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Fix low FPS and stuttering by first measuring the problem, then checking the game’s own requirements, reducing graphics workload one setting at a time, and verifying that Windows is using the intended GPU. Low average FPS, sudden FPS drops, and micro-stutters can have different causes, so a generic “best settings” preset is less reliable than a short, repeatable diagnosis.
Identify whether you have low FPS, stuttering, or both
“Low FPS” and “stuttering” describe different frame-delivery problems. A game can render at a low but steady rate, such as 35 FPS, without obvious hitching. Another game can report a high average, such as 120 FPS, yet feel uneven because individual frames arrive at irregular intervals. You can also have both: a low average frame rate with severe dips whenever a new area, effect, or enemy appears.
What to record before changing anything
Write down the exact game and version if shown, your Windows edition, CPU, GPU, installed memory, display resolution, refresh rate, and current graphics settings. Note whether the problem happens in menus, a repeatable location, combat, camera turns, loading transitions, or asset-streaming moments. Also record whether the game is installed on a hard-disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD).
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Use one representative scene for every comparison. A repeatable route or encounter is more useful than changing settings while moving through unrelated areas. Change one variable, run the same test, and record the result before making another change.
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Measure averages, 1% lows, and frame consistency
Average FPS describes the overall rate, but it can hide short interruptions. The 1% low is a complementary indicator of the slower part of a session; a large gap between average FPS and 1% low often points to uneven delivery. Frame-time behavior matters because a sequence of inconsistent frames can feel worse than a lower, stable rate.
NVIDIA FrameView is one optional way to collect average FPS, 1% low FPS, latency, CPU and GPU clocks, utilization, temperatures, and power information. It is a measurement option, not a required purchase. If you use another overlay or benchmark tool, keep the same scene, resolution, graphics settings, and test duration for each comparison.
- Consistently low average FPS: the CPU, GPU, or selected graphics workload may be insufficient for the chosen settings.
- Good average FPS with poor 1% lows: investigate background activity, thermal or power limits, storage-related pauses, driver or game behavior, and settings that trigger intermittent work.
- Brief freezes during loading or new areas: storage or asset streaming becomes more plausible, although it is not proven by the symptom alone.
- Tearing without a frame-rate drop: this is a display-synchronization issue and should be tested separately from performance changes.
Check the exact game’s official requirements
Find the specific game’s official minimum and recommended requirements on its publisher page or distribution platform. Compare those requirements with your CPU, GPU, memory, operating system, and storage. Do not infer requirements from the horror-shooter genre or from another title: two games with similar visuals can place very different demands on a system.
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Reduce graphics workload methodically
Graphics options control how much detail and processing work the game requests. The settings with the largest performance effect vary by game, so lower one demanding option at a time rather than applying a generic preset and losing track of the cause.
A controlled settings procedure
- Save a baseline. Record resolution, render scale, preset, texture quality, shadows, lighting, reflections, effects, post-processing, view distance, anti-aliasing, and any upscaling or frame-generation options the game exposes.
- Choose a repeatable scene. Use the same location and activity that normally produces the problem. Include a combat test if stuttering occurs during fights.
- Change one high-cost option. Move a setting down by one level, or reduce render scale slightly if the game provides it. Do not change resolution, refresh behavior, and several effects simultaneously.
- Repeat the test. Compare average FPS, 1% lows, frame-time consistency, image quality, and input or display behavior.
- Keep only useful changes. A setting is worthwhile when it improves consistency or the low end without making the image or controls unacceptable. Restore changes that do not help.
