How to Increase FPS on a Gaming PC: Settings and Upgrades in Order of Impact

The fastest way to increase FPS is to lower the render resolution or turn on an upscaler such as DLSS or FSR, then trim the most expensive settings, usually shadows, ray tracing, and volumetric effects. After that, remove background load, update the graphics driver, and confirm the PC is using the right power mode.

If none of that is enough, the limit is the hardware itself, and the only real fix is a component upgrade. The key is to change things in the right order, because a setting that helps on a graphics-limited system does nothing on a processor-limited one. This guide walks through the steps from cheapest and most effective to most involved.

Step One: Find the Bottleneck

Before changing anything, work out what is holding the frame rate back. Open Task Manager, go to the Performance tab, and watch the GPU and CPU while the game runs. A performance overlay, such as the one in the NVIDIA app or in MSI Afterburner, shows GPU usage live in the game.

• If GPU usage sits near its maximum while FPS is low, the graphics card is the limit. Resolution and graphics settings will help most.
• If GPU usage is well below its maximum and one processor core is pegged, the CPU is the limit. Lowering resolution will not help much; reduce CPU-heavy settings such as crowd density, view distance, and simulation quality.
• If both usage numbers are low but the game stutters, look at memory, storage, and background programs.

A quick test: drop the resolution by one step. If FPS barely changes, the processor is likely the bottleneck. If it rises noticeably, the GPU was the limit.

Settings in Order of Impact

Resolution and render scale

Resolution has the largest effect on a GPU-limited system, since the card shades far fewer pixels. If a lower output resolution looks soft on your monitor, use the game’s render-scale slider instead, which lowers internal resolution while keeping the interface sharp.

Upscalers

DLSS on GeForce RTX cards, FSR on most cards, and XeSS in supported games render at a lower resolution and reconstruct the image. A quality or balanced mode usually gives a visible gain with modest image loss, while performance modes trade more sharpness for speed. Frame generation can raise displayed FPS further, but it adds some input latency and works best when the base frame rate is already reasonable. Support varies by game and GPU generation.

Shadows, ray tracing, and volumetrics

These are typically the most expensive settings per visual benefit. Dropping shadows from ultra to high often costs little in appearance but frees noticeable performance. Turn ray tracing off or lower it if you need frames. Volumetric fog and clouds, ambient occlusion, and reflections also rank among the heaviest.

Textures

Texture quality mostly depends on video memory instead of GPU speed. Keep textures high if the card has enough memory, and lower them if the game stutters or reports memory pressure.

Quick Reference Table

System-Level Fixes

After the in-game settings, check the Windows side, which costs nothing and carries no risk.

1. Close background programs. Browsers with many tabs, launchers, and recording tools use memory and processor time. Check Task Manager for anything using a large share.
2. Update the graphics driver. New game releases often come with driver optimizations. Use the NVIDIA app or the official driver download, and avoid third-party driver sites.
3. Use a high-performance power plan. In Windows power settings, choose a balanced or high-performance mode instead of a power-saver mode. On laptops, plug in the charger, since many run slower on battery.
4. Turn on Game Mode. This Windows setting helps prioritize the game, though its effect is often small.
5. Confirm the game uses the dedicated GPU. On systems with integrated graphics, open Windows graphics settings and set the game to high performance.
6. Check memory configuration. Two matched memory modules in dual-channel mode, with the rated speed enabled in the BIOS through XMP or EXPO, can help CPU-limited games.
7. Enable Resizable BAR if supported. This is a BIOS and driver option that some GPUs and platforms support; check the manufacturer’s documentation first.

Frame caps and V-Sync also matter. A stable cap at your monitor’s refresh rate can feel smoother than an uncapped, fluctuating frame rate, even if the average looks lower.

Thermal and Storage Checks

Dust and poor airflow can cause a GPU or CPU to lower its speed to protect itself, which looks like unexplained FPS drops. Watch temperatures during play with a monitoring tool, and clean filters and fans if they run hot. Many manufacturers publish maximum operating temperatures in their documentation; if your parts approach those limits, address cooling first.

Storage affects loading and stutter more than average frame rate. A game on a solid-state drive typically loads and streams assets more smoothly than one on a hard drive, but it will not raise FPS in a GPU-limited scene.

When Hardware Is the Only Fix

If the settings are already low and the frame rate is still poor, the hardware has reached its limit. Match the upgrade to the bottleneck you found in step one.

• GPU-limited: a newer or higher-tier graphics card is the most direct upgrade.
• CPU-limited: a faster processor, possibly with a new motherboard and memory.
• Memory-limited: more RAM, or a card with more video memory.

Check that the power supply, case, and motherboard support the new part before buying. A mismatch can waste money without raising the frame rate.

Frame Pacing, Not Just Averages

A high average frame rate can still feel bad if frames arrive unevenly. Stutter comes from spikes in frame time, the gap between one frame and the next. Causes include running out of video memory, shader compilation on first load, background tasks waking up, and storage that cannot stream assets quickly enough. If the game feels choppy even though the counter shows a healthy number, look at frame-time graphs in an overlay tool instead of the average alone.

Several habits reduce stutter. Let a game finish compiling shaders on its first launch if it offers that option. Keep texture quality within what the video memory can hold. Cap the frame rate slightly below the monitor’s refresh rate, or use a variable refresh rate display with the matching setting enabled in the driver. These changes often improve the feel more than raising the raw number would.

Common Myths About Boosting FPS

• Registry tweaks and “optimizer” programs. Most claim large gains and deliver little. Some change system settings in ways that are hard to undo. Stick to documented Windows and driver options.
• Disabling every Windows feature. Turning off security or system services can cause problems and rarely changes frame rate in a meaningful way.
• Maximum settings are always better. The top preset of many games costs a lot of performance for small visual gain, so a custom mix of high and medium settings is usually a better balance.
• More RAM always means more FPS. Once a game has enough memory, extra capacity does not raise the frame rate.

Before making a system-level change, note the original value so you can reverse it, and test one change at a time. That makes it easy to see what actually helped and what did not.

Related guides

• What Does Manage Gpu Performance Counters Mean On Nvidia Hardware
• Low Profile Nvidia Graphics Cards For Small Form Factor Pcs
• Nvidia App Error Your System Configuration Is Not Supported

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the quickest way to get more FPS?

Turn on an upscaler such as DLSS or FSR and lower the heaviest settings, such as shadows and ray tracing. These changes usually give the largest gain for the least visual loss.

Why is my FPS low even with a good graphics card?

The processor, memory, or a background program may be the real limit. Watch GPU and CPU usage during play to see which one is maxed out, and check that the game is using the dedicated GPU.

Does updating drivers increase FPS?

Sometimes. New drivers can improve performance in recently released games, but gains on older titles are usually small. Always download drivers from the official source.

Will more RAM increase my FPS?

Only if the system is short on memory. If the game already has enough, extra capacity does little, though faster memory in dual-channel mode can help CPU-limited games.