I've got a killer setup with an Intel Core i9-14900K CPU and a Zotac RTX 5080 Extreme GPU, plus everything else you'd want for gaming: NZXT Z790 motherboard, 64GB of Corsair DDR5 RAM, a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, and a Corsair iCUE Link H150i Elite CPU cooler. But I'm only getting around 250-300 FPS in Valorant! My main lobby shows 1200 FPS, but once I hit the game, it drops to 250-350. I saw a video of someone with the same CPU and GPU pulling 900 FPS in-game. I've tried a bunch of fixes: swapped RAM slots (but that shut my monitor off), confirmed cables are secure, turned off Hyper-Threading, updated my GPU drivers, set NVIDIA PhysX to use the GPU, monitored usage, disabled integrated graphics in the BIOS, and made sure I'm using the dedicated GPU. My PSU should be fine as it's a 1000W unit. Any ideas why my FPS is so low?
3 Answers
It seems like you're hitting a FPS cap because your monitor refresh rate is 600Hz, so anything above that isn't really going to show. However, you're right—it’s strange seeing such a performance drop in-game. You might want to check if V-Sync is enabled, or your in-game settings might be limiting FPS, especially if you're on high graphics settings. Also, look into the performance settings in your Nvidia control panel; make sure everything is optimized for gaming!
Honestly, it’s pretty wild to expect 900 FPS in a game like Valorant. It’s a pretty lightweight title, so unless there are background processes eating up resources, your rig should do much better. Have you tried lowering the graphics settings to see if it helps? Also, double-check for any game updates or patches, as sometimes those can fix performance issues.
Could it be my background apps? I'm not sure what else might be running.
Keep in mind that a lot of the FPS is often just synthetic. If your setup is more powerful than your monitor can handle, you're just seeing diminishing returns. For that kind of refresh rate, solid performance in the 600 FPS range is ideal. If you can, test the rig with a higher refresh rate monitor or try different resolution settings to see if that changes anything.
But I really want to push my setup as far as it'll go!
But I want to hit at least the 600 FPS that my monitor supports!