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Tips for improving frame rate in VALORANT

Improve Your VALORANT Gaming Performance with These Tips

If you want to boost your frames per second (FPS) in the fast-paced tactical shooter VALORANT, there are a few things you can do, even if you don’t have a high-powered PC.

Tips for Improving PC Performance

Contents

  • Make sure your PC meets the minimum or recommended requirements
  • Use a high refresh rate monitor
  • Update your graphics drivers
  • Lower the graphics quality settings
  • Lower the resolution
  • Turn off full-screen optimization

Make sure your PC meets the minimum or recommended requirements

Image via Riot Games

To ensure smooth gameplay in VALORANT, make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements. Meeting the recommended requirements is even better. Your hardware needs to be up to par.

Minimal requirements

  • CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
  • GPU: Intel HD 3000
  • RAM: 4GB
  • OS: Windows 7 64-Bit

Recommended requirements

  • CPU: 7700K
  • GPU: 1080
  • RAM: 8GB
  • 256 SSD and ideally over 144 FPS

Ideal requirements

  • CPU: Over 9900K
  • GPU: Over 1080 TI
  • RAM: 8GB
  • 256 SSD and 144 FPS on max graphics
Skye with her Trailblazer in VALORANT.
Image via Riot Games

Use a high refresh rate monitor

Your monitor has a significant impact on your frame rate. If you’re using a monitor with a low refresh rate, you may want to consider investing in a new one. Standard monitors usually have a 60hz refresh rate, which limits your FPS to 60. For esports, you’ll want a monitor with a higher refresh rate, such as 144hz or 240hz. Pairing a powerful rig with a high refresh rate monitor ensures you get the best performance.

Update your graphics drivers

Updating your graphics drivers can solve stuttering frame rate issues. Follow these steps to update your drivers:

  1. Type ‘Device Manager’ into your PC’s search bar
  2. Open the ‘Device Manager’ app and select ‘Display Adapters’
  3. Select your graphics card
  4. In the new window, open the ‘Driver’ tab
  5. Select the ‘Update Driver’ option
  6. Search automatically for drivers and follow your computer’s instructions

If your drivers are already up to date, your computer will notify you.

Lower the graphics quality settings

Lowering the graphics quality settings can significantly increase your FPS in VALORANT. This method applies to other games as well. By sacrificing some graphical details, you can achieve higher frame rates. Simply head to the Video tab in the settings and make the necessary changes, such as lowering Material Quality, Texture Quality, Detail Quality, UI Quality, and Anisotropic Filtering. Depending on your hardware, you may not need to set everything to the lowest. Experiment with different settings to find the right balance between visuals and performance.

These are just a few helpful VALORANT settings for boosting FPS. They should be enough to address any immediate issues you’re experiencing.

Screengrab via Riot Games

Lower the resolution

If lowering the graphics quality doesn’t improve your frame rate enough, try reducing the resolution. Playing at a higher resolution can strain your PC and lower your FPS. Dropping your resolution is an easy way to increase performance. If you have a powerful computer with a 4k monitor, using a lower resolution like 1440p can help. Similarly, if you’re using a 1440p monitor and still experiencing performance issues, lowering the resolution to 1080p can provide a significant boost in frame rate.

Screenshot of the Update Driver settings on a PC.
Screenshot by

Keep in mind that using a lower resolution may result in a visually worse experience, but it can greatly improve your frame rate.

Turn off full-screen optimization

Disabling full-screen optimization can help reduce strain on your computer and improve game performance. Here’s how to do it in VALORANT:

  1. Locate the folder where VALORANT is installed and find the file named ‘VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe’
  2. Right-click on the file and select ‘Properties’
  3. Go to the ‘Compatibility’ tab
  4. Check the box that says ‘Disable full-screen optimization’
  5. Apply the changes and open VALORANT

This should help optimize your PC’s performance and stabilize your frame rate.


If you’re still experiencing low frame rates after trying the above fixes, you may be facing internet connection issues. These issues can impact your frame rate. You can try fixing high ping in VALORANT, but upgrading your hardware, specifically your graphics card and processor, may be necessary. While not feasible for everyone, upgrading your hardware could be the solution to your FPS problems.

VALORANT, PC gaming, esports, gaming performance, high FPS