My younger brother keeps checking the Fortnite FPS on our two PCs. If mine performs better, he takes it and gives me his, even though his computer is much noisier and runs hotter. I want to make my PC appear slower specifically in Fortnite, but the change needs to be easy to reverse because I still want to play Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 normally. Is there a safe software setting I can use?
4 Answers
For a quick reversible test, open Fortnite’s video settings and lower the maximum frame rate. You can also disable features such as frame generation or DLSS and increase the graphics quality, but an FPS cap is much cleaner and less suspicious than underclocking the CPU or GPU.
The simplest and safest option is to set a low FPS limit in Fortnite’s graphics settings, such as 30 or 60 FPS. You can raise it again whenever you want, and it won’t damage or stress the hardware. You can also set a per-game frame limit through NVIDIA Control Panel, the NVIDIA app, AMD Adrenalin, or RivaTuner Statistics Server.
This is mostly a family and ownership issue rather than a performance issue. Protect the PC with a strong Windows account password and, if possible, a BIOS password or physical lock. It would also be worth getting a parent or another trusted adult involved so your brother cannot simply take your computer whenever he wants.
If someone else controls the passwords or can force you to hand it over, a frame cap may only hide the problem temporarily. Setting clear rules about which computer belongs to whom is the better long-term fix.
If you want the limit to be outside the game settings, use your graphics card software or RivaTuner to cap Fortnite at a specific number. Avoid deliberately overheating the system, changing voltages aggressively, removing RAM, or making BIOS changes just to reduce performance—those are unnecessary and could create stability or hardware problems.
A per-game limit is better than changing global settings, since your other games will keep their normal performance.