Low FPS can completely change the gaming experience.
A game that should feel smooth can suddenly become choppy, unresponsive, or difficult to play. You may notice your FPS dropping during combat, stuttering when entering new areas, or struggling to maintain a stable frame rate even though your PC appears powerful enough to run the game.
If you’re using Windows 11, there are several possible reasons for poor gaming performance.
Your graphics driver could be outdated. Windows may be running unnecessary background processes. Your game could be using the wrong GPU. Your CPU or graphics card could be overheating. You may simply be using graphics settings that are too demanding for your hardware.
The good news is that low FPS doesn’t automatically mean you need a new gaming PC.
In many cases, you can improve performance by identifying the actual bottleneck and making a few sensible changes.
This GameStellar guide explains 15 practical ways to troubleshoot and improve low FPS on Windows 11 without relying on questionable “FPS booster” applications.
What Does FPS Mean?
FPS stands for Frames Per Second.
It represents approximately how many individual frames your computer renders every second.
For example:
- 30 FPS: Playable in many games, but movement may feel less smooth.
- 60 FPS: A common target for smooth gaming.
- 90–120 FPS: Very smooth when supported by your hardware and monitor.
- 144+ FPS: Useful for high-refresh-rate gaming.
- 240+ FPS: Primarily valuable for competitive players with appropriate displays and hardware.
Higher FPS isn’t automatically better in every situation.
A stable 60 FPS can feel significantly better than a constantly fluctuating 100 FPS.
That’s why frame-time consistency is also important.
Why Is My FPS So Low?
There are many potential causes.
Common reasons include:
- Weak graphics hardware
- CPU bottleneck
- Outdated GPU drivers
- Excessive graphics settings
- High temperatures
- Background applications
- Insufficient RAM
- Wrong GPU selected
- Power-saving settings
- Game optimization problems
- Windows configuration
- Thermal throttling
- Storage problems
- Hardware limitations
The key is to identify which problem affects your particular system.
1. Check Your PC Specifications
Before optimizing anything, find out exactly what hardware you have.
You need to know:
CPU
GPU
RAM
Storage
Windows version
You can check basic information by opening:
Settings → System → About
For graphics information, you can use:
Windows + R → dxdiag → Enter
You can also open:
Task Manager → Performance
and check CPU, Memory, Disk, and GPU information.
This matters because the correct settings depend heavily on your hardware.
A gaming PC with a high-end GPU can use dramatically different settings from an older laptop with integrated graphics.
2. Check Whether Your PC Meets the Game’s Requirements
Before troubleshooting Windows, check the game’s system requirements.
Games normally publish minimum and recommended hardware specifications.
The minimum specification generally represents hardware capable of running the game under certain conditions.
The recommended specification provides a better target for a more comfortable experience.
But don’t treat these requirements as guaranteed FPS numbers.
A game saying that a certain GPU is “recommended” doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a particular frame rate at ultra settings.
Your resolution, graphics preset, CPU, RAM, drivers, and game version all matter.
3. Update Your Graphics Driver
Your GPU driver plays a major role in gaming compatibility and performance.
Graphics manufacturers frequently release updates for newer games and hardware.
If you’re experiencing poor performance, crashes, graphical glitches, or unusual behavior, check whether your graphics driver is current.
Use the official driver software or support website from your GPU manufacturer.
Avoid downloading drivers from random websites.
After installing a significant driver update, restart your computer and test the game again.
4. Make Sure the Game Uses Your Dedicated GPU
This is particularly important for laptops.
Many laptops contain both:
Integrated graphics
and:
Dedicated graphics
If a demanding game accidentally runs on integrated graphics, performance can be dramatically worse.
Windows 11 provides graphics preferences that allow you to select how applications should run.
Go to:
Settings → System → Display → Graphics
Find your game and check its graphics preference.
If your system contains a dedicated GPU, select the appropriate high-performance option when available.
The exact options depend on your hardware and Windows configuration.
