Performance Issue Fortnite

Fortnite FPS Stutters and Severe 1% Lows - PC Performance Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-06 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-06 👥 Reports: 25 ⚡ Severity: 🟡 Medium

🎯 Quick Answer

Disable NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency in Fortnite's video settings and perform a clean installation of your graphics drivers to resolve severe FPS stutters and low frame rates.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The error is defined as severe and inconsistent frame time delivery in Fortnite on Windows PC, characterized by critically low 1% and 0.1% FPS metrics despite high average frame rates. This problem manifests as game-breaking micro-stutters and frame drops into single digits, making gameplay unresponsive. The issue primarily affects the Windows version of Fortnite, particularly following specific game engine or content updates. Analysis of user reports classifies this as a common occurrence post-update, with high severity due to its direct impact on playability. The problem is system-agnostic, occurring on both new and established hardware configurations, including high-end components like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 and Intel Core i9-13900K. No specific error code is generated; the failure mode is purely performance-based within the game's rendering pipeline.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application exhibits severe frame time inconsistency during gameplay and in the lobby. The primary observable symptom is a periodic drop in frames per second to 5 FPS or below, as measured by 1% low metrics. This stuttering coincides with player camera movement, loading new map areas, or proximity to other players. The rendering pipeline intermittently fails to deliver frames, causing a perceptible freeze. In some instances, graphical corruption presents as grey or missing textures concurrent with the stutter. Audio playback may cut out or stutter in correlation with the frame delivery failure. Performance monitoring software confirms the application is not fully utilizing system hardware (GPU/CPU) during these episodic drops.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Configuration Error Specific Technical Explanation: The NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency setting set to "On + Boost" creates a driver-level conflict with Fortnite's internal frame pacing, especially in DX12 mode. This forces the GPU to an artificially high clock state that can destabilize the rendering queue. Why this causes the problem: It introduces inconsistent synchronization between the game engine's submission thread and the GPU's render queue, causing periodic full-stack stalls. Category: Software Conflict Specific Technical Explanation: Outdated, corrupted, or incorrectly installed graphics driver packages contain shader cache incompatibilities or memory management faults specific to Unreal Engine 5's Nanite and Lumen rendering paths. Why this causes the problem: The driver fails to properly compile or stream in the complex shaders used by Fortnite, causing the main thread to block while waiting for shader compilation, resulting in a frame stall. Category: Game Bug Specific Technical Explanation: Fortnite's in-game Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) implementation has known instability with certain Windows 11 builds and GPU driver combinations. This Windows feature offloads scheduling tasks to the GPU, which can fail. Why this causes the problem: When HAGS is enabled, the GPU's internal scheduler and Fortnite's engine scheduler conflict, leading to missed frame deadlines and severe stuttering. Category: Configuration Error Specific Technical Explanation: Incorrect Power Management settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel or Windows, set to "Optimal Power" or "Power Saver" for Fortnite, cause the GPU and CPU to rapidly clock down during low-load moments (e.g., in menus), failing to ramp up in time for gameplay. Why this causes the problem: The system cannot achieve maximum performance state quickly enough, causing sustained low clock speeds during initial combat or scene transitions. Category: Software Conflict Specific Technical Explanation: Background applications with overlay hooks (Discord, Xbox Game Bar, MSI Afterburner, RGB control software) inject code into the DirectX 12 runtime, interfering with Fortnite's anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat) and its low-level hardware access. Why this causes the problem: The injection causes periodic validation checks by Easy Anti-Cheat, which can temporarily halt rendering threads, manifesting as a sharp FPS drop. Category: Configuration Error Specific Technical Explanation: The Texture Streaming budget in Fortnite's settings is set too high for the available GPU VRAM, or the Performance Mode in Fortnite is incorrectly configured with corrupted local cache files. Why this causes the problem: This forces the engine to constantly swap textures from system RAM to VRAM, overwhelming the PCIe bus and causing the render thread to wait for asset data.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Disable NVIDIA Reflex and Adjust Core Video Settings

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: None Steps:

Launch Fortnite and navigate to the Settings menu.
Select the Video Settings tab.
Locate the NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency setting. Change this from "On + Boost" to "Off".
Set Rendering Mode to DirectX 12 (if experiencing issues, test with DirectX 11 as an alternative).
Disable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling within the same Video Settings menu, if the option is present.
Apply the settings and restart the game.

