I'm getting roughly 200–250 FPS in Valorant with an Intel i5-14600KF and RTX 5070, while videos showing similar hardware report around 400–600 FPS. A friend's i5-12400F and RTX 4060 manages a steady 200 FPS. I'm already using the latest graphics drivers and motherboard BIOS, and lowering the game settings doesn't seem to change my frame rate—even at higher settings or 4K. Could DDR4 versus DDR5, Windows 11 features, or a BIOS setting be limiting my performance?
3 Answers
The comparison videos may be using much more performance-focused settings than your system, but since you’re seeing the same FPS at low settings, this probably isn’t a graphics settings problem. Valorant is often CPU- and memory-limited, so monitor per-core CPU usage, effective CPU clock speeds, temperatures, and whether the GPU is sitting well below full utilization.
DDR5 can provide better results than DDR4 in high-FPS esports games, especially with fast, properly tuned memory, but it usually wouldn’t explain a jump from 250 FPS to 600 FPS by itself. The videos may be using different map situations, game versions, RAM speeds, overclocking, or a cleaner test system. Compare the exact CPU/GPU utilization and memory configuration before assuming the hardware is defective.
I agree DDR5 could make a difference, but even allowing for a sizable improvement, it wouldn’t fully explain the gap. I’d investigate CPU behavior, XMP, and background software first.
Check whether XMP is enabled in the BIOS, since running memory at its default speed can hurt performance in a CPU-limited game. Windows 11’s Memory Integrity setting can also reduce gaming performance in some systems, although you should confirm that disabling it won’t interfere with Valorant’s anti-cheat requirements. If you want to keep Windows 11, start by checking XMP, CPU and GPU utilization, temperatures, power limits, and background processes rather than immediately changing operating systems.
I’m not sure Valorant will launch without Memory Integrity, so I’d prefer to stay on Windows 11 if possible. The PC should be powerful enough, which makes me think there may be a BIOS or configuration issue.
I’ve already tested the lowest settings, higher settings, and even 4K. The FPS stays about the same, so lowering resolution doesn’t appear to help.