How to increase FPS on PC
You have a very recent computer and, after doing several experiments on the game options, you have realized that the actions are not very smooth and that, sometimes, video games even go “jerky”. In cases like these, the FPS parameter could be extremely important , that is the value that indicates the number of frames that are displayed on the screen every second and that determines the fluidity of the images seen on the screen.
Contrary to what one might think, a latest generation hardware equipment may not guarantee, by itself, the achievement of a high FPS (say greater than 60): this parameter, in fact, also significantly affects the activities in progress on the operating system, driver and peripheral settings and, not least, the specific settings of each game.
So, if it is your interest to understand how to increase the FPS on PC without modifying the hardware, you would do well to read carefully the contents of this guide of mine, in which I will introduce you to some small “tricks” capable of improve – in some cases even clearly – the performance that can be obtained from the computer. So, ready to try? OK, let’s get started right away!
Index
- Preliminary information
- How to increase FPS on PC
- Install the video card drivers
- Close programs not in use
- Optimize in-game settings
- Enable Windows 10 “Game Mode”
- Use a booster
- Other useful solutions
Preliminary information
Before getting to the heart of this guide and explaining, in practice, how to increase the FPS on PC for games and other high graphics processing software, let me give you some more information on the subject.
The word FPS stands for frames-per-second (or frames per second , in Italian) and indicates the number of images that are shown on the screen every second. By definition, therefore, a higher FPS value has the direct consequence of a smoother image, whose interruptions are difficult to perceive by the human eye.
Although within many games it is possible to manually intervene on the maximum FPS that can be generated (value also called framerate ), the yield may not be optimal: setting an extremely high framerate, in fact, could harm the quality of the game, as the computer could get “in trouble” due to the very high amount of resources needed to generate the images.
For this reason, the hardware plays a fundamental role in terms of the number of FPS obtainable in-game: theoretically, the more powerful the video card and processor are, the greater the final performance during the game.
However, there are also software factors that can significantly influence the maximum obtainable framerate: optimizing the operating system settings and those of the games, as well as closing unnecessary programs and services, can have as a direct consequence an increase, even important, in terms of FPS.
The theme of this guide will be, precisely, to guide you to what are the software optimizations that can be made in order to increase the FPS and, in general, increase the performance of the games: I anticipate right away that you will not see a real miracle but I guarantee you that, in some cases, the improvement can be truly remarkable!
How to increase FPS on PC
Having made the necessary premises of the case, the time has come to explain how to increase the FPS on PC by intervening on very specific parameters of the computer, the operating system and the game itself.
Install the video card drivers
Without a doubt, the easiest and most immediate way to increase FPS on PC without making any hardware changes to the machine is to use the latest specific drivers for your video card . In this way, in fact, it is possible to take full advantage of all the resources that the graphic processing unit makes available and, in some cases, to apply specific settings to further optimize them.
In most cases, you can get the most up-to-date versions of the drivers for your video card by going to the manufacturer’s website, accessing the support page dedicated to your GPU, and then visiting the download area. of software and drivers .
If you do not know how to complete this operation, I refer you to reading my guide on how to install the video card drivers , in which I have listed the steps to take to identify the exact model of the hardware in your possession and proceed with the download the most appropriate software.
As I mentioned earlier, in some cases, it is possible to use the hardware configuration panel (often installed together with the drivers) to obtain a decent FPS gain: for example, if you have an NVIDIA GPU , you can change the management mode of the power supply and optimize it for maximum performance during 3D processing.
To do this, right-click on an empty spot on the Windows desktop, select the NVIDIA Control Panel item from the proposed context menu and, once in the main screen of the video card management software, expand the section relating to 3D Settings (located on the left), then click on the item Manage 3D settings .
Now, if you are interested in applying the change globally (i.e. for all software that perform 3D processing), click on the Global Settings tab , make sure that the Preferred Graphics Processor drop-down menu is set to the NVIDIA Processor and locate the item dedicated to Management Mode power supply , inside the box below.
When you have found it, click on the drop-down menu corresponding to it (bearing, by default, the words Optimal power ) and set it to the item Prefer maximum performance .
