How to improve FPS in Fortnite Chapter 5 – Our 9 surefire methods to boost your framerate

How to improve FPS in Fortnite Chapter 5 – Our 9 surefire methods to boost your framerate
Asmir Pekmic Updated on by

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Improving FPS in Fortnite is nearly key to success. Playing on a low framerate is simply not enjoyable. On top of that, you’re at a big disadvantage against the players who play on higher framerates, which makes it tougher to get Victory Royales.

Fortunately, Fortnite has many options you can adjust to increase your FPS. Besides in-game settings, you can also make a couple of changes to your gaming hardware to make it run faster. If you’re interested in achieving higher FPS, our detailed guide has everything you need to know.

How to improve Fortnite FPS on PlayStation and Xbox

Increasing frames on gaming consoles can be quite tricky. Unlike PCs, these consoles have hardware that can’t be changed. Additionally, it is not possible to adjust graphical settings in the game, such as turning off shadows or reflections.

Fortunately, you can use a couple of easy tricks to achieve a higher framerate on Xbox and PlayStation.

Enable the 120 FPS mode

Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have a great GPU and CPU that are capable of achieving a high FPS in Fortnite. You can easily enable this mode, bumping your framerate from 60 to 120 FPS. However, you have to have a compatible TV that supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

To improve Fortnite FPS on current-generation gaming consoles, you’ll need to follow these steps:

  • Launch Fortnite
  • Open Settings from the main menu
  • Go to the Video tab
  • Toggle 120 FPS to On
A screenshot of the video settings in a video game, demonstrating how to improve FPS in Fortnite.
Image by VideoGamer

This option is only available on current-gen consoles, meaning that you won’t see it on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Once you do this, you will also have to enable the Performance Mode on PlayStation 5 or set Xbox’s refresh rate to 120 Hz.

Keep in mind that you will only benefit from this if you have a compatible TV that supports 120 Hz. For more information, please visit Epic Games’ guide.

Improve cooling

As you play videogames, your hardware components will heat up, which is why it’s important to have a proper cooling system. If your device is not able to cool down your graphics card or processor, you will suffer from a downgraded performance. Additionally, running these components at high temperatures will shorten their lifespan.

You have to make sure that your gaming system is properly ventilated, and here is how you can do it:

  • Ensure that air vents are not blocked or obstructed
  • Do not place your system on a carpet or rug
  • Do not place your system too close to the wall
  • Consider turning on the air conditioning
✓ Cooling Tip

Add more coolers to your gaming console

If your gaming console’s airflow is not good enough and the components overheat, you may consider getting a separate external cooler. These coolers are relatively cheap and can be easily installed.

All of these tips will help you improve FPS in Fortnite. The last tip is somewhat drastic, but it’s essential if you live in a warmer climate. Lower ambient temperature also means that your components will run colder, which is perfect for gaming. Due to this, it’s important to keep the room temperature in mind.

Clean dust

If your gaming system is overheating, chances are that some of your essential components have a lot of dust on them. A dust cover can significantly downgrade your gaming performance and even negatively affect other components, so it’s important to get rid of this.

Considering that every gaming system relies on cooling, you have to clean dust every once in a while. This process can be complicated if you’re not familiar with disassembling your console or PC, but you can also let someone else do it for you.

Once you clean the dust, you will enjoy higher frame rates in Fortnite, as well as any other game you play.

Improve Fortnite FPS on PC

If you play Fortnite on a PC, you can use numerous options to optimize the game and get FPS boosts. With high-end devices, you will generally get higher framerates and won’t need to change any settings. However, if you have a mid-range gaming PC, you will have to tweak it.

Here are some tips you can use to boost FPS on PC.

Lower graphical settings

While gaming consoles usually have pre-defined graphical settings, PC allows you to change nearly every single thing, from shadows and texture quality to view distance. Due to this, you will have to go into the Settings menu and change a couple of things.

Here are the settings you need to adjust:

  • Frame rate limit: Unlimited or the same as your monitor’s refresh rate
  • Dynamic 3D resolution: On
  • Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution: Nvidia DLSS or TSR
  • Nanite Visualized Geometry
  • Virtual Shadows
  • Global Illumination
  • Reflections
  • View Distance
  • Textures
  • Effects
  • Post Processing
  • Hardware Ray Tracing
A screen showing the settings to improve fps in Fortnite.
Image taken by VideoGamer

While you should adjust the first three settings, we’ll leave the rest of you to change. While turning off shadows will drastically improve your framerate, you may not need to get rid of them if your hardware is powerful enough. The same goes for all the other settings.

