Fortnite and Apex FPS releases are coming soon.
Fortnite and Apex FPS releases are coming soon.
I’m experiencing frequent FPS fluctuations in Fortnite and Apex Legends, but other titles remain stable. I’ve tested a variety of games including Rainbow, Rust, Ghost of Tsushima, Warzone, Valorant, Minecraft, EA FC 26, and more. My setup includes a Ryzen 7 9800X3D with an RTX 5070, 12 GB of RAM, a B850 motherboard, and multiple monitors (60Hz to 240Hz). Using MSI Afterburner helped identify GPU usage as the likely culprit, though the exact cause remains unclear. Hertz readings stay steady, but GPU activity can dip from 90 to 5 or 60 to 5 depending on settings like DX11 or DX12.
Specifics:
- I’ve used AMD Radeon (as per specs) and noticed it’s not actively running through Task Manager or various programs.
- CPU temperatures are normal, and L-connect shows no overheating warnings.
- I’ve tried all Fortnite-specific tweaks—DX11, DX12, Performance, Legacy—and even lowered settings to the minimum without improvement.
- Game files were verified, shader cache cleared, graphics settings adjusted (high performance mode, 10GB cache), and drivers reinstalled.
- I followed YouTube recommendations: optimized settings, updated power plans, and a clean driver install for the GPU.
What I attempted to resolve:
- Played Fortnite and Apex Legends with no GPU drops despite other games running fine.
- Checked RAM usage—remains at 750W ps and 32GB, no anomalies.
- Monitored temperatures and found no thermal throttling.
- Ran diagnostics on BIOS to disable integrated graphics fully and confirmed RAM utilization.
Current steps:
- I’m considering adjusting BIOS settings to turn off integrated graphics completely.
- I’ll test reinstalling the game and ensuring Windows is optimized for performance.
- I’ll keep trying different configurations, as this issue seems tied closely to Fortnite and Apex Legends.
I’m seeking advice on further troubleshooting steps. Please let me know if I’ve already covered everything, as I want to avoid redundant work. This situation is puzzling—despite multiple attempts, it still points toward a hardware-related problem rather than a software glitch. I’m open to suggestions, even if they seem obvious.
Additional observations:
- My system freezes occasionally (monitors off except 240Hz), but not just during games. Discord and YouTube playback freeze too, suggesting broader instability.
- FPS drops occur only in Fortnite and Apex Legends, not consistently across all titles.
- I haven’t installed a firmware update for the motherboard, though I did check for updates.
I’ll update this post once I’ve tried these changes. Thank you for your help!
I noticed the initial FPS decrease at the start. The drops tend to happen more frequently, often every minute or so, especially during loading screens or when starting a new match. During normal gameplay, I usually see around 60-70 FPS, but it can dip to about 40-50 when textures load or the game buffers. The pause you mentioned is likely related to engine initialization rather than hardware issues.
The system starts smoothly, though I notice a brief initial lag. Once MSI afterburner is active, I can monitor GPU activity while playing. When my GPU usage falls, I consistently experience frame drops starting around 240 FPS (the cap I set), then gradually decreasing to between 20 and 40 FPS mostly around 20. It follows a pattern: drops for about 3 seconds, then rises again before falling once more. This cycle repeats throughout the match. When my GPU usage shifts from high to low, I see a drop from 240 to 20, followed by a brief stabilization, then another drop after roughly three seconds. This behavior continues consistently. Occasionally the intervals or drop amounts vary, but overall it stays within that general range. I’ll try adjusting one change at a time and update this note afterward.
I also performed a firmware update on my motherboard, but it didn’t resolve the issue. I disconnected all monitors except the 240Hz one; it still drops occasionally, though less frequently.
Other observations: My whole computer tends to freeze—Discord freezes, voice drops, YouTube videos lag. It’s not just the game itself. For instance, during a drop or FPS dip with sound, my FPS doesn’t just fall; the screen tears in Apex, and in Fortnite it still drops. Both games show GPU instability, which makes me think my GPU fluctuations might be causing these freezes. This is why I focused on GPU stability in my first post. Sorry, I didn’t clarify earlier.
Also, a comment on another thread mentioned that games like Fortnite using Easy anti-cheat don’t support direct storage. I think this could explain the stutters on newer cards designed for it. Is this true? Is there a fix?
I'm confident the GPU usage decline isn't the root cause; it's likely a consequence. If your scores remain normal for a 5070 and your CPU performs well, running 3dmark might be normal for that model. Try executing it multiple times to see if the pattern persists. This suggests a thermal issue—either the CPU or GPU is throttling due to temperature. It seems this problem isn't widespread across heavy games but affects Fortnite specifically. It doesn't seem logical, though. A quick search indicates Fortnite doesn't rely on Direct Storage and shouldn't face compatibility problems with it. You might have a 5070, a typical 5000-series card. If there were broader compatibility concerns, Nvidia would likely have addressed them by now. The only suggestions are to clear the DirectX shader cache, close Fortnite and Epic Games Launcher together, press Windows + R, type %appdata% and hit Enter to open Roaming, then navigate to LocalLow. Find your graphics card folder (NVIDIA or AMD), delete all files inside DXCache, and restart. Launching Fortnite may recompile shaders, which can cause brief stuttering.