I'm getting around 200–250 FPS in Valorant with an Intel Core i5-14600KF and RTX 5070, while benchmark videos show similar systems reaching roughly 400–600 FPS. A friend's PC with an i5-12400F and RTX 4060 maintains about 200 FPS, so my results seem lower than expected. I'm already using the latest graphics drivers and motherboard BIOS. I've tested the lowest settings, but changing to higher settings or even using a 4K display gives me about the same frame rate. What should I check to improve performance?
3 Answers
Compare the test conditions before assuming the hardware is underperforming. Check FPS during an actual match, monitor CPU and GPU usage, and look for a frame cap, V-Sync, a monitor refresh-rate limit, background applications, or CPU thermal throttling. If one or two CPU cores are near full usage while the GPU is underused, 200–250 FPS may be a game or system configuration limit rather than a faulty RTX 5070.
Check the settings that affect CPU performance rather than just the graphics preset. Make sure XMP is enabled in the BIOS, verify that the memory is running at its rated speed, and check whether Windows Memory Integrity is enabled. That security feature can reduce gaming performance on some systems, although you should understand the security trade-off before disabling it. Windows 10 may perform slightly better in some CPU-limited games, but switching operating systems probably isn’t necessary until the basic checks are done.
The benchmark videos may not be directly comparable. Many of them use DDR5, tuned memory, different competitive settings, and test in an empty practice area rather than during a real match. Valorant is often CPU- and memory-limited, so the GPU may not be the limiting component. DDR4 alone probably doesn’t explain the entire gap, but slower memory or disabled XMP could contribute.
I’m already using the lowest settings, and the FPS barely changes when I raise the quality or switch to a 4K display. That suggests the limit is probably on the CPU or memory side rather than the graphics card.
I’m not sure Valorant will launch if Memory Integrity is disabled, and I’d prefer to stay on Windows 11. The system should be powerful enough, so I’m going to check XMP and the memory settings first.