What to compare for each change
| Comparison | What to watch | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | Overall rendering rate | An increase suggests the setting was limiting throughput, but it does not prove that hitching is fixed. |
| 1% lows and frame-time graph | Short, disruptive slowdowns | Improvement here usually matters more to smoothness than a small average-FPS gain. |
| Image quality | Shadow detail, reflections, texture clarity, and edge stability | Keep the lowest-cost visual reductions that preserve the details you value. |
| Resolution and render scale | Sharpness and GPU workload | Lowering them can reduce GPU work, but may make the image soft; test at the display’s native resolution when possible. |
| Input and display behavior | Perceived delay, tearing, and synchronization | VSync and related options affect presentation behavior, not just raw rendering speed. |
VSync is a display-behavior test, not a universal FPS fix
VSync synchronizes frame delivery with the display refresh cycle and can reduce visible tearing. Depending on the game and hardware, it can also alter latency or expose a different form of unevenness. Test it with the same scene and measurement method; do not assume that enabling or disabling it will raise FPS or cure every stutter.
Verify Windows 11 is using the intended GPU
This section applies to Windows 11. It is especially relevant to laptops and desktops with more than one GPU, such as an integrated GPU plus a discrete GPU. Selecting the wrong adapter can produce unexpectedly low performance even when the hardware meets the game’s requirements.
Set a per-game high-performance preference
- Open Settings.
- Go to System > Display > Graphics.
- Find the game in the app list. If it is not listed, use the option to browse for and add its executable.
- Open the game’s graphics preference and choose High performance when that is the appropriate discrete-GPU option for your system.
- Save the change and fully restart the game.
The available adapters and labels depend on the PC. “High performance” does not make a weak GPU faster; it tells Windows which available GPU should handle the selected app. If the game already uses the intended adapter, changing this preference will not address a different bottleneck.
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Test Windows 11 optimizations for windowed games
Windows 11 includes Optimizations for windowed games for compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games running in windowed or borderless-window modes. Microsoft describes the feature as moving compatible games to a newer presentation model that can reduce frame latency. It does not apply universally: a full-screen game, a different graphics API, or an incompatible title may not benefit.
Enable the feature only when the game matches
- Open Settings.
- Select System > Display > Graphics.
- Open the setting for Optimizations for windowed games and enable it if the game uses DirectX 10 or DirectX 11 in windowed or borderless mode.
- Restart the game before judging the result.
Compare the same mode with the feature on and off. Record frame pacing, latency, tearing, and 1% lows rather than assuming that a Windows setting must improve every title. If the game uses another API or exclusive full-screen mode, this particular optimization is outside its stated scope.
Use telemetry to locate the limiting component
During a repeatable test, observe CPU and GPU utilization, clocks, temperatures, power behavior, and memory use where your monitoring tool reports them. FrameView can collect several of these values alongside FPS and latency.
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| Observation | Likely direction for the next test |
|---|---|
| GPU utilization remains high and lowering resolution or effects raises FPS | The graphics workload is a strong suspect. Continue tuning GPU-heavy settings while preserving acceptable image quality. |
| GPU utilization is low while one or more CPU threads are busy | Reducing visual quality may do little. Check the game’s requirements, background activity, CPU temperatures and clocks, and game-specific support information. |
| Clocks fall as temperatures rise | Thermal behavior may be limiting performance. Confirm the pattern over a repeatable test instead of assuming a temperature spike caused every hitch. |
| Utilization and clocks look normal, but isolated frame-time spikes remain | Investigate when the spikes occur: loading, asset streaming, menus, combat effects, background tasks, or a reproducible game event. |
These observations are diagnostic clues, not proof of a particular fault. A utilization percentage can change with the scene, frame cap, synchronization mode, and the way the game schedules work.
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Investigate storage only when symptoms point to it
Storage is most relevant when pauses correlate with loading screens, entering new areas, or streaming assets. Check the drive containing the game, its available free capacity, and whether the drive is an HDD or SSD. Also confirm that the drive and interface are compatible with the PC before planning a replacement.
MSI’s general performance guidance says installing games on an SSD usually improves the gaming experience and may increase FPS in some demanding AAA games. That is a conditional benefit, not evidence that an SSD fixes every low-FPS or frame-time problem. An SSD should be considered when the observed pauses line up with loading or streaming; it should not be presented as a universal stutter cure.
Storage decision checklist
- Are the pauses repeatable when a level, texture set, or new area loads?
- Is the game currently installed on an HDD?
- Does the drive have adequate free space and no reported health problem?
- Would moving the game change the storage path without changing the CPU, GPU, resolution, or graphics settings?
- Can you retest the same loading or streaming sequence after the move?
If the answer to the first two questions is no, prioritize measurement, requirements, graphics workload, GPU selection, and Windows presentation settings before buying storage.
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The game is always below your target FPS
- Confirm that the PC meets the exact game’s official requirements.
- Measure average FPS and 1% lows in a repeatable scene.
- Lower one demanding graphics setting, then retest.
- Reduce resolution or render scale only if the image-quality trade-off is acceptable.
- Use telemetry to determine whether the GPU or CPU side changes with the setting.
If the game remains below its target after appropriate settings changes and the hardware is near or below the official requirements, the limit may be the system’s available processing capacity rather than a single Windows toggle.
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Average FPS looks fine, but movement feels uneven
- Check 1% lows and a frame-time graph instead of relying on the average.
- Repeat the test in the exact location where the hitch occurs.
- Note whether the event is tied to combat effects, camera turns, loading, or asset streaming.
- Test one graphics option at a time, keeping the change only if it improves frame consistency.
- Compare VSync or other presentation settings separately, recording latency and tearing as well as FPS.
Stutters happen when entering areas or during loading
- Record the drive type and location of the game.
- Check available capacity and basic drive health information.
- Retest the same transition after addressing a plausible storage bottleneck.
- If the game is already on an SSD, do not assume storage is the cause; continue with telemetry and the game’s official support information.
The game performs poorly on a laptop or hybrid-GPU PC
- Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics in Windows 11.
- Set the game’s per-app preference to High performance when the discrete GPU is the intended adapter.
- Restart the game.
- Retest with the same power, display, and graphics conditions.
Windowed or borderless mode feels worse than expected
Confirm whether the game uses DirectX 10 or DirectX 11 and whether it is running windowed or borderless. If so, test Windows 11’s Optimizations for windowed games, restart the game, and compare frame latency and consistency. Do not expect the feature to apply to unsupported APIs or display modes.
Avoid changes that obscure the diagnosis
- Do not change several graphics options at once; you will not know which change helped.
- Do not copy a preset from another horror shooter; game engines and workloads differ.
- Do not treat average FPS as the only performance measure.
- Do not call an SSD a general cure for stuttering without a storage-related symptom.
- Do not infer a game’s hardware requirements from its genre.
- Do not judge a Windows graphics option until the game has been restarted.
- Do not promise a fix when the exact game, patch, hardware, and operating system are unknown.
When to seek game-specific support
Stop broad troubleshooting when the problem is tied to one title, one patch, or one reproducible event that does not respond to controlled settings changes. Check that game’s official support documentation for known issues, required launch parameters, supported APIs, and repair instructions. Provide the support team with the game version, Windows version, CPU, GPU, memory, resolution, refresh rate, graphics settings, drive type, average FPS, 1% lows, and a description of the exact scene that stutters.
Because the title, patch, and PC configuration are unspecified here, no game-specific setting, known bug, or guaranteed target FPS can be established in advance. A precise diagnosis requires those details and the measurements from a repeatable test.
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Recommended order of operations
- Describe and measure the symptom, including average FPS, 1% lows, frame pacing, and where the hitch occurs.
- Check the exact game’s official system requirements against the PC.
- Reduce one demanding graphics setting at a time and compare consistency, image quality, and display behavior.
- On Windows 11, verify the per-app GPU preference when multiple GPUs are present.
- For compatible DirectX 10 or DirectX 11 windowed or borderless games, test Windows 11’s windowed-game optimization and restart.
- Investigate HDD versus SSD only when loading or asset-streaming behavior makes storage a plausible bottleneck.
- Use the game’s official support channel when the issue remains title-specific or patch-specific.
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