Increase FPS in Windows without upgrading your hardware is often easier than most gamers think. Low FPS usually isn’t a hardware problem, it’s a settings problem. We tested every fix below on Windows 10 and Windows 11 gaming PCs, and most of them take under two minutes to apply. If your frame rate has dropped or a new game runs worse than it should, this guide will show you how to increase FPS in Windows before you spend money on an upgrade.
Quick answer: The fastest FPS wins come from updating your GPU driver, turning on Game Mode, switching to the High Performance power plan, and lowering shadows, ambient occlusion, and ray tracing in your in-game settings.
1. Update Your Graphics Driver
An outdated GPU driver is the single most common cause of poor FPS in Windows. New driver releases add game-specific optimizations and fix bugs that can quietly cap your frame rate.
- NVIDIA: Update through the NVIDIA App or GeForce Experience.
- AMD: Update through AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
- Intel: Update through Intel Graphics Software.
If you’re seeing stutters, crashes, or a sudden FPS drop after a Windows update, run a clean driver install rather than a standard update.
2. Enable Game Mode
Game Mode tells Windows to prioritize your game over background processes.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Gaming > Game Mode.
- Turn Game Mode on.
The FPS gain here is usually small, but it’s free and has no downside.
3. Turn On Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)
HAGS lets your GPU manage its own memory instead of relying on the CPU scheduler, which can reduce latency and improve frame pacing on supported hardware.
- Open Settings > System > Display.
- Select Graphics.
- Open Default graphics settings.
- Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling.
- Restart your PC.
4. Choose the High Performance Power Plan
A balanced power plan can throttle your CPU to save power, which lowers FPS in demanding games.
- Open Control Panel > Power Options.
- Select High Performance or Ultimate Performance, if available.
Laptop users should stay plugged into AC power. Battery mode limits performance even on a high-end power plan.
5. Close Background Applications
Before you launch a game, shut down anything competing for CPU, RAM, or disk access:
- Web browsers with many open tabs
- Launchers you’re not using
- Background downloads or cloud sync tools
- Startup programs you don’t need
6. Disable Startup Apps
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Open the Startup tab.
- Disable anything you don’t need running at boot.
Fewer startup apps means more free RAM and a faster-loading desktop before you even open a game.
7. Optimize In-Game Graphics Settings
Lowering a few demanding settings usually delivers the biggest FPS gains of any single change on this list. Start with:
- Shadows
- Ambient occlusion
- Ray tracing
- Volumetric lighting
- Reflections
- Motion blur
Keep textures on high if your GPU has enough VRAM. Texture quality affects visual clarity far more than FPS on most modern cards.
8. Enable DLSS, FSR, or XeSS
Upscaling technology renders the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs it, giving you a real FPS boost with a small, often unnoticeable image quality trade-off.
Check your in-game graphics menu. Most releases from the last two years support at least one of these.
9. Keep Windows Updated
Go to Settings > Windows Update and install the latest updates. Microsoft regularly ships performance and compatibility fixes alongside security patches
see Microsoft’s official Windows Update guide if you’re not sure where to look.
10. Free Up Storage Space
A nearly full SSD can slow down read and write speeds, which affects texture streaming and load times. Keep at least 15–20% of your drive free by removing unused files and applications.
11. Install Games on an SSD
Compared to a traditional HDD, an SSD gives you:
- Faster loading times
- Smoother texture streaming
- Less stuttering in modern, texture-heavy games
An NVMe SSD offers the best real-world performance if your motherboard supports it. If you’re shopping for one, see our best SSDs for gaming in 2026, broken down by budget.
12. Disable Unnecessary Overlays
Overlays run in the background and quietly use CPU and GPU resources. Review and disable what you don’t need:
- Discord overlay
- Steam overlay
- Xbox Game Bar
- GPU software overlays, unless you’re actively recording
13. Monitor System Temperatures
Thermal throttling silently reduces CPU and GPU performance to protect your hardware. Healthy gaming temperatures are typically:
- CPU: below 85°C
- GPU: below 80–85°C, depending on the model
Clean dust from your fans and intake vents, and confirm your case has adequate airflow.
14. Upgrade Your RAM (If Needed)
If you’re still running 8GB of RAM, upgrading to 16GB is one of the few hardware changes that reliably reduces stuttering in modern titles. 32GB helps mainly with heavy multitasking or streaming, not raw FPS.
15. Reduce Visual Effects
Windows’ own animations use system resources that gaming doesn’t need.
- Search for Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
- Choose Adjust for best performance, or disable specific effects manually.
16. Scan for Malware
Background malware can quietly consume CPU, memory, and disk resources. Run a full scan with Microsoft Defender or another reputable antivirus tool, especially if your FPS dropped suddenly without a clear cause.
17. Restart Your PC Regularly
A restart clears background processes and freed-up memory that builds up over long sessions. If performance degrades the longer your PC stays on, this alone can fix it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Game Mode increase FPS?
It can help in some games by prioritizing gaming processes and limiting background activity, but the gain is usually modest rather than dramatic.
Does more RAM increase FPS?
Only if RAM is your bottleneck. Going from 8GB to 16GB often improves smoothness noticeably, while going beyond 16GB typically has a smaller effect on average FPS.
Is an SSD better for FPS?
An SSD mainly improves loading times and reduces stuttering. It doesn’t meaningfully raise your average FPS number.
Should I update my GPU drivers regularly?
Yes. New drivers frequently include day-one optimizations for recently released games and fix performance issues found after launch.
Related Gaming Hardware Guides
Higher FPS only helps if the rest of your setup can keep up. A few guides worth checking next:
- Best budget gaming monitor 2026: top picks and buying guide make sure your monitor’s refresh rate can actually display the extra frames you’ve unlocked.
- Gaming monitor buying guide 2026: what to know before you buy
- Best gaming keyboards 2026: tested and compared
- Best gaming mouse 2026: tested and reviewed
- Best gaming headsets 2026: top picks by budget
Final Thoughts
You don’t need new hardware to get better gaming performance. Updating your graphics drivers, enabling Game Mode, switching to a high-performance power plan, closing background apps, and adjusting a handful of graphics settings can add up to a noticeable FPS improvement. If you’ve worked through this list and performance still isn’t where you want it, your CPU, GPU, or RAM has likely become the actual bottleneck, and an upgrade is the next step.
