How to Increase FPS in Games

What Affects Frame Rate in Games?

Frame rate is decided by four things: the graphics card, the processor, the resolution, and the in-game settings. Knowing which one limits your frame rate tells you what to change first, so the factors are listed below in order of typical impact.

• The graphics card renders each frame, so the GPU sets the ceiling for frame rate at a given resolution and settings.
• The processor prepares draw calls and game logic, so the CPU caps frame rate in CPU-bound and high-refresh scenarios.
• The resolution sets the pixel count per frame, so 4K demands roughly four times the GPU work of 1080p.
• The in-game settings control shadow, lighting, and effect quality, with a few settings consuming most of the GPU load.
• The background load from other apps reduces the CPU and memory available to the game.

Increasing FPS targets the frame rate the hardware produces, while the system-level changes sit in the guide to optimizing Windows for gaming. The graphics card sets the ceiling, so the highest-impact fixes below cut the GPU’s render cost first, then free the CPU and remove thermal limits.

What Are the Highest-Impact Fixes to Increase FPS?

Apply these fixes in order. Each one earlier in the list returns more frame rate per minute of effort, so stop when you reach a frame rate you are happy with.

• Update the GPU driver. A game-ready driver adds frame rate at no quality cost, especially in newly released titles.
• Turn on upscaling (DLSS, FSR, or XeSS). The single biggest free gain. Render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct to the display resolution.
• Lower the heaviest settings. Cut ray tracing first, then shadows, anti-aliasing, and view distance. These four cost the most GPU load.
• Lower the resolution or render scale. Fewer pixels per frame means proportionally more frame rate in GPU-bound games.
• Close background apps and enable Game Mode. Free the CPU time and memory that browsers, chat clients, and launchers take from the game.
• Raise the power and fan profile. Stop thermal throttling so the GPU holds its clock speed under load.
• Enable frame generation, if your base frame rate is decent. Add generated frames for smoother motion once the base is around 60 FPS.

The first two steps deliver most of the gain for the least effort. Drivers and upscaling are covered in detail below, starting with the driver because it costs nothing in image quality.

How Do I Update the GPU Driver?

Updating the GPU driver applies game-ready optimizations that raise frame rates before any setting is changed. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel release drivers tuned for new games, often adding measurable frame rate on launch day. Follow these steps:

1. Identify the GPU model in Task Manager under Performance, or in the Nvidia, AMD, or Intel control panel.
2. Download the latest driver from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel, or update through the GeForce app, AMD Adrenalin, or Intel Graphics Software.
3. Choose a clean installation in the installer to remove leftover files from previous driver versions.
4. Restart and confirm the new driver version in the GPU control panel before testing the game.

A game-ready driver commonly adds 5 to 15 percent more frame rate in newly released titles compared with an outdated version. Use the clean-installation option in the installer, or the DDU tool for a complete driver removal, when a standard update underperforms.

How Do I Turn On Upscaling (DLSS, FSR, or XeSS)?

Enabling upscaling renders the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs it to the display resolution, raising frame rate while keeping near-native detail. DLSS, FSR, and XeSS each upscale a lower-resolution image, cutting the GPU’s render cost. Follow these steps:

1. Open the game’s graphics or display settings and find the upscaling option, listed as DLSS, FSR, or XeSS.
2. Pick the one your GPU supports: DLSS on Nvidia RTX cards, FSR on almost any GPU, or XeSS, which runs best on Intel Arc and works across other cards.
3. Select the Quality or Balanced preset, which renders at a higher internal resolution than the Performance preset.
4. Compare frame rate and image clarity, then lower the preset to Performance if more frame rate is needed, which suits 4K better than 1080p.

Which Settings Cost the Most Performance?

A handful of settings account for most of the rendering cost, so lower these first for the largest frame rate gain per unit of visual quality. The four below are the heaviest in most games.

Texture quality is the exception: it mainly uses video memory, not GPU load, so keep it high unless the GPU runs out of video memory at your resolution. The bottleneck check further down decides whether settings changes or a faster processor is the right next move, as covered in CPU vs GPU bottleneck.

How Do I Lower the Resolution or Render Scale?

Lowering the resolution or render scale reduces the pixel count per frame, which raises frame rate in proportion to the pixel reduction. Resolution sets how many pixels the GPU renders, so a lower resolution or render-scale percentage cuts the workload directly. Follow these steps:

1. Use the render-scale slider first to render below the display resolution while keeping the user interface sharp.
2. Lower the in-game resolution from 4K to 1440p or 1440p to 1080p when upscaling and render scaling are unavailable.
3. Keep the display at native resolution and let render scaling or upscaling reduce only the 3D render cost.
4. Test frame rate at each step to find the balance between resolution and frame rate.

Dropping from 4K to 1080p reduces the pixel count by roughly 75 percent, which raises frame rate substantially in GPU-bound games. Render scaling keeps the user interface at native resolution while lowering only the 3D render cost, which preserves the text and menu sharpness that a full resolution drop blurs.

How Do I Free the CPU and Stop Thermal Throttling?

