Solution Library
Proven fixes for FPS drops, stuttering, and performance issues.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.