How to Fix Stuttering in Valorant — 10 Fixes to Try

Valorant runs on the Unreal Engine 4 and offers graphics settings for a range of hardware; achievable FPS depends on the system and game version. So why does it stutter? Background processes, power settings and background recording are possibilities to investigate alongside game-specific and hardware-related causes. Let measurements guide the investigation.

Here are 10 fixes to try for stuttering in Valorant. Apply one at a time and measure, because the cause changes from PC to PC.

1. Disable GameDVR

Check whether GameDVR background recording is enabled. When recording is active, it may affect frame times on some systems; compare the same scene with recording disabled.

Registry: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR
Set AppCaptureEnabled = 0

Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GameDVR
Set AllowGameDVR = 0

2. Use Fullscreen Mode

The presentation path depends on the game, Windows and display settings; in some cases a windowed mode can add input lag or stutters. Compare fullscreen and borderless modes on your system.

3. Optimize NVIDIA Settings

Several NVIDIA Control Panel settings can cause stuttering when set incorrectly.

• Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance
• Low Latency Mode: On (or Ultra)
• Shader Cache Size: Unlimited
• Threaded Optimization: On
• V-Sync: Off
• Texture Filtering Quality: High Performance

4. Set Ultimate Performance Power Plan

The "Balanced" plan adjusts CPU clocks with load, which on some PCs can show as frame time spikes. Ultimate Performance prioritizes performance in the power policy, without guaranteeing constant clocks.

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

Then select "Ultimate Performance" in Control Panel → Power Options.

5. Close Background Applications

Check whether overlays, browser tabs and other background apps are actively using CPU resources during the measured stutters. Close one at a time and compare. Close everything non-essential before playing.

6. Update GPU Drivers

Impact: VARIES. NVIDIA and AMD regularly release driver updates with game-specific optimizations. Keep your Game Ready (NVIDIA) or Adrenalin (AMD) driver up to date.

7. Disable Overlays

Active overlays may affect frame times on some systems. Disable one at a time and compare the same scene.

8. Lower Specific In-Game Settings

Not all settings are equal. Some settings may affect frame times even on powerful hardware; test the following individually:

• Anti-Aliasing: Set to MSAA 2x or Off (FXAA causes blur and overhead)
• Anisotropic Filtering: 4x is enough
• Material Quality: Low
• Detail Quality: Low
• Bloom: Off
• Distortion: Off
• V-Sync: Off

9. Check Thermals

If your CPU or GPU hits its thermal limit, it throttles clock speeds, which can cause stuttering. This is especially common on laptops.

10. Test Timer Resolution

The effect of timer resolution depends on how each game uses timers; on some systems a finer timer changes frame delivery, on others it does nothing or makes it worse. Measure before and after. DRX does not force 0.5ms.

Registry: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\kernel
Set GlobalTimerResolutionRequests = 1

On Windows 11, this value makes a timer request from one program (for example a timer tool) apply system-wide again. Test the same scenario before and after, and remove the value if nothing improves.