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You can often raise your frame rate and make it steadier without buying new hardware, but no method guarantees a fixed FPS gain. The result depends on the game, its graphics workload, which part of your PC is the bottleneck, and your monitor. The approach that works reliably is to measure one repeatable scene, lower the most expensive settings a few at a time, update your software, and check what else is using your system. Then judge each change by smoothness, responsiveness, and image quality, not by average FPS alone.
The steps below apply to Windows and Mac PCs, which is what the vendor guides referenced here cover.
Start by measuring a baseline
Changes are only useful if you can compare them with the starting point. Riot Games Support recommends testing settings in the same conditions rather than relying on feel alone, so set up a fixed reference before you touch anything.
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- Choose one repeatable scene. Use the game’s built-in benchmark if it has one. Otherwise, pick a route through a town or map that you can replay the same way each time.
- Write down the current resolution, graphics preset, display mode (fullscreen, borderless, or windowed), VSync state, and graphics driver version.
- Record average FPS. If you have a capture tool, also record 1% lows and frame-time behavior. Run the same scene two or three times and note how much the results vary.
- Change one group of settings, then repeat the same scene and compare against the baseline.
Lower the expensive settings first
Riot Games Support’s graphics guide (dated October 7, 2026) states, “There’s no single perfect setup for every PC.” Its advice is to reduce demanding settings, test the result, and then restore individual options until you find the balance you prefer between performance and visual quality. Intel’s FPS guide makes the same point about working through options gradually.
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The table below lists the settings the sources identify as the most common sources of GPU or CPU load. Exact costs vary by game and engine, so treat the order as a starting point rather than a benchmark.
| Setting | Why it can cost frames | Guidance from the sources |
|---|---|---|
| Shadows | Shadow rendering adds passes for every shadow-casting light and object. | Intel lists shadows, reflections, and lighting as an initial set to reduce. Riot lists shadows among high-impact options. |
| Reflections | Reflective surfaces may need extra rendering work. | Intel lists reflections in its initial set. |
| Lighting | Lighting quality affects how much calculation each frame requires. | Intel lists lighting in its initial set. |
| Effects and particles | Many simultaneous effects add work when the screen is busy. | Riot lists effects among common high-impact options. |
| Post-processing | Full-screen passes run after the scene is drawn. | Riot lists post-processing among common high-impact options. |
| Anti-aliasing | Smoothing edges adds per-pixel work, and higher modes cost more. | Riot lists anti-aliasing among common high-impact options. |
| Environment, detail, and material quality | More detailed scenery and materials increase rendering work. | Riot lists these as options to test individually. |
| Texture quality | Higher textures mainly use video memory, and the effect on FPS depends on how much memory the card has. | Riot says texture quality can be tested, though the best level is game-dependent. |
| Resolution or render scale | Every extra pixel must be drawn, so the GPU cost rises with pixel count. | Use only if the steps above are not enough. The loss in clarity is more visible than most other changes. |
Change two or three settings at a time, then retest. If one change produces a clear improvement, you can stop there and restore any settings you do not need to lower.
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Resolution and render scale as a last resort
Reducing resolution or render scale can improve performance because the GPU draws fewer pixels. Intel notes that rendering below native resolution trades clarity for speed. Use this option only when the game still falls short of your target after you have lowered the settings above.
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- Lower render scale before changing the output resolution if the game offers both, since it often keeps the interface sharp.
- Compare the image on the same scene. If text, distant objects, or fine detail become hard to read, the trade-off is probably not worth it for you.
- Restore native resolution after testing if the clarity loss matters more than the extra frames.
VSync and display mode are trade-offs, not FPS switches
VSync and display mode can change how frames reach the screen, but neither is a reliable way to add FPS on every system. Treat them as experiments and keep whichever combination suits your tolerance for tearing and input delay.
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- VSync on helps prevent screen tearing. It can add input delay and can hold the frame rate to your monitor’s refresh rate.
- VSync off may improve performance or reduce input delay in some cases, but frames can tear across the screen. NVIDIA’s latency guide describes system latency as a factor in responsiveness, which is why this setting is worth testing rather than assuming.
- Fullscreen may help some systems. It is not a guaranteed FPS gain, so compare it against your current mode on the same scene.
Your monitor’s refresh rate decides what can be displayed, but there is no universal FPS target that applies to every display and game. Set your goal based on your screen and the smoothness you notice in play.
Update software and check background load
Intel identifies outdated drivers, outdated software, and heavy background processes as common causes of low frame rates. Work through these steps in order, retesting after each one.
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- Update the game through its launcher and install the latest patch.
- Update the graphics driver from your GPU vendor (AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA). Note the old and new driver versions so you can compare results.
- On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, select the Processes tab, and sort by CPU and then by Memory. On Mac, open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities and check the CPU and Memory tabs.
- Close only applications you recognize and no longer need. Do not end system processes you do not understand.
- If problems are inconsistent or limited to one game, use the game launcher’s repair or verify option to check the installed files.
Measure more than average FPS
Average FPS describes throughput over a run. It does not show whether frames arrive evenly. A game can average 90 FPS and still stutter badly if a few frames take far longer than the rest. NVIDIA’s FrameView 1.7 user guide defines the metrics that help separate these cases, including average FPS, 1% lows, PC latency, and CPU and GPU utilization, clocks, and temperatures. Confirm that the FrameView version you use is current and compatible with your system before relying on its results.
| Metric | What it tells you | When it matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | Overall throughput across the captured run | Comparing two settings profiles on the same scene |
| 1% lows | How low the slowest 1% of frames fall | Diagnosing stutter that average FPS hides |
| Frame time | How long each frame takes, and how consistent that is | Judging whether motion feels even |
| PC latency | Delay between input and the result on screen | Judging responsiveness in fast games |
| CPU and GPU utilization | Which component is working hardest | Finding the bottleneck before changing settings |
AMD’s Game Advisor, available inside the Radeon Overlay, can report average FPS, frame-time percentiles, and suggested in-game settings. Support is limited: AMD’s documentation describes the feature for Radeon RX 400-series and newer graphics, for supported DirectX and Vulkan games, and states that APU graphics are not supported. Check that your hardware and game qualify before following its steps.
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Tweaks to approach with caution
- Advanced scheduling and interrupt tweaks are situational. NVIDIA’s latency guide notes that they can worsen latency on some systems, so apply them only if you have measured a benefit and can reverse them.
- Universal FPS targets do not account for your display, game, or hardware. Judge results against your own baseline.
- Promises of a fixed gain should be treated skeptically. No general configuration step has a guaranteed percentage improvement across games.
Keep a simple log of each change, its result, and the version of each driver. Reversible changes are safest because you can always return to the baseline.
When the bottleneck is not the graphics settings
CPU, GPU, and RAM all contribute to frame production, so a graphics-only change may not fix a problem caused elsewhere. Intel’s guide describes these roles and recommends checking system resource use when frame rates stay low. Use your capture data to decide which branch applies.
- GPU-limited: GPU utilization stays near full while CPU load has room. Lowering shadows, effects, post-processing, and anti-aliasing is most likely to help.
- CPU-limited: CPU utilization is close to its ceiling while GPU utilization stays well below full. Further graphics-only changes will do little, so focus on background load and the game’s own CPU-heavy options.
- Memory-limited: RAM use is high and the system is slowing down. Closing unused applications is the first step, since memory pressure can cause stutter even when average FPS looks acceptable.
- Temperature-related drops: If temperatures rise sharply under load and frame rates fall with them, check fan operation, dust buildup, and airflow, and treat this as a separate diagnosis from settings.
- Game-specific or inconsistent problems: Verify the game files, then retest the baseline scene before making further changes.
Deciding between two profiles
When you have two settings profiles, compare them on four axes rather than average FPS alone:
- Average FPS across the same scene
- 1% lows or frame-time consistency
- Input latency and how responsive the game feels
- Image quality, including clarity and tearing
A profile that adds a few frames but worsens stutter, latency, or visual clarity may be the wrong choice for you. The sources do not establish a universal winning configuration, so the best profile is the one that performs well on all four axes in the games you actually play.
Quick Recap
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