Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The safest ways to increase FPS on a Windows 11 laptop are to plug in the correct charger, select performance modes, make sure the game uses the dedicated GPU, update the right drivers, reduce demanding graphics settings, and control temperatures. Start by measuring FPS and frame times so you can identify whether the problem is low average performance, stuttering, overheating, or the wrong GPU.
Start with these eight fixes
- Connect the laptop to its original or manufacturer-approved charger.
- Open Settings → System → Power & battery and choose Best performance, if available.
- Set the laptop manufacturer’s utility to Performance or Turbo.
- Assign the game itself—not just its launcher—to the high-performance GPU.
- Install compatible Windows, chipset, BIOS, and graphics-driver updates.
- Close unnecessary overlays, browsers, downloads, and recording tools.
- Disable ray tracing and lower resolution or render scale before reducing every setting.
- Check temperatures and clock speeds if performance falls after several minutes.
These changes do not guarantee a fixed percentage increase. A laptop accidentally using integrated graphics may improve dramatically, while one limited by its GPU may gain little from Windows tweaks.
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Measure FPS before changing anything
Use the game’s built-in benchmark whenever possible. Record the resolution, preset, average FPS, 1% lows, CPU and GPU utilization, temperatures, clock speeds, power draw, and whether the game is using integrated or discrete graphics. Change one thing at a time and repeat the same test.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAverage FPS shows overall speed. Frame times and 1% lows better reveal hitching and uneven delivery. A higher average can still feel worse if frames arrive inconsistently.
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Xbox Game Bar’s performance widget is convenient. For more detailed measurements, NVIDIA FrameView can record average and percentile FPS, frame-time-related data, power, and other metrics on supported systems. MSI Afterburner and RivaTuner are optional monitoring and frame-cap tools; they are not required.
Put the laptop into a sustained performance mode
Use AC power
Many laptops impose lower CPU and GPU power limits on battery. For performance testing and demanding games, use the original charger or a manufacturer-approved charger with sufficient wattage. A USB-C charger may charge the laptop without supplying enough power for maximum gaming performance.
Set Windows power mode
Go to Settings → System → Power & battery → Power mode and select Best performance when the option is available. Windows options vary by edition, build, firmware, and manufacturer. You can inspect the active power plan in Command Prompt:
powercfg /getactivescheme
powercfg /listDo not blindly enable the hidden Ultimate Performance plan. It can increase heat and power consumption without helping a game limited by its GPU, thermals, or engine.
Use the manufacturer’s profile
Gaming laptops commonly provide Silent, Balanced, Performance, Turbo, or Extreme modes through an OEM utility or keyboard shortcut. Performance modes may increase fan noise, temperature, and power use. If cooling is inadequate, the higher setting can eventually cause throttling rather than better sustained FPS.
Make Windows 11 use the dedicated GPU
Hybrid laptops often contain an integrated GPU in the processor and a discrete NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU. If a game runs on the integrated chip, this may be the largest available performance fix.
- Open Settings → System → Display → Graphics.
- Add the game as a desktop app and browse to the actual game executable, not only the Steam, Xbox, Microsoft Store, or other launcher executable.
- Select the game in the list and choose Options.
- Select High performance, save, and restart the game.
Microsoft documents per-app GPU preferences and related graphics options in its Windows 11 graphics settings guidance.
NVIDIA laptops may also offer a MUX switch, Discrete GPU mode, or Advanced Optimus. The manufacturer’s utility may control these options, and switching to discrete-only mode can require a restart. It may improve performance or display-path latency on some models but increases power use. Do not force every application onto the discrete GPU; ordinary applications can waste battery and generate heat without benefiting.
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- Intel Core i9 14th Gen 14900HX 1.6GHz Processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 8GB GDDR7, 32GB DDR5-5600 RAM
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- Gigabit LAN, 2x2 WiFi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4
- 4.19 lbs. (1.90 kg)，Windows 11 Home
AMD users can check per-game profiles in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Intel Arc and integrated Arc users should use Intel’s current graphics software together with the laptop maker’s supported driver where appropriate.
Update Windows, firmware, and graphics drivers safely
- Install pending Windows updates.
- Check the laptop manufacturer’s support page for BIOS, chipset, system-controller, and graphics updates.
- Install a compatible driver from the laptop manufacturer, or use a newer NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel driver when it specifically supports the laptop and fixes a relevant game issue.
