Unusual Fixes That Actually Work
Try these solutions one at a time and test after each change.
Showing 14 of 14 solutions
Disable CSM in BIOS
CSM (Compatibility Support Module) is a BIOS/UEFI feature that enables legacy boot support for older operating systems and hardware. On modern PCs, keeping CSM enabled can sometimes interfere with full UEFI mode features and cause minor stability or performance issues. Disabling CSM ensures the system runs in pure UEFI mode, improves compatibility with modern features like Secure Boot, and reduces legacy boot overhead.
Increase NVIDIA Shader Cache Size
By default, NVIDIA's shader cache size is quite small. When the cache is too limited, shaders have to be recompiled more often, causing shader compilation stutter, micro-freezes when loading new areas or effects, and inconsistent frametimes. Increasing the shader cache size gives the GPU more room to store compiled shaders, which helps reduce stutters and improve smoothness over time.
Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
Some games on Windows suffer from FPS stuttering or input lag because of Fullscreen Optimizations. Disabling this feature forces the game to run in classic fullscreen mode instead of Windows' hybrid fullscreen/borderless mode, which can reduce frame stuttering, reduce input delay, and improve overall performance stability.
Lower Mouse Polling Rate
Your mouse polling rate (Report Rate) controls how many times per second the mouse sends position updates to the PC. Very high polling rates like 1000Hz, 2000Hz, 4000Hz, or 8000Hz can create extra CPU interrupt load (DPC/ISR overhead). On some systems, this shows up as micro-stuttering, especially when moving the mouse quickly in-game. Lowering the polling rate can reduce micro-stutters, improve frame-time consistency in CPU-limited games, and reduce interrupt overhead.
Disable Hardware Acceleration in Apps
Many background apps (Discord, Chrome, Spotify, Steam, etc.) use Hardware Acceleration, offloading rendering to your GPU. While this can make apps smoother, it can compete with your game for GPU resources, cause FPS drops and stutters, or trigger overlay/driver issues. Disabling hardware acceleration in non-essential apps can help keep your GPU focused on the game, improving stability.
Use Ultimate Performance Power Plan
Windows includes a special (often hidden) power plan called Ultimate Performance. It's designed to reduce power-saving behaviors that can cause CPU throttling, slower boost response, or inconsistent performance—especially during demanding tasks like gaming. Enabling this plan can keep CPU clocks more consistent under load, improve responsiveness, and stabilize performance in CPU-heavy games.
Disable Core Isolation / VBS
Core Isolation (often tied to VBS – Virtualization-Based Security) is a Windows security feature that uses virtualization to protect your system. Memory integrity (HVCI) can add overhead and reduce performance in some games—especially on CPU-limited systems. Turning it off can improve FPS and frame-time consistency, reduce micro-stutters in CPU-heavy games, and lower virtualization overhead.
Clear Standby Memory List
Windows uses standby memory to cache data it thinks you might need again soon. On some systems (especially with 8-16 GB RAM) Windows can let the standby list grow too large and only clear it when absolutely necessary. When that happens during a game, Windows may suddenly free a big chunk of memory, causing FPS stuttering, micro-freezes, hitching, and frametime spikes. ISLC automatically monitors RAM and clears the standby list when free memory gets too low.
Disable Windows Game Mode
Windows includes Game Mode that is supposed to improve gaming performance by prioritizing the game and limiting background activity. However, in some games it can actually cause FPS stuttering, frame drops, or input lag because of how it manages system resources and interacts with overlays and background services. Disabling it can reduce random stutters, make frame times more stable, and improve overall smoothness.
Disable Onboard WiFi/Bluetooth Adapter
Some onboard WiFi/Bluetooth adapters (commonly certain MediaTek chips) can cause severe stuttering, FPS drops, and input lag when their drivers crash or repeatedly reset in the background. Even if you're on Ethernet, a faulty wireless driver can still spam errors, interrupt system processes, and hurt real-time performance in games. This tweak can eliminate stutters caused by wireless driver crashes and improve input responsiveness.
Set Windows Timer Resolution
Windows uses a system timer resolution (tick interval) to schedule sleep/timer-based work. For some games/systems, forcing a higher timer frequency (i.e., a lower interval like 0.5ms) can improve frame pacing and reduce micro-stutter by making timing/scheduling more precise. A popular way to force this is using ISLC (Intelligent Standby List Cleaner) by Wagnard, which includes an option to set a custom timer resolution.
Disable Multi-Plane Overlay (MPO)
Some Windows systems (especially with NVIDIA/AMD and when using G-Sync/FreeSync) can experience FPS stuttering, flickering/black screens, or overlay issues due to Multi-Plane Overlay (MPO). Disabling MPO forces Windows to use a more classic composition path instead of multi-layer overlay planes, which often helps reduce FPS stuttering, fix flickering issues, and improve stability with overlays like Discord, GeForce Overlay, or Xbox Game Bar.
Disable Memory Compression
Windows uses Memory Compression to fit more data into RAM by compressing it. While this can reduce paging to disk, on some systems the extra compression/decompression work can cause micro-stutters or inconsistent frame pacing—especially in games or heavy multitasking. Disabling it may help reduce micro-stutters, improve frame pacing consistency under load, and lower CPU spikes caused by compression.
Disable HPET (High Precision Event Timer)
HPET (High Precision Event Timer) is a hardware timer used by Windows for timing and scheduling. On some PCs, it can contribute to micro-stutters, uneven frame pacing, or input latency in games. Disabling HPET (or letting Windows choose the best timer automatically) can sometimes reduce micro-stuttering, improve frame pacing, reduce input delay, and improve overall gameplay smoothness.