5. Reduce the Game’s Resolution
Resolution has a major impact on GPU workload.
For example, 1080p requires substantially fewer pixels to render than 1440p, while 4K requires significantly more.
If your GPU is struggling, try lowering the resolution.
For example:
2560 × 1440 → 1920 × 1080
can provide a substantial performance improvement in GPU-limited situations.
However, resolution isn’t the only factor.
If your CPU is the bottleneck, reducing resolution may produce little improvement.
6. Lower Shadows
Shadow quality is one of the first settings worth testing.
High-quality shadows can consume significant GPU resources.
Try changing:
Ultra → High
or:
High → Medium
You may gain additional FPS without dramatically changing the overall appearance of the game.
If you’re trying to optimize an older PC, shadows can often be reduced further.
7. Reduce Reflection Quality
Reflections can also be demanding.
Games with realistic reflections, water surfaces, mirrors, or ray-traced environments can place considerable workload on the GPU.
If you’re struggling with FPS, try lowering reflection quality.
This can be particularly useful when playing visually demanding games.
8. Disable or Reduce Ray Tracing
Ray tracing can produce impressive lighting and reflection effects.
However, it can also have a substantial performance cost depending on the game and graphics hardware.
If you’re prioritizing FPS over maximum graphical quality, test the game with ray tracing disabled.
You can then gradually enable individual ray-tracing features to determine whether the visual improvement is worth the performance cost.
On compatible hardware, upscaling technologies can sometimes help offset some of the performance impact.
9. Use DLSS, FSR, or XeSS When Available
Modern games may offer advanced image-upscaling technologies.
Depending on your GPU and the game, you may see options such as:
- NVIDIA DLSS
- AMD FSR
- Intel XeSS
These technologies can render internally at a lower resolution and reconstruct the image for the target output.
They can provide a useful performance-quality balance.
Common presets include settings similar to:
Quality
Balanced
Performance
Ultra Performance
If image quality is important to you, start with a higher-quality mode and test performance before going more aggressive.
10. Close Background Applications
Windows may have many applications running while you’re gaming.
Examples include:
- Web browsers
- Cloud storage applications
- Video editors
- Download managers
- Launchers
- Communication applications
- File compression software
Open:
Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Task Manager
Check CPU, Memory, Disk, and GPU usage.
Close applications that you recognize and don’t need.
Don’t terminate unknown Windows processes simply because they use resources.
Some system processes are necessary for Windows to operate correctly.
11. Disable Unnecessary Startup Applications
Some applications launch automatically when Windows starts.
Over time, this can create a large collection of background programs.
Open:
Task Manager → Startup apps
Review the list.
If an application isn’t necessary at startup, you can consider disabling its automatic startup behavior.
Examples might include applications you rarely use.
Be careful with security software, drivers, hardware utilities, and other system-related components.
12. Enable Windows Game Mode
Windows 11 includes a Game Mode feature.
Go to:
Settings → Gaming → Game Mode
Make sure it is enabled.
Game Mode is designed to help Windows manage resources with gaming in mind.
However, don’t expect it to transform a low-end computer into a high-end gaming system.
Think of it as a small part of an overall optimization strategy.
13. Check Your Power Settings
Power settings can affect performance, especially on laptops.
A laptop operating in a power-saving mode may intentionally limit CPU and GPU performance.
If you’re playing demanding games on a laptop:
- Connect the correct power adapter.
- Check Windows power settings.
- Use an appropriate performance mode when necessary.
- Make sure the laptop isn’t overheating.
High-performance modes can increase power consumption and heat.
Therefore, they’re not something you necessarily need to use all the time.
14. Check CPU and GPU Temperatures
Heat can cause performance problems.
When CPU or GPU temperatures become too high, the hardware may reduce its operating performance to control heat.
This is commonly known as thermal throttling.
Signs can include:
- FPS starts high and gradually drops
- Fans become extremely loud
- The PC becomes very hot
- Performance fluctuates
- Games crash or become unstable
Make sure:
- Air can enter the case.
- Exhaust fans can release hot air.
- Dust isn’t blocking airflow.
- Laptop ventilation openings aren’t covered.
If your system has serious thermal problems, hardware maintenance may be required.
15. Check Whether You Have a CPU or GPU Bottleneck
This is one of the most important steps.
Imagine you’re playing a game and your GPU is consistently close to full utilization while your CPU has available capacity.
That suggests your GPU may be the primary limitation.
In that case, reducing:
- Resolution
- Texture quality
- Shadows
- Reflections
- Ray tracing
may improve FPS.
But if your CPU is heavily loaded while GPU utilization is relatively low, lowering graphics quality may not help much.
CPU-heavy settings can include:
- View distance
- NPC density
- Crowd density
- Physics
- Simulation quality
The correct optimization strategy therefore depends on what component is actually limiting performance.
How to Identify a GPU Bottleneck
A GPU bottleneck often looks like this:
GPU usage: very high
CPU usage: moderate
Lowering resolution: increases FPS
This suggests your graphics card is doing most of the limiting.
How to Identify a CPU Bottleneck
A CPU bottleneck can look like:
CPU usage: very high
GPU usage: relatively low
Lowering resolution: little FPS improvement
In this situation, reducing CPU-intensive game settings may help.
If the CPU is simply too weak for the game, a hardware upgrade may eventually be necessary.
What About RAM?
RAM can also affect gaming performance.
If Windows and your games don’t have enough available memory, you may experience:
- Stuttering
- Slowdowns
- Increased loading
- Application instability
Open:
Task Manager → Performance → Memory
and observe memory usage while gaming.
Don’t assume that adding more RAM automatically increases FPS dramatically.
If you already have enough memory, increasing capacity may provide little benefit.
However, insufficient RAM can become a real performance limitation.
Install Games on an SSD
An SSD can significantly improve loading times and general system responsiveness compared with older mechanical hard drives.
Moving a game to an SSD does not automatically double FPS.
However, it may improve:
- Loading times
- Level transitions
- Asset streaming
- System responsiveness
This can be particularly useful in modern open-world games that continuously load game assets.
Keep Enough Free Storage
Try not to completely fill your Windows system drive.
Use:
Settings → System → Storage
to identify unnecessary files.
Windows provides tools for managing temporary data and storage usage.
Before deleting anything manually, make sure you know what the file is.
Don’t Use Random FPS Booster Software
Search online for “FPS booster” and you’ll find countless programs claiming to increase performance instantly.
Be skeptical.
Some programs simply change settings you could change yourself.
Others may install unwanted software or make questionable system modifications.
You generally don’t need a mysterious application running permanently in the background to optimize your PC.
Focus on:
Drivers + Windows + temperatures + hardware + game settings
first.
Test FPS Properly
Don’t judge performance based on a single moment.
A game may briefly reach:
140 FPS
but frequently drop to:
45 FPS
That may feel worse than a stable 80 FPS.
When testing your configuration, play the same area or scenario after each major change.
For example:
Original settings → 62 FPS
Then:
Medium shadows → 70 FPS
Then:
Lower reflections → 76 FPS
This gives you useful information about which settings actually matter.
Check Your Monitor Refresh Rate
If your monitor supports:
144Hz
but Windows is configured for:
60Hz
you aren’t using the display’s full refresh capability.
Go to:
Settings → System → Display → Advanced display
and select the appropriate refresh rate supported by your display.
Your PC still needs to generate enough FPS to benefit from a high-refresh display.
Don’t Chase Maximum FPS at Any Cost
More FPS isn’t always worth sacrificing everything else.
For example:
30 FPS → 60 FPS
can represent a major improvement.
But:
180 FPS → 200 FPS
may be far less noticeable for many players.
Choose settings according to your priorities.
If you play competitive games, you may prioritize responsiveness.
If you play cinematic single-player games, you may prefer higher image quality.
A Good Starting Configuration for a Mid-Range PC
If you don’t know where to begin, try:
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Textures: High
Shadows: Medium
Reflections: Medium
Ambient Occlusion: Medium
Ray Tracing: Off
Motion Blur: Personal preference
Upscaling: Quality/Balanced if needed
View Distance: Medium/High
This isn’t a universal recommendation.
Every game and hardware configuration is different.
Use it as a starting point rather than a fixed rule.
Quick Low-FPS Troubleshooting Checklist
Before changing advanced settings, go through this list:
☐ Check CPU/GPU specifications
☐ Check game system requirements
☐ Update GPU drivers
☐ Make sure the correct GPU is being used
☐ Close unnecessary background applications
☐ Enable Windows Game Mode
☐ Check power settings
☐ Check CPU/GPU temperatures
☐ Reduce demanding graphics settings
☐ Test lower resolution
☐ Try supported upscaling
☐ Check RAM usage
☐ Make sure storage isn’t completely full
☐ Check for CPU/GPU bottlenecks
☐ Test FPS before and after each change
When Should You Upgrade Your PC?
If you’ve tried sensible optimization and your system still cannot provide the performance you need, the hardware may simply be reaching its limits.
Consider upgrading when:
- Your GPU consistently struggles at your target resolution.
- Your CPU is limiting performance.
- Your RAM is insufficient.
- Your storage is too slow or too small.
- Your cooling system cannot maintain reasonable temperatures.
- Your power supply isn’t suitable for planned upgrades.
Don’t upgrade randomly.
Identify the bottleneck first.
For example, replacing your RAM may not solve a GPU limitation.
Similarly, buying a new graphics card may not solve a severe CPU bottleneck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my FPS suddenly low?
Possible causes include driver problems, overheating, background applications, game updates, Windows changes, or hardware limitations.
Start by checking CPU/GPU usage and temperatures.
Does Windows 11 reduce gaming FPS?
Windows 11 can provide good gaming performance on compatible hardware, but individual systems can behave differently. Driver versions, background processes, game settings, and hardware configuration all matter.
Can updating GPU drivers increase FPS?
Sometimes. Driver updates can improve game compatibility and performance in certain titles, although there is no guaranteed FPS increase with every update.
Does more RAM increase FPS?
Only when memory capacity is actually limiting your system. If you already have sufficient RAM, adding more may not produce a significant FPS improvement.
Does an SSD increase FPS?
Usually not directly. SSDs primarily improve loading times and storage responsiveness, although they can help with asset streaming in some games.
Should I turn everything to Low?
Not necessarily. Some settings have a large performance cost while others have relatively small effects. Find a balance between image quality and performance.
Why does FPS drop after playing for a while?
Overheating is one possibility. Check CPU and GPU temperatures. Background processes, memory usage, or game-specific problems can also cause performance degradation.
Is 60 FPS enough for gaming?
For many games, yes. Competitive players may prefer higher frame rates, especially when using high-refresh-rate monitors.
Final Thoughts
Low FPS doesn’t always mean that your gaming PC is too old.
Before buying new hardware, investigate the problem.
Check your GPU and CPU usage, update your graphics drivers, close unnecessary background applications, make sure your game is using the correct GPU, monitor temperatures, optimize graphics settings, and test your performance systematically.
Most importantly, find the bottleneck before making changes.
If your GPU is the limitation, optimize GPU-heavy settings.
If your CPU is the limitation, reduce CPU-intensive options.
If your temperatures are too high, improve cooling.
If your RAM is insufficient, consider a memory upgrade.
And if your hardware genuinely cannot handle the game, then an upgrade may be the correct long-term solution.
A smooth gaming experience isn’t about maximizing every setting or chasing the biggest FPS number.
It’s about finding the right balance between performance, image quality, stability, and responsiveness.
Stay tuned to GameStellar for more PC gaming guides, optimization tutorials, gaming hardware information, troubleshooting solutions, and practical tips for gamers.