Keep in mind that you will get a massive FPS boost in Fortnite by lowering these settings, but your game will look worse. With high-resolution textures, Epic Games made Fortnite look breathtaking. Due to this, make sure not to over-optimize the game and make it look much worse. However, if you only want a higher frame rate, you will want to set everything to either Minimum or Medium.

On top of these settings, you may also choose a different version of DirectX in Rendering Mode. Also, we recommend you turn on Multithreaded Rendering and run the game in fullscreen mode. For the biggest FPS boost, you should also lower your display resolution, although this will drastically impact the game’s visuals.

Use DLSS or TSR

If you have an Nvidia graphics card, you can benefit from its DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology. This feature will improve your FPS in Fortnite while making little to no changes to the overall quality of the game.

A screenshot showcasing the video quality settings to optimize FPS in Fortnite.
Image taken by VideoGamer

To enable DLSS, press the Main Menu button and go into Settings. Look for Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution, and choose DLSS. You may also choose TSR settings, ranging from Low to High. We advise you to try different settings and see what works out the best for you.

Switch to Performance mode

If you have a low-end PC that struggles to run Fortnite, you can try to use its Performance mode. Once again, go into the Settings and change Rendering Mode. While we recommend you use DirectX 12 for the best performance and visuals, you should change it to Performance to gain a massive framerate boost.

A screenshot of the video settings on a computer screen, demonstrating how to improve FPS in Fortnite.
Image by VideoGamer

This rendering mode will make your game run much faster, and you shouldn’t have any problems with your framerate anymore. However, Fortnite will also look worse, which is the main disadvantage of the Performance mode.

Download latest drivers

To make sure Fortnite runs smoothly, you will need to keep your graphics drivers updated. Whether you use an Nvidia, AMD, or Intel GPU, you’ll have to keep an eye on new updates and install them as soon as they are available.

Most of these updates come with performance boosts, which is why you need to pay attention to them. If you have decent hardware, yet you’re not able to achieve high performance in Fortnite, please check if your drivers are outdated.

Overclocking

Overclocking allows you to make your hardware components run faster. However, it’s important to note that this is a rather risky procedure, and if not done properly, it can destroy your hardware. Due to this, we don’t advise you to do this.

The overclocking procedure can boost the frequency of your CPU or GPU, but not too drastically. You will not be able to overclock a 3.6 GHz processor to 4.6 GHz or similar. However, you can overclock your PC to lower its power consumption, while also getting the same performance from it.

Upgrade your hardware

If everything else fails, then maybe it’s time to upgrade your hardware. Below are the minimum, recommended, and Epic-quality specifications to run Fortnite in 2023.

Minimum System Requirements

  • Video Card: Intel HD 4000 on PC; AMD Radeon Vega 8
  • Processor: Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit or Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6

Recommended System Requirements

  • Video Card: Nvidia GTX 960, AMD R9 280, or equivalent DX11 GPU
  • Video Memory: 2 GB VRAM
  • Processor: Core i5-7300U 3.5 GHz, AMD Ryzen 3 3300U, or equivalent
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM or higher
  • Hard Drive: NVMe Solid State Drive
  • OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit

Epic Quality Presets Specifications

  • Video Card: Nvidia RTX 3070, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, or equivalent GPU
  • Video Memory: 8 GB VRAM or higher
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-8700, AMD Ryzen 7 3700x or equivalent

While Fortnite has plenty of options for PC players, you won’t get far with low-end hardware. If your system is good enough to meet the minimum requirements, we advise you to upgrade at least the GPU, and then everything else later on.

Fortnite FPS FAQ

Can I run Fortnite in more than 120 FPS on PlayStation or Xbox?

No, 120 FPS is the frame rate limit on current-gen gaming consoles. Old-generation consoles are limited to 60 FPS.

Do I need to upgrade my TV or monitor to see more frames?

If you have a 60 Hz TV, you will not be able to see 120 FPS (frames per second) on it. The same goes for gaming monitors. The refresh rate, which is shown in Hz (hertz) needs to match your FPS.

What’s the maximum FPS I can get in Fortnite?

By upgrading hardware and adjusting advanced graphics settings, you can get thousands of FPS. However, most gamers are satisfied with either 120 or 144 FPS, as that’s the sweet spot.

Is 60 FPS good for Fortnite?

Most console gamers run Fortnite in 60 FPS, and we believe that this framerate is perfect. While going to 120 FPS is a game-changer, 60 FPS is somewhat of a standard framerate that allows you to play the game casually.

What is the FPS in Fortnite?

FPS stands for Frames per Second. Think of frames as unique pictures that you see on your screen. With 30 FPS, your screen will show 30 different pictures every second, while 60 FPS will double it. With a higher framerate, the game feels smoother and is generally easier to play.