Hey folks! I'm really confused about my PC's performance, and I've been troubleshooting for days without any luck. Here are my specs: I'm running an AMD Ryzen 5 4500 CPU with a Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 4060 Twin Edge 8GB GPU, and I have 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 RAM at 3600 MHz. My motherboard is a Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite, and I'm powering it with a 650W MSI MAG A650BN PSU. I've got a Kioxia Exceria G2 1TB NVMe SSD and I'm gaming on a Samsung Odyssey G4 27" 240 Hz monitor that's G-Sync compatible via DisplayPort. My OS is Windows 11.
The problem is that in Valorant, I usually see FPS between 170 and 200, and in CS2, it bounces from 130 to 240 FPS—but it never stays stable, which is frustrating. I was really hoping to hit a consistent 240 FPS in Valorant with this setup!
Here's everything I've tried to optimize performance: A clean GPU driver install with DDU, enabled Resizable BAR in BIOS, XMP on for my RAM, set the power plan to High Performance or AMD Ryzen Balanced, and kept temperatures in check (CPU max is 60°C, GPU 70°C). I've also closed background apps, verified no thermal throttling, made sure my RAM is in dual channel, connected via DisplayPort, and checked FPS on both low and high graphics settings. Overall, nothing is overheating, and I suspect the FPS issues might stem from a CPU bottleneck, but I really don't know. Would a fresh Windows install be worth it, or should I consider getting a technician involved? Any advice or insights you have would mean a lot!
3 Answers
Have you checked your SSD space? If you have less than 10% free, it can slow things down significantly. Also, I wouldn't put too much trust in UserBenchmark. There are better tools like 3DMark to evaluate your setup accurately.
Don’t forget that fluctuations in FPS don’t always mean something is maxed out. Sometimes it’s the way the game utilizes your CPU. Multi-threading isn’t very common in many games, so a CPU that seems fine might still be the limit in your case.
You might be looking at a CPU bottleneck here. The Ryzen 4500 is decent but not known for handling high FPS in all games, especially given how some titles don’t utilize multiple cores well. That could be why you’re not hitting those stable 240 FPS you expected.
Yeah, if your friend has a stronger CPU, that could be why they’re getting better FPS. Sometimes having a high-end GPU doesn’t mean you'll max out the FPS if the CPU holds it back.
Good call! I’ve heard freeing up space can make a noticeable difference, just keep an eye on that.