If, on the other hand, you want to apply this change only at the runtime of certain games (or programs), click instead on the Program Settings tab and, after choosing the program to customize and the preferred graphics processor for it, locate the item dedicated to Power management mode from the bottom box and move it to Prefer maximum performance . So repeat the same operation on all the programs for which you want to get an increase in FPS.
Once the changes are finished, click the Apply button to make them effective and, if necessary, restart your computer.
Note: if you use a laptop, be careful to activate the above settings, as, as you can easily understand, they could lead to a rapid depletion of the battery life.
Close programs not in use
Another little trick to “gain” system resources and allow games to “run” at higher FPS values is to close open programs that are no longer necessary or, at least, not useful for the game. By doing so, the operating system will release the resources previously occupied by them, assigning them to the software that will request them (in this case, to the game that is about to run).
Also remember to also check for background processes on your computer and close unnecessary ones: some software, in fact, are automatically started when you log in to Windows and, although the related windows are not visible, they still tend to occupy valuable system resources.
Therefore, before even opening the game of your interest, take a look at the Windows system tray and, in particular, at the icons located near the clock: locate those relating to unnecessary software, right-click on each of them and choose the item Exit / Exit or Close / Close , located in the contextual menu displayed, to close the related process. Finally, click on the up arrow symbol to view any hidden icons and repeat the same operation on the latter as well.
The only recommendation I want to make you, in this case, is to not interrupt processes that could be useful for the game : for example, remember to leave the video card management software running and, of course, the eventual game launcher of your interest (eg Steam , Launcher Epic Games , Origin or UPlay ).
Optimize in-game settings
As I explained to you in the introductory chapter of this guide , the increase in FPS (and the fluidity of the images) can be determined not only by the hardware and operating system settings, but also by the specific graphic parameters of the individual games.
Therefore, in order to improve the final performance of the game engine, I recommend that you change the settings of the title of your interest and change its resolution , the quality of the details and, if necessary, the maximum frame rate .
For example, in the case of Fortnite , you can try to improve the in-game performance (thus going to slightly increase the FPS) in the following way: after starting the game, select one of the available modes (eg Battle Royale ) and , when loading is complete, first click on the ☰ button, located at the top right, and then on the gear-shaped symbol , located in the menu that is proposed to you.
Next, click on the button depicting a monitor , set a frame rate limit equal to or lower than 60 fps and disable the V-sync and Motion blur items , especially if you are using a not particularly recent computer. Finally, to further improve game performance, lower the graphics quality , setting it to a Medium or Low value . Finally, click the Apply button to save the changes made. If you are interested in understanding, specifically, how to increase the FPS on PC Fortnite, I invite you to read the tutorial that I dedicated, specifically, to the specific improvements for the famous title of Epic Games.
Enable Windows 10 “Game Mode”
Introduced starting with Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703) , Windows 10 Game Mode allows you to optimize CPU, GPU and RAM resources, acting on system settings and closing, completely automatically, processes and non-essential programs for the execution of the title in question. Additionally, Game Mode prevents automatic driver update / installation and reboot notifications from being sent.
Enabling this feature is very simple: first, right-click on the Start button (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen), select the Settings item from the menu displayed on the screen and click on the icon dedicated to Games (the one with the Xbox logo ).
Now, reach the Game Mode section , by clicking on the entry of the same name on the left sidebar, and move the Game Mode lever at the top of the proposed screen to Activated . To exit this mode, disable the previously activated lever.
In order to save a few more resources, I also recommend that you disable the Xbox Game Bar , that is the bar that allows you to monitor “on the fly” the resources in use by the computer and to perform a series of in-game operations, using the tools Windows 10 built-in (screen capture / recording , audio adjustment, Xbox Social chat, and so on). Even if hidden, in fact, this feature remains active in the background, waiting for commands.
To do this, always from the settings menu dedicated to Games, click on the Xbox Game Bar item located on the left and move the lever located at the top of the screen to Disabled .
Use a booster
If the changes I have talked about so far have not been enough for you, you can evaluate the use of a program capable of optimizing the performance of the PC “on the fly” (and, in some cases, the in-game settings), within a couple of clicks: software of this type are called boosters and are quite common in gaming.
One of the best boosters currently available on the net is Razer Cortex : if you had never heard of it, it is a software, made available by the famous manufacturer of gaming products, free and compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 . It allows you to optimize computer resources for running games in a single click, as well as apply some specific in-game settings, but only for compatible titles, in order to increase their FPS and, in general, the graphic rendering.
