Is there a sudden decrease in FPS across all games?
Is there a sudden decrease in FPS across all games?
Hello, I'm dealing with an unusual problem that's hard to identify. Some time ago I changed my BIOS and then experienced performance problems in games. Later, because of Windows 10 updates, I installed a fresh operating system and updated my BIOS again to the latest version. After that, my FPS returned to normal and I stopped facing any issues. For example, Valorant dropped to 140 FPS, but after the BIOS update and Windows install it went back to around 200 FPS. However, a few weeks later it started dropping again to 140 FPS, even though everything seemed fine for weeks afterward. This issue affects all games I usually play, with a consistent drop of 30-50 FPS.
In Valorant specifically, I'm not experiencing any bottleneck problems—both the GPU and CPU are running efficiently, and temperatures are normal. It's strange to lose many frames over time even though it was stable before.
My system details:
R5 1600
RX580 8G
Ripjaws 2x4GB (exact model not remembered)
Asus B350-f gaming MOBO
PSU: seasonic s12II 650w
Have you verified that your RAM isn't at full capacity? It's possible that after installing necessary programs, 8GB is consumed rapidly with today's gaming titles and software. A fresh Windows installation will use significantly less RAM compared to after a few weeks or months, depending on the number of background applications running. Have you looked at the priority settings in your games' task manager?
Hi Nate, for Valorant it's about 5-6GB, which matches what I mentioned—it performed well before, giving me significantly more FPS. However, I've noticed a sudden drop of around 40-50 FPS in most games, sometimes all at once. It's hard to figure out what's causing the problem.
I'm not familiar with the exact reason behind your fps drop. Based on my own experience, I own a decent PC and previously faced sudden performance drops with installed games without any clear explanation. I didn't adjust settings or install new software beforehand. I looked online for solutions—cleaning hardware, updating/reinstalling drivers, restoring from a backup, scanning for malware—but none of these worked until I was close to resetting or reinstalling the OS. My solution came by chance: I simply moved my USB headset to another port. I wasn't sure why I did that, but when I tried running a game for a few final tests before resetting, everything worked again and my lost FPS returned.
Tldr
The cause might be anything, but it's best to narrow it down so you can act quickly if needed. =)
It's odd that things worked out after updating the BIOS and doing a full Windows reinstall, but I still haven’t figured out why my FPS dropped suddenly afterward. I also had a PC crash once, stuck in POST with an orange light, and after that I lost my FPS on every game before updating the BIOS. I’m not sure why it happened then or why it was fine afterward.