- Restart Windows and test the same benchmark before changing more settings.
The newest generic driver is not always best for a laptop with custom power limits, display routing, or hybrid-graphics firmware. If an update causes crashes, black screens, unusual battery drain, or worse FPS, confirm that settings did not reset, then roll back or reinstall the previous OEM driver. Avoid random driver packages and third-party driver-updater utilities.
Configure Windows 11 gaming features
Game Mode
Turn on Settings → Gaming → Game Mode → Game Mode On. Game Mode may reduce interference from some background activity, but it is not a guaranteed FPS multiplier and works independently from the power-mode setting.
Optimizations for windowed games
In Settings → System → Display → Graphics, open the default graphics settings and test Optimizations for windowed games for compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games running windowed or borderless. Compare exclusive fullscreen with borderless mode; the feature does not apply universally to every game, graphics API, or presentation mode.
Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
On supported systems, this setting is under Settings → System → Display → Graphics → Default graphics settings. Microsoft describes HAGS as moving much GPU scheduling work to dedicated scheduling hardware, but results depend on the driver, hardware, and game. Leave it enabled if the system is stable, but test both settings if a game develops stutter, crashes, inconsistent frame times, or worse performance. Restart Windows after changing it.
Variable refresh rate
If the display supports AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-SYNC, or VESA Adaptive-Sync, enable VRR where appropriate. VRR can reduce tearing and judder as FPS changes, improving perceived smoothness without increasing rendered FPS. Check the panel refresh rate at Settings → System → Display → Advanced display.
Lower the settings that cost the most FPS
Do not immediately set every option to Low. Use the game’s benchmark or performance graph and change one setting at a time.
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| Setting | Typical impact | First adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution or render scale | Very high | Lower slightly, such as 90%, 80%, or 67%, or enable upscaling |
| Ray tracing | Very high | Disable it first when FPS is too low |
| Shadows | High | Use Medium and reduce contact shadows or distance |
| Volumetrics | High | Lower fog, clouds, smoke, and lighting effects |
| Reflections | Medium to high | Lower screen-space or ray-traced reflections |
| Ambient occlusion | Variable | Lower or disable if GPU-limited |
| Textures | Usually VRAM-dependent | Lower them if VRAM is full or streaming stutters |
| Crowds and simulation | CPU-dependent | Reduce them when GPU utilization is low |
| Anti-aliasing | Variable | Test a less expensive method |
View distance and foliage can load both the CPU and GPU. Texture quality often has little effect until available VRAM is exhausted, at which point hitching and asset-streaming problems can become severe.
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Use DLSS, FSR, XeSS, and frame generation correctly
When supported, try NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, Intel XeSS, or the game’s dynamic-resolution mode. Start with Quality or Balanced. Upscaling renders internally at a lower resolution and reconstructs the image, increasing performance at the cost of image quality or possible ghosting and shimmering.
Frame generation can increase the number of displayed frames, but generated frames are not equivalent to natively rendered frames. It works best when the underlying FPS is already reasonably stable. It can add latency or visual artifacts and is not a substitute for fixing a very low base frame rate.
Feature availability depends on the GPU, driver, game, and graphics API. For example, AMD’s AFMF documentation lists support across specified APIs and hardware configurations, while its published performance figures apply only to the vendor’s stated test conditions.
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Reduce background load and overlays
Before launching a game, close browsers with many tabs, video exports, downloads, cloud synchronization, virtual machines, and large file transfers. Temporarily test with Xbox Game Bar, Discord, NVIDIA, AMD, Steam, and recording overlays disabled. Recording and overlay software can affect FPS or frame-time consistency even when average FPS appears normal.
Use Settings → Apps → Startup, or press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open Startup apps, to prevent unnecessary programs from launching. This mainly improves startup and background responsiveness; it increases in-game FPS only when those programs continue consuming resources during play. Do not randomly terminate Windows processes or disable security software as a first step.
Prevent overheating and thermal throttling
Keep the laptop on a hard, level surface with intake and exhaust vents unobstructed. Avoid beds, blankets, and soft furniture. Clean dust according to the manufacturer’s instructions, use its cooling profile if available, and raise the rear slightly only if doing so does not block an intake. A cooling pad is not guaranteed to add FPS; its usefulness depends on the chassis, vent layout, room temperature, and whether the laptop is actually throttling.
