How to improve FPS in Fortnite

Let’s face the brutal truth: in Fortnite, frames win games. A higher, more stable Frames Per Second (FPS) isn’t just about visual polish—it’s a critical competitive advantage. It means smoother aim, quicker builds, and less input lag between your click and the shot firing. If you’re playing on a stuttering 30 FPS while your opponent is gliding on a buttery 240 FPS, you’re already at a massive disadvantage before the first shot is fired.

But you don’t need a £3,000 NASA supercomputer to get a great Fortnite experience. With strategic settings tweaks, smart Windows optimizations, and a few hardware considerations, you can squeeze every last frame out of your current setup. This guide is your step-by-step manual to transform Fortnite from a choppy mess into a smooth, responsive competitive tool.

Part 1: The In-Game Settings – The Low-Hanging Fruit (Epic Games Launcher)

This is where you’ll get the most dramatic gains. Open Fortnite, go to Settings > Video Settings.

1. Display & Resolution: The Foundation

• Display Mode: Fullscreen. Always. This gives Fortnite priority over other processes, reducing input lag and maximizing performance. Never use Windowed or Borderless for competitive play.
• Resolution: Set this to your monitor’s native resolution (e.g., 1920×1080). Lowering it will look blurry and is rarely worth the minor FPS gain. If you’re desperate on a very weak GPU, try 1600×900.
• Frame Rate Limit: Set this to your monitor’s refresh rate or slightly above. If you have a 144Hz monitor, set it to 144 FPS or 165 FPS. If you have an uncapped high-refresh monitor, set it to Unlimited. Capping your FPS at or just above your refresh rate reduces system strain and can make frames more consistent. Do NOT cap it at 60 FPS if you have a 144Hz monitor!

2. Graphics Quality – The Big Sacrifices (Most Impact on FPS)
Set Advanced Graphics to CUSTOM. Now, systematically nuke these settings:

• View Distance: Epic/High. This is the one exception. Keeping this on High or Epic lets you see players and structures from far away. The FPS cost is relatively low, and the competitive intel is invaluable. Don’t turn this down.
• Shadows: OFF. The #1 performance killer for minimal competitive benefit. They obscure visual clarity. OFF.
• Global Illumination: OFF. Pretty lighting that hammers your GPU. OFF.
• Reflections: OFF. You don’t need to see your reflection in water while fighting. OFF.
• Ray Tracing: OFF. Unless you have an RTX 4080 and are playing for screenshots, this must be OFF.
• Ambient Occlusion: OFF. Adds shadow depth. Costs FPS. Hurts clarity in dark corners. OFF.

3. Graphics Quality – The Moderate Tweaks

• Textures: Low or Medium. “High/Epic” uses more VRAM (video memory). If you have a GPU with 4-6GB of VRAM (like a GTX 1060 or RTX 3050), keep this on Medium. If you have 8GB+, you can try High, but Low/Medium is often sharper for spotting enemies.
• Effects: Low. Impacts particle effects like explosions and gunfire. Low keeps things clear and boosts FPS.
• Post Processing: Low or Medium. Affects bloom, light shafts, and depth of field. Lower is clearer and faster.
• Nanite Virtualized Geometry: OFF for performance, ON only on high-end GPUs (RTX 3070+) for slightly better visual detail at range.

4. The “Competitive” Preset & Final Touches

• Rendering Mode: Performance (Alpha) or DX12. This is crucial.
  • Performance Mode (Alpha): For LOW-END and MID-RANGE PCs. This mode uses a highly optimized rendering path that drastically boosts FPS (often 30-50% gains) at the cost of some texture detail and draw distance on objects. It’s the single biggest FPS boost for most players. Enable this first.
  • DirectX 12: For MID-RANGE to HIGH-END PCs (RTX 2060 and above). Once “shader compilation” stutters are done (after your first few games on a new season), DX12 can offer higher and more stable FPS than DX11 with better visuals than Performance Mode.
  • DirectX 11: The old standard. Use only if Performance or DX12 are unstable.
• VSync: OFF. Introduces input lag. Always off.
• Motion Blur: OFF. Hurts visual clarity when turning quickly. Off.
• Nvidia DLSS / AMD FSR / Intel XeSS:USE THIS IF AVAILABLE. These are “super-resolution” techniques. They render the game at a lower resolution and use AI/algorithm to upscale it, giving you a huge FPS boost for a tiny visual cost.
  • Set it to Performance or Balanced mode. The image will still look sharp, and your FPS will skyrocket.

Your Target Settings Summary: Performance Mode, All “OFFs” (Shadows, Reflections, etc.), Textures Medium, View Distance High, DLSS/FSR on Performance.

Part 2: The PC Optimization – Squeezing Frames from Your System

Fortnite doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Your Windows setup is critical.

1. Fortnite’s Priority & Affinity (The “High Priority” Trick)

• Task Manager Method: Launch Fortnite, get in-game. Alt+Tab out.
  • Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
  • Go to Details tab, find FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe.
  • Right-click > Set priority > High (not Realtime).
  • Right-click again > Set affinity… Uncheck “CPU 0” (the core that handles most OS tasks). This can reduce stutters.
• Warning: You must do this every time you launch the game. For a permanent fix, use a 3rd-party app like Process Lasso (free) to automate it.

2. Graphics Driver Control Panel

• For Nvidia (Nvidia Control Panel):
  • Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > Select Fortnite.
  • Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance.
  • Texture Filtering – Quality: High Performance.
  • Low Latency Mode: Ultra.
  • Background Application Max Frame Rate: 20 FPS (stops launchers from using GPU).
• For AMD (Adrenalin Software):
  • Gaming > Fortnite Profile.
  • Radeon Anti-Lag: Enabled.
  • Radeon Boost: Enabled (can dynamically lower resolution in fast motion for a big FPS boost).
  • Texture Filtering: Performance.

3. Windows 10/11 Optimizations (The “Game Mode” Myth)

• Game Mode: ON. Contrary to old advice, on modern Windows, Game Mode actually helps by prioritizing game resources. Ensure it’s on (Settings > Gaming > Game Mode).
• GPU Scheduling: (Settings > System > Display > Graphics Settings). Enable “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling.” Requires a restart. Can improve FPS and latency on newer systems.
• Disable Fullscreen Optimizations: Right-click the Fortnite shortcut or .exe file > Properties > Compatibility tab > Check “Disable fullscreen optimizations.” This can reduce input lag for some.
• Background Apps: Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Turn off background permissions for apps you don’t need (Mail, Weather, etc.).

Part 3: Hardware – The Reality Check & Smart Upgrades

Software can only do so much. Here’s where hardware matters, listed by impact.

1. The Monitor: Your FPS Cap
If you have a 60Hz monitor, you can only see 60 FPS, even if your PC produces 200. The single biggest perceptual upgrade you can make is a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor. The smoothness is game-changing.

2. The GPU (Graphics Card): The Frame Generator
This is the most important component for FPS. Target cards for good Fortnite performance at 1080p:

• Budget King: AMD Radeon RX 6600 or Intel Arc A750. Beats older cards like the GTX 1660 Super handily.
• Sweet Spot: Nvidia RTX 3060 / 4060 or AMD RX 6700 XT. Can push 144+ FPS consistently with competitive settings.
• High-End: RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT. For 240Hz+ gaming or high-resolution play.

3. The CPU & RAM: The Delivery System
Fortnite, especially in late-game with many players building, is CPU-intensive.

• CPU: A modern 6-core processor is the minimum. Look for an Intel Core i5-12400F / 13400F or AMD Ryzen 5 5600 / 7600. Older 4-core CPUs (like the i5-7400) will bottleneck you hard.
• RAM: 16GB of DDR4 or DDR5 RAM is essential. Ensure it’s running in Dual Channel mode (two sticks, not one). This can give a 10-20% FPS boost alone. Check your motherboard manual.

4. The Storage & Drivers

• Install Fortnite on an SSD (Solid State Drive). This drastically reduces load times and can reduce in-game texture pop-in and stutters.
• Update Your Drivers! Use Nvidia GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin to check for Game Ready drivers, especially at the start of a new Fortnite season.

Part 4: The Pro Player’s Secret Weapon – Config Files & Launch Options

For the final 5-10% optimization, pros dig deeper.

1. Fortnite GameUserSettings.ini File (Advanced)

• Navigate to: %LocalAppData%\FortniteGame\Saved\Config\WindowsClient
• Open GameUserSettings.ini in Notepad.
• Find the lines:
  • bShowGrass=False (Grass already off in settings, but double-check).
  • bUseVSync=False
  • FrameRateLimit= (Set this to your desired cap, e.g., FrameRateLimit=144.000000)
• Save the file and right-click it > Properties > Check “Read-only” to prevent Fortnite from resetting your changes. (Remove read-only if you need to change settings in-game again).

2. Epic Games Launcher Settings

• In the Epic Launcher, click your profile icon > Settings.
• Scroll down and disable:
  • “Enable Cloud Saves” (can cause stutters, but you risk progress loss).
  • “Allow auto-updates” (prevents the launcher from using bandwidth/CPU while you play).
• Close the launcher completely after launching Fortnite. It uses resources in the background.

Conclusion: The Path to Fluidity

Boosting FPS is a systematic process, not magic.

1. Start In-Game: Apply the aggressive competitive settings, enabling Performance Mode or DX12 with DLSS/FSR.
2. Optimize Windows: Set priority, tweak GPU control panel, enable GPU scheduling.
3. Assess Hardware: Be realistic. A GTX 1050 Ti will never hit 240 FPS. Consider a monitor, GPU, or CPU upgrade based on your budget.
4. Fine-Tune: Use config files and manage background processes.

The goal isn’t just a big number in the corner; it’s consistent, stable frames and the lowest possible system latency between your brain and the game. Implement these steps, and you’ll feel the difference immediately—builds place faster, edits feel crisp, and your shots will land with newfound precision. Now drop in, and may your frames be high and your ping be low.