessary programs before gaming, especially resource-heavy applications like Chrome with multiple tabs, Discord overlays, or streaming software when not needed.
5. Enable Game Mode and High Performance Mode
Windows 10 and 11 include a Game Mode that prioritizes system resources for games. Additionally, switching your power plan to "High Performance" ensures your CPU runs at maximum clock speeds instead of throttling to save power.
Conclusion
Improving your FPS doesn't always require expensive hardware upgrades. By optimizing settings, updating drivers, and ensuring your system is properly configured, you can often achieve significant performance gains. For hardware planning, check out our suite of calculators to optimize your gaming PC.