Closing background apps frees CPU time and memory, and raising the power and fan profile stops the heat that drops clock speeds under load. Both remove a limit on frame rate that has nothing to do with in-game settings. Follow these steps:

1. Close browsers, chat clients, and launchers before gaming, then end non-essential background processes in Task Manager to release CPU and memory.
2. Disable startup apps in Task Manager’s Startup tab so they do not relaunch, and enable Game Mode under Settings, Gaming.
3. Open MSI Afterburner and raise the Power Limit slider to its maximum allowed value.
4. Set a custom fan curve that increases fan speed earlier, and confirm the GPU stays under roughly 83 degrees Celsius during a game using an on-screen overlay.

Background apps such as browsers and cloud-sync clients have the largest effect on CPU-bound games, and a GPU that reaches roughly 83 to 87 degrees Celsius throttles its clock speed to protect itself. The full set of system-level changes appears in the guide to optimizing Windows for gaming, which covers power plans and overlays alongside background apps.

When Should I Enable Frame Generation?

Enable frame generation only when your base frame rate is already decent, around 60 FPS or higher. Frame generation inserts AI-generated frames between rendered ones for smoother motion, but it does not lower input latency, so it polishes a good frame rate rather than fixing a low one. Follow these steps:

1. Tune the base frame rate first using the steps above until it sits around 60 FPS or higher without frame generation.
2. Enable frame generation in the game’s settings, listed as DLSS Frame Generation, FSR Frame Generation, or XeSS Frame Generation.
3. Turn on the matching low-latency mode, such as Nvidia Reflex or AMD Anti-Lag, to offset the added latency.
4. Check the feel, not just the number, and disable it if the controls feel sluggish or the image shows artifacts in fast motion.

Frame generation works best when it fills the last portion of the gap to your monitor’s refresh rate, for example lifting 80 FPS to a steady 120 or more. Support varies by hardware: DLSS Frame Generation needs an Nvidia RTX 40 series card or newer, with multi-frame generation on the RTX 50 series, while FSR and XeSS frame generation run on a wider range of GPUs.

How Do I Check for a CPU or GPU Bottleneck?

Checking which component runs near 100 percent usage shows whether the CPU or GPU limits frame rate, which directs every change above. A bottleneck is the component held at full load while the other has spare capacity. Follow these steps:

1. Open an on-screen overlay in MSI Afterburner with RTSS, or use the game’s built-in performance display.
2. Watch CPU and GPU usage during gameplay, noting which sits near 100 percent while the other stays lower.
3. Identify a GPU bottleneck when GPU usage stays near 100 percent, which lower settings, upscaling, and a lower resolution relieve.
4. Identify a CPU bottleneck when CPU usage caps frame rate at high refresh, which lower resolution does not fix.

A GPU bottleneck responds to lower settings, upscaling, and a lower resolution. A CPU bottleneck responds to fewer background apps and a faster processor rather than resolution changes, since lowering resolution raises GPU headroom that the CPU cannot use. The full method is covered in CPU vs GPU bottleneck.

What Mistakes Should I Avoid?

Increasing FPS fails or destabilizes the system when changes target the wrong component or skip testing. The mistakes that limit or reverse frame rate gains are listed below.

• Lowering resolution on a CPU-bound game raises GPU headroom the CPU cannot use, so frame rate stays capped.
• Turning textures down to gain frames trades visual quality for little gain, since textures use video memory more than GPU load.
• Enabling frame generation on a low base frame rate makes the controls feel sluggish, because it adds latency instead of fixing the base.
• Skipping the driver update misses game-ready optimizations that add frame rate at no quality cost.
• Ignoring thermal throttling leaves the GPU losing clock speed to heat, capping frame rate despite every other change.

A frame rate that stays low after every change usually points to a CPU bottleneck or a thermal limit rather than a settings issue. When the GPU is already pinned at 100 percent with every setting tuned, the remaining gain comes from new hardware rather than another tweak.

Last Thoughts on Increasing FPS

Increasing FPS in games is a sequence, not a single switch. Update the GPU driver, turn on upscaling, lower the four heaviest settings, drop the resolution or render scale, free the CPU, and stop thermal throttling, then add frame generation once the base frame rate is steady. Upscaling is usually the single biggest free gain, and the bottleneck check tells you whether the CPU or the GPU is the wall you keep hitting.

Each fix lifts the number on the same hardware, with the heaviest settings traded for performance and upscaling reconstructing detail at a lower render cost. For related procedures, including overclocking, monitoring temperatures, and tuning Windows, see the PC tutorials hub.

Key Takeaways:

• Work in order of impact: driver, upscaling, heaviest settings, resolution, background load, cooling, then frame generation.
• Upscaling (DLSS, FSR, or XeSS) is usually the single biggest free gain, around 20 to 50 percent at the Quality preset.
• Ray tracing, shadows, anti-aliasing, and view distance cost the most performance; texture quality mainly uses video memory.
• Lowering resolution helps GPU-bound games but not CPU-bound ones, so check the bottleneck first.
• Enable frame generation only with a base frame rate around 60 FPS, and pair it with Reflex or Anti-Lag.
• A frame rate that stays low after every change points to a CPU bottleneck or thermal throttling, not a settings issue.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)