Technical Explanation: This directly addresses the most common driver-level scheduling conflict. Disabling Reflex removes an external frame pacing constraint that often clashes with Fortnite's internal logic, allowing the engine to manage frame submission natively. Using DX12 provides a more stable, low-level API path for modern GPUs compared to the legacy DX11 renderer. Verification: Launch a solo Battle Royale match or a private Creative island. Monitor frame times using the in-game performance overlay (Alt+R). The 1% low FPS metric should show a significant increase, and perceptible stutter during camera movement should be eliminated.

Solution 2: Perform a Clean Graphics Driver Installation Using DDU

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 15 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Administrator access, internet connection to download drivers. Steps:

Download the latest GPU driver from NVIDIA's or AMD's official website, but do not install it yet.
Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from Guru3D.
Boot Windows into Safe Mode. This can be done by pressing Windows Key + R, typing msconfig, going to the Boot tab, checking "Safe boot" under Boot options, and restarting.
Run DDU in Safe Mode. Select your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel) and click "Clean and restart".
After the system restarts normally, install the previously downloaded graphics driver package. Select "Custom Installation" and check the box for "Perform a clean install".
Restart your computer after installation completes.

Technical Explanation: DDU removes all remnants of previous driver installations, including registry entries, leftover files, and corrupted shader caches. A clean install establishes a fresh driver state, eliminating conflicts from outdated or partially overwritten system files that cause memory leaks and shader compilation hangs. Verification: Open the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Adrenalin Software to confirm the driver version is correctly installed. In Fortnite, check that the stuttering frequency has decreased, particularly in the first minutes of a match where shader caching typically occurs.

Solution 3: Configure GPU Control Panel Settings for Maximum Performance

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Adrenalin Software installed. Steps:

Right-click the desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
Navigate to Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings.
Select Fortnite from the dropdown list, or add it manually by browsing to C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe.
Configure the following settings specifically for Fortnite:

* Power Management Mode: Prefer maximum performance * Texture filtering - Quality: High performance * Vertical sync: Off * Threaded optimization: On * Low Latency Mode: Off (This is separate from the in-game Reflex setting)

Click Apply. Close the Control Panel.

Technical Explanation: This forces the GPU to maintain its highest performance state while Fortnite is running, preventing clock speed fluctuations that cause inconsistent frame delivery. It also overrides any global Windows power-saving features that can throttle the GPU during gameplay. Verification: Use GPU monitoring software like GPU-Z to observe the 'PerfCap Reason' sensor while Fortnite is running. It should show "VRel" or "Idle," not "Pwr" or "Util," indicating the GPU is not being power-throttled.

Solution 4: Disable Conflicting Background Services and Overlays

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 7 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Press Windows Key + I to open Settings. Go to Gaming > Xbox Game Bar and turn it Off.
In the same Gaming menu, go to Captures and disable "Record in the background while I'm playing a game".
Close any applications with overlays: Discord (disable in-game overlay in Discord Settings), Steam, GeForce Experience Overlay (disable in NVIDIA Experience settings), MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner, and any RGB peripheral software (iCUE, SignalRGB, etc.).
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Go to the Startup tab and disable non-essential applications.
Restart your computer.

Technical Explanation: Overlay applications use hooking techniques that can intercept DirectX calls, creating contention and triggering additional security scans from Easy Anti-Cheat. Disabling them removes this interference layer, resulting in cleaner communication between the game engine and the graphics API. Verification: Launch Fortnite with only essential system processes running. The stuttering caused by periodic background application interference, especially when joining a match, should be reduced.

Solution 5: Reset Fortnite's Local User Configuration and Cache

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Knowledge of file system navigation. Steps:

Close the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite completely.
Navigate to the local AppData folder by pressing Windows Key + R, typing %localappdata%, and pressing Enter.
Locate and open the FortniteGame folder.
Delete the Saved folder within it. This will reset all game settings to default.
Navigate to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Temp.
Delete any folders or files beginning with "Fortnite".
Open the Epic Games Launcher. Click your profile icon > Settings. Scroll down to Fortnite and uncheck "Enable Cloud Saves".
Launch Fortnite. It will recreate configuration files. Reapply your desired video settings (ensuring Reflex is OFF).

Technical Explanation: Corrupted local configuration files (GameUserSettings.ini) and cached shader data can contain invalid parameters that destabilize the render loop. Deleting these forces the game to generate fresh, uncorrupted files with default, stable values. Verification: After the game launches and rebuilds its settings, check the %localappdata%\FortniteGame\Saved\Config\WindowsClient\GameUserSettings.ini file. The