To get it, connected to its official website , click on the Download Now button and wait for the setup package to be downloaded to your computer; when the download is complete, run the file obtained (eg RazerCortexInstaller.exe ) and click on the Yes , Install and Get Started! buttons . , to complete the installation and start the program.
At the first login, you will be asked to create a new Razer ID via email , Facebook or Google , so that you can later “transfer” your personal settings to other PCs; if you do not intend to take advantage of this possibility, click on the Login as guest and Continue as guest buttons , to avoid registering with the portal.
At this point, click on the Game Booster tab located at the top and, later, reach the Boost section , using the appropriate item located on the green bar. Through this screen, you can decide which improvements to make to the hardware and the operating system, in order to optimize game performance, by placing the check mark next to each of the proposed items.
The latter are divided into four further sections: Special , which contains the optimization elements relating to the CPU, the settings on energy saving and the fundamental elements of the operating system; Processes , in which it is possible to specify any processes to be interrupted; Services , which is used, instead, to disable any Windows services; and Non-Windows Services , useful for automatically disabling services external to the operating system. If you are not clear about the usefulness of each of the options present, I recommend that you leave the default ones selected.
At this point, to ensure that the optimizations are made automatically when you launch a game, move the lever relative to the Auto-boost item to ON ; to immediately apply a “boost”, that is, to immediately put into practice all the selected improvements, click on the Boost Now button , located at the top right.
Another interesting part of Cortex Razer is the Booster Prime section : it allows you to optimize the performance of compatible games, directly intervening on the in-game settings: after clicking on the name of the game you are interested in, you will see a series of options and menus, through which to apply the desired changes. In addition, there is a graph that can predict, with a difference of 10 units, any improvements / worsening of the FPS. Currently, the Booster Prime section supports Fortnite and a few other games.
Alternatively, if you have an NVIDIA-branded video card, you’ll be pleased to know that the NVIDIA GeForce Experience software , usually bundled with the video drivers (or downloadable as standalone software, via this link ), can also act as a booster for a large number of games supported .
So, after starting the aforementioned program, click on the Continue button and log in to the GeForce network through one of the supported networks (NVIDIA, Google, Facebook, WeChat or QQ) and, once the login is complete, put the check mark next to the wording Automatically optimize newly added games and click the Continue and Done buttons .
I recommend: download only software produced by companies with proven reliability and from safe sources . The danger of catching some malware or, in any case, of using poor software that can compromise the correct functioning of the operating system is just around the corner!
Other useful solutions
How do you say? Have you slavishly followed the instructions I gave you in the course of this guide but, in any case, you have not been able to increase the FPS on PC to the extent you wanted?
In this case, as an extreme measure, you can try to update your computer’s BIOS : if available, BIOS / UEFI updates allow you to optimize the way your computer hardware “communicates” with the operating system, increasing the likelihood of get a decent performance gain.
However, keep in mind that this is a rather delicate operation and that an unexpected event during the update phase (eg power failure or an attempt to install an incorrect firmware) could cause irreversible damage to the motherboard , making it unusable.
If, despite this, you still intend to go this way, I refer you to reading my guide on how to update the BIOS and, if you have an ASUS-branded computer, to the tutorial dedicated specifically to the manufacturer. Once the BIOS / UEFI update is complete, try the previous suggestions again and verify that you have actually achieved the desired FPS boost.
If the situation does not improve, alas, there is not much else you can intervene on, on the software side: if you realize that the video card in your possession is no longer suitable for the game quality you want to achieve, I recommend. to buy a new one. If you need a hand in this regard, I refer you to reading my guide dedicated to the best video cards , in which I have provided you with valuable advice on the hardware to prefer, according to your needs.
Finally, if you have some money aside and want to give your gaming experience a “twist”, you can consider building a gaming PC from scratch : I guarantee you that, by choosing the hardware carefully to use, you will be able to get a respectable car, even with a cost of only 500 euros . Alternatively, if you do not feel you have the necessary experience to opt for a do-it-yourself solution, you can always rely on the many pre-assembled gaming computers available on the market: I am sure that, with a pinch of attention, you will be able to choose the one that best suits your needs!
