How to Increase FPS in PC Games: The Settings That Actually Pay

Most FPS guides list twenty settings alphabetically. This one prices them: toggle each expensive setting in the simulator below and watch the exact % gain stack against your hardware — then work the field-tested checklist that fixes the platform-level FPS leaks no in-game menu can.

This page covers how to increase fps in pc games scenarios — including boost fps without upgrading, best settings to increase fps — using the same estimation engine as the FPS calculator homepage. Prefer the wide view? Browse every tool in "can i run it" & optimization guides.

Graphics Settings FPS Cost & Gain Simulator

Baseline: Ultra preset · toggles switch settings down from that baseline. Gains stack with diminishing returns.

Ray Tracing → Off / SSR fallbackOnly applies where the baseline preset includes RT work.+38%Volumetric fog & clouds → MediumOpen-world sky/atmosphere cost.+10%Shadow quality → MediumCascade re-rendering is the hidden bill.+12%Reflections → Screen-space LowOff-screen reflections lost.+7%Ambient occlusion → SSAO LowCorner grounding softens slightly.+4%Crowd & traffic density → LowCPU-side relief — strongest when CPU-bound.+6%View distance → MediumDistant draw-in trade-off.+6%Textures → one tier downFree FPS only if you were VRAM-bound.+2%

Estimated Average FPS

base 51 · gain 0%

1% low: 39

Toggle count: 0/8 — stacking benefits diminish; the first three toggles buy most of the gain.

Settings Cost Ladder — Modeled FPS Gain per Toggle (1080p High baseline, GPU-bound scenario)

Settings Cost Ladder — Modeled FPS Gain per Toggle (1080p High baseline, GPU-bound scenario)
Setting Change	Modeled Gain	Image Cost	Worth It?
Ray tracing → Off/SSR fallback	+35–45%	Reflections/GI realism	Yes in shooters, no in cinematic titles
Volumetric fog/clouds → Medium	+8–12%	Sky depth, atmosphere	Almost always
Shadows → Medium	+10–15%	Contact shadow detail	Yes — hardest tier to notice
Reflections → Screen-space Low	+6–9%	Off-screen reflections	Usually
Ambient occlusion → SSAO Low	+3–5%	Corner grounding	Fine at lower tiers
View distance → Medium	+5–8%	Distant draw-in	Only if CPU-bound
Crowd density → Low	+5–8% (CPU-side)	Street life	Yes in crowded hubs
Textures → one tier down	+0–3%	Sharpness up close	Only if VRAM-bound

Modeled gains stack multiplicatively with diminishing returns; real-world results vary ±30% by engine. Texture quality is free only while inside your VRAM budget.

How to Increase FPS in PC Games: The Engineering Detail

The Free 15%: Platform-Level FPS Leaks

Before touching a graphics menu, collect the free performance: most systems ship leaking 10–20% through memory running at JEDEC defaults, single-channel configurations, background overlays, and power plans that cap boost clocks. None of it costs image quality — some of it is a BIOS toggle.

Enable XMP/EXPO in BIOS — boards ship at safe JEDEC clocks (DDR5-4800) unless told otherwise.
Verify dual-channel (Task Manager → Memory) and populate the correct slot pairs.
NVIDIA/AMD drivers: clean-install the latest branch; chipset drivers too (AMD AGESA matters).
Windows: Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling on, Game Mode on, overlays (Discord/GeForce/Steam) off in-game.

Pro tip: benchmark once before and after the platform checklist — users routinely report 10–18% gains from EXPO + driver cleanup alone, which beats any three settings combined.

In-Game Settings: The Cost Hierarchy That Actually Holds

Settings don’t cost equally. Ray tracing and volumetric effects price per-pixel work; shadows and view distance price geometry re-rendering; textures price VRAM residency only. The simulator stacks the modeled gains, but the hierarchy is stable across engines: RT and volumetrics first, shadows second, everything else is pocket change.

Ray tracing: the nuclear option — 35–45% back on RT-heavy titles; the fidelity hit is the biggest too.
Volumetric fog/clouds: quietly 8–12% in open worlds; barely missed at Medium.
Shadows: 10–15% for Medium; virtual shadow maps at High are the hidden bill in UE5 titles.
Textures: only lower when VRAM-bound — otherwise they’re the best quality-per-watt in the menu.

Pro tip: change one setting at a time and play five minutes — the setting you don’t notice missing is the one you keep. Guides give averages; your eyes give your answer.

Upscaling and Frame Cap: The Modern Meta

The two most powerful "settings" in 2026 aren’t quality sliders at all: DLSS/FSR at Quality multiplies throughput 1.4× for near-zero image cost, and a smart FPS cap converts wasted peak frames into flat pacing. Together they’re worth more than every quality toggle combined — and they cost almost nothing.

DLSS/FSR Quality: +42% class gain, visually native at 1440p+ — always try it before lowering anything.
FPS cap at (refresh − 3) with VRR: kills V-Sync queueing, flattens pacing, reduces heat and noise.
Dynamic resolution at 85–90%: invisible with reconstruction, worth 8–15% in heavy scenes.
Reflex/Anti-Lag: not more FPS, but lower latency at the same FPS — free responsiveness.

Pro tip: set the upscaler and the frame cap first, re-measure, and only then touch quality settings — most players discover they never needed the fidelity cuts at all.

How to Increase FPS in PC Games — FAQs

How can I increase FPS without upgrading hardware?

Three layers: platform hygiene (XMP/EXPO, dual-channel, clean drivers, overlays off — typically 5–15%), the upscaler (DLSS/FSR Quality adds ~42%), and the settings hierarchy (RT and volumetrics first, shadows second). Our simulator above prices each toggle on your actual hardware.

What settings should I lower first for more FPS?

In order: ray tracing (unless the aesthetic is the point), volumetric fog/clouds, shadow quality, crowd/traffic density, view distance. Leave anisotropic filtering (16×) and texture quality (within VRAM) untouched — they cost almost nothing.

Does disabling ray tracing increase FPS a lot?

Yes — RT is the most expensive single setting in modern games: 35–45% of framerate on RT-heavy titles like Cyberpunk. The visual cost is real but concentrated in reflections and GI; screen-space fallbacks recover most of the practical readability.

Why did my FPS drop after a driver or Windows update?

Driver branches can regress specific titles; Windows updates occasionally re-enable Memory Integrity/VBS (worth ~5%) or reset GPU scheduling. Fix path: clean-install the newest driver, re-check Game Mode and HAGS, and roll back the specific driver branch that regressed your game.

Does capping FPS increase performance?

It trades peak FPS for consistency: capping at refresh − 3 with VRR eliminates V-Sync queueing, flattens frame times, and often reduces thermal throttling (which raises sustained clocks). Your average counter may read lower while the experience measurably improves — watch 1% lows, not the headline.

More in "Can I Run It" & Optimization Guides

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DLSS vs FSR FPS calculator →

The biggest single settings win in 2026 is the upscaler — see exactly what each mode adds on your card.

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