FPS drops and stutter: causes and fixes, and how to optimize your PC for gaming
Short answer: first find out what limits you. If GPU usage sits near 100 %, lower graphics settings or use upscaling. If it is clearly lower while FPS drops, the processor, RAM, VRAM or a background task is the cause. Most fixes below cost nothing.
Step 1: find the limit
Turn on an overlay that shows GPU usage, for example MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner, or the performance overlay in the NVIDIA app or AMD Software. Play the scene where FPS drops.
- GPU near 100 %: the graphics card is the limit. Lower resolution, presets, shadows and ray tracing, or turn on DLSS, FSR or XeSS.
- GPU clearly below 100 % and FPS low: the processor limits (common in shooters, strategy and simulation games at 1080p), or something else gets in the way. Graphics settings barely help here.
- Short hitches with an otherwise fine frame rate: often VRAM, shader compilation, slow storage or background activity.
Not sure which part is the weak one? The bottleneck calculator shows it for your parts and a game.
Step 2: free fixes that often help
- Update the graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel. New games often get fixes in drivers.
- Check the refresh rate: Settings › System › Display › Advanced display. A 144 Hz monitor sometimes runs at 60 Hz after a cable or driver change. Also make sure the monitor cable goes into the graphics card, not the motherboard.
- Laptops: plug in the charger and pick the best performance power mode. Under Settings › System › Display › Graphics you can set the game to "High performance" so it uses the dedicated GPU.
- Enable XMP or EXPO in the BIOS if Task Manager shows a RAM speed below the speed on the box. Two RAM sticks (dual-channel) are faster than one.
- Close background apps: browsers with video, recording, overlays and cloud sync can all take CPU time. Test with them closed.
- Turn on Game Mode: Settings › Gaming › Game Mode.
- Install games on an SSD, especially large open-world games that stream data while you play.
Step 3: in-game settings with the biggest effect
- Upscaling (DLSS, FSR, XeSS) on Quality or Balanced usually gives the most FPS for the least visual loss.
- Ray tracing costs a lot on most cards. Turn it off first.
- Shadows, volumetric fog and reflections are usually the most expensive normal settings.
- Texture quality costs almost no FPS as long as it fits into VRAM. If the game warns about VRAM, or stutters after a while, lower textures one step.
- A frame rate limit slightly below your monitor's refresh rate often gives smoother frame times than unlimited FPS.
Step 4: heat and hardware
If FPS starts high and drops after some minutes, check temperatures and clocks (HWiNFO64 is free). Falling clocks at high temperatures mean throttling: clean dust, check fans and case airflow. Our guide how to benchmark and stress test a gaming PC explains how to check this.
Stutter that is not your PC
Some games compile shaders while you play, which causes short hitches the first time an area or effect appears. That gets better after the first run or with patches. Check the game's Steam discussions: if many people with fast PCs report the same thing, it is the game.
When your PC is simply too slow
If the game asks for more than your hardware has, settings only go so far. doesitrun shows the estimated FPS for every game in your library, and which part would be worth upgrading. Planning a new PC instead? The gaming PC builder puts together complete parts lists for the games you play, with estimated FPS per game.