Improve FPS on Low-End PCs with These Windows Tweaks

Stuttering gameplay and choppy frame rates can turn an exciting gaming session into a frustrating slideshow, especially on a low-end PC. Before you resign yourself to spending hundreds of dollars on a new graphics card or more RAM, there are numerous tweaks within Windows itself that can unlock hidden performance. I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out how to get the most out of aging hardware, and I’m here to share the most effective changes you can make.

These aren’t magic bullets, but by adjusting how Windows handles its resources, background processes, and visual settings, you can redirect your PC’s power toward what really matters: running your games more smoothly. Let’s dive into the practical, actionable steps you can take right now to improve your FPS.

Foundational System Adjustments

Before we get into the deeper settings, let’s cover some of the most impactful and easiest changes. These adjustments form the bedrock of a performance-oriented system.

Activate Game Mode

One of the simplest yet most effective tools Microsoft provides is Game Mode. When enabled, Windows prioritizes your game, dedicating more system resources to it and deactivating background activities like notifications and Windows Update processes.

How to enable it:

1. Open your Settings (you can press Win + I).
2. Go to the Gaming section.
3. Select Game Mode from the sidebar.
4. Make sure the toggle is switched On.

Your PC should be able to detect when you’re playing a game and apply these optimizations automatically.

Configure Graphics Settings for High Performance

You can manually tell Windows which applications should get preferential treatment from your GPU. This is crucial for laptops with both integrated and dedicated graphics, but it’s a good practice for any PC.

1. In the Settings menu, navigate to System > Display > Graphics.
2. Under “Add an app,” select Desktop app and click Browse.
3. Find the .exe file for the game you want to boost. It’s usually in the game’s installation folder within C:\Program Files.
4. Once added, click on the game in the list, select Options, and choose High performance.

This ensures your GPU is putting its full power into running the game, not other less demanding apps.

Optimize Your Power Plan

Windows often defaults to a “Balanced” power plan to save energy, which can limit your CPU’s performance. For gaming, you want to unleash its full potential.

To change your power plan:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
3. Select the High performance plan.

On some versions of Windows, you might need to click “Show additional plans” to find it. This tells your system to prioritize performance over power efficiency, keeping your CPU running at higher clock speeds.

Disabling Unnecessary Processes and Bloat

Many programs and services run in the background, consuming valuable CPU and RAM resources without your knowledge. Culling these is a major step toward better FPS.

Tame Startup Programs

A lot of applications configure themselves to launch the moment you boot up Windows. While convenient for some, it creates a significant resource drain.

1. Right-click the taskbar and open Task Manager.
2. Go to the Startup tab.
3. Review the list of programs. For anything you don’t need immediately upon starting your PC (e.g., chat clients, software updaters, game launchers), right-click it and select Disable.

You can still open these programs manually when you need them, but they won’t be bogging down your system from the get-go.

Turn Off Background Apps

Similar to startup programs, many Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps have permission to run in the background to fetch data and send notifications.

1. Open Settings > Privacy > Background apps.
2. You can either turn off the master toggle for “Let apps run in the background” or individually disable apps you don’t use.

This prevents them from consuming resources when you’re not actively using them.

Defrag and Optimize Your Drives

A fragmented hard drive (HDD) can slow down game loading times and asset streaming. Solid-state drives (SSDs) don’t need defragmenting, but they do benefit from an optimization process called TRIM.

1. Open the Start Menu and type “Defragment”.
2. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives.
3. Choose your primary drive (usually C:) and click Optimize.

Windows should be doing this on a schedule, but a manual run can be beneficial, especially if you’ve recently installed or uninstalled large games.

Fine-Tuning Visuals and In-Game Settings

The final frontier of FPS optimization lies in how graphics are rendered, both by Windows and within your games.

Adjust for Best Performance

Windows has a lot of fancy animations and visual effects that look nice but consume resources. You can turn these off for a small but noticeable performance gain.

1. Search for “performance” in the Start Menu and select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
2. In the Performance Options window, select the radio button for Adjust for best performance.
3. Click Apply.

Your interface will look more basic, but the system will feel snappier.

Update Your Graphics Drivers

This is a critical step. Outdated drivers can lead to poor performance and compatibility issues. Both NVIDIA and AMD regularly release driver updates that include performance optimizations for new and existing games.

• For NVIDIA cards, use the GeForce Experience application or download drivers directly from their website.
• For AMD cards, use the AMD Radeon Software to manage your drivers.

Always perform a clean installation if the option is available to remove old settings that might cause conflicts.

Lower In-Game Settings

This might seem obvious, but it’s the most direct way to boost FPS. Lowering your game’s resolution makes a huge difference, as it reduces the number of pixels your GPU has to render for each frame. Dropping from 1080p to 900p or 720p can result in a massive FPS increase.

Beyond resolution, focus on these settings within your game’s video options:

Start by turning everything to its lowest setting. If the game runs well, you can start raising individual settings one by one to find a balance between visual quality and smooth performance that you’re happy with.

A Final Word on a Smoother Experience

Optimizing a low-end PC for gaming is a game of inches. No single tweak will magically transform your computer into a high-end rig, but the cumulative effect of these changes can be substantial. By being mindful of what’s running on your system and prioritizing game performance through Windows settings, you can breathe new life into older hardware. The key is to redirect your PC’s limited resources away from unnecessary background tasks and visual flair and point them directly at your game. Now go enjoy that higher FPS.