Rocket League slows down or caps its frames per second despite your commands.
Rocket League slows down or caps its frames per second despite your commands.
I've been struggling to resolve FPS issues and stuttering in Rocket League over the past week. This problem often disappears on its own, only to reappear the next day. To give you a clearer picture, my setup includes an i7 9700K, an EVGA 3090 XC3 Ultra, 16GB CL14 3200Mhz RAM, and a 4K 120Hz G-Sync display. Even if both my CPU and GPU were throttled to half their clocks, I’d still see more than the current FPS, and changing resolution would help. No matter how I adjust in-game graphics or settings, the on-screen FPS stays around 120 with noticeable stuttering and inconsistency. This isn’t unusual, but it’s becoming increasingly annoying, especially since my system can easily exceed 240fps in this game. I’ve kept the in-game FPS cap at 240, but changing it doesn’t improve things much (unless I drop it below 120). Switching between Borderless and Fullscreen slightly reduces stutter, but the game still caps around 120fps. Moving my mouse causes a sharp drop in FPS, as shown in screenshots. Running RL in the background raises FPS quickly, yet focusing on the window brings it back down to 120. I’ve tweaked the TASystemSettings.ini file—setting perframesleep and perframeyeild increased FPS by about 40, but caused bigger swings. The GeForce Experience counter still reads 120, even though I suspect it’s higher than my refresh rate. I checked both EVGA Precision X1 and Nvidia Control Panel, but found only “Preferred Refresh Rate (monitor name)” limited to the highest setting. This pattern repeats in other games like Civilization Beyond Earth and Borderlands 3 with low graphics, where stuttering is minimal. Honestly, without the stuttering, I wouldn’t bother fixing this, but knowing my system could easily hit over 240fps makes it frustrating to troubleshoot. It feels like a mix of hardware and game-specific issues.
Updated the graphics drivers, resolved the issue. If needed, reinstall or clear the cache. Some users say the Epic version runs better than Steam.
For clearing the cache in RL, refer to the support guide here: https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-u...he-on-a-PC. Also, a great alias is "Mr. Sandman"
I share a similar experience. My setup includes an older system (CPU: i5-4570, 16GB RAM; OS: Windows 10; new cheap EVGA W3 450W power supply). With a GTX-1050ti it runs smoothly at 60fps with medium settings. After installing the GTX-1060 (Asus PH-GTX1060 -3G), issues began after a few minutes. I noticed problems only during multiplayer or complex gameplay, not in single-player sessions. Switching to "play in a 3x3 game with 5 NPCs" mode triggered the issue soon after. The performance dropped sharply from 60fps to around 10-25fps for several minutes. Driver version and background apps don’t seem to be the main culprits, though disabling overlays helped slightly. It feels like a thermal concern, but I haven’t confirmed yet. My system’s GPU usage spikes significantly, while in yours it seems to spike more with games. Could background applications be consuming excessive CPU? Given your CPU specs, those would likely need powerful software to cause such strain... But your GPU traces do show increased activity.
If you're using RL from Steam, consider switching to the Epic Games Launcher. Install Rocket League in a different folder and start from there. You can retain your Steam installation for comparison. All your preferences should remain intact, allowing you to toggle between versions to evaluate performance. The Epic Games version works flawlessly for me, with no stuttering. In contrast, the Steam version suffers in multiplayer or single-player modes, showing significant lag during intense moments. This issue was previously reported in 2020, but disabling Steam doesn't resolve it as it used to. There are occasional 5 to 10 micro-stutters unrelated to network problems, especially when action is close to you. I'm using the newest drivers and Windows updates. Cleared cache and rolled back drivers, but nothing resolves the problem at the moment. This isn't just a matter of Epic Games version smoothness; the Steam version appears broken, possibly due to driver or OS updates. Proceed with Epic Games for now—remember to uninstall Steam before testing other versions. Let me know your experience.
The Steam edition isn't working well right now; it causes too many stutters for many players. The Epic Games version, on the other hand, runs perfectly without any problems. I've reached out to RL's tech support about this, but they haven't noticed it yet. If you discover a solution for the Steam version, share it with us.