Monitor temperatures, utilization, clocks, and power during a repeatable test. If performance is good for five minutes and then declines, suspect heat, power limits, a quiet profile, an undersized charger, blocked vents, dust, or high room temperature.
- GPU at 95–99% utilization: lower resolution, ray tracing, shadows, volumetrics, reflections, or use upscaling.
- GPU utilization low while one CPU thread is saturated: reduce crowds, simulation, physics, view distance, or background CPU load.
- Temperature rises while clocks fall: investigate thermal or power throttling.
- VRAM is full: lower textures and texture-streaming settings.
Check RAM, VRAM, and storage
Insufficient system RAM can cause paging and hitching. Dual-channel or higher-bandwidth memory is particularly important for integrated graphics because the GPU shares system memory. Before buying RAM, check whether it is soldered, the number of slots, supported memory type and capacity, warranty implications, and whether the system already runs in dual-channel mode.
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Low VRAM can cause texture pop-in, pauses, and severe drops. Lower textures before concluding that the GPU itself is too slow. An SSD improves loading and can help asset streaming compared with a hard drive, but it will not transform a GPU-limited game into a high-FPS game. Keep adequate free space on the system drive.
Use an FPS cap for smoother frame delivery
An FPS cap does not increase maximum FPS. It can reduce heat, power consumption, and frame-time swings. First identify the display refresh rate and the FPS the laptop can sustain rather than its brief peak. Then set a cap slightly below that sustainable level or below the panel’s refresh rate when using VRR.
Use the in-game limiter where possible. NVIDIA, AMD, Intel graphics software, and RivaTuner can also provide per-game caps. Compare frame-time stability and input latency after applying a cap.
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Diagnose the most common situations
Low FPS in every game
Check, in order: AC power, Windows and OEM performance modes, GPU assignment, temperatures and utilization, resolution and upscaling, ray tracing, and drivers. If the GPU remains fully loaded at acceptable temperatures after these changes, the hardware may simply be below the desired target.
High FPS but stutter
Inspect 1% lows and frame times rather than average FPS. Investigate shader compilation, overlays, recording, VRR and VSync configuration, thermal cycling, a nearly full or slow drive, VRAM pressure, HAGS compatibility, and recent game or driver changes. Do not assume stutter means low average FPS.
Battery gaming is slow
Battery operation commonly applies aggressive power limits. Use AC power for maximum performance. Battery-saving technologies such as NVIDIA WhisperMode prioritize quieter, more efficient play through frame pacing and settings changes, not maximum FPS.
A driver update made performance worse
Confirm that the game did not reset its resolution, GPU assignment, or laptop profile. If the problem is repeatable, use Device Manager’s rollback option or reinstall the previous OEM driver. Test each version separately instead of installing several without a baseline.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
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The setting may require a particular Windows build, driver, GPU, display mode, or manufacturer utility. Do not use registry edits to expose a feature that the hardware does not support.
What not to do
- Do not trust registry “FPS boost” scripts or one-click optimizer tools.
- Do not use generic driver-updater subscriptions.
- Do not routinely delete the DirectX shader cache. It may help with a corrupted cache, but the next launch can stutter while shaders are rebuilt. AMD explains the purpose of shader caches in its support documentation.
- Do not blindly disable Memory Integrity, virtualization, or security features for FPS.
- Do not flash unsupported BIOS files or overclock a laptop without understanding the thermal, stability, and warranty risks.
- Do not buy RAM, SSDs, or cooling pads without checking the exact laptop model and identifying the bottleneck.
When the hardware is the limit
Upgrade RAM when the laptop supports it and memory pressure or single-channel operation is the problem. Upgrade storage for capacity, loading, or streaming needs—not as a reliable average-FPS fix. Consider a replacement laptop when its GPU cannot meet the target resolution or refresh rate, the GPU lacks required features, memory is non-upgradable, or sustained throttling remains after proper maintenance. A replacement makes most sense when upgrade and accessory costs approach the price of a materially faster system.
Quick Recap
Quick reversible checklist
- Plug in the correct charger.
- Select Windows Best performance and the OEM Performance/Turbo mode.
- Assign the actual game executable to High performance graphics.
- Restart after driver, HAGS, GPU-mode, or graphics changes when requested.
- Disable unnecessary overlays and background workloads.
- Turn off ray tracing and lower render scale or enable Quality upscaling.
- Check temperatures, utilization, clocks, and frame times.
- Set an FPS cap near the laptop’s sustainable performance and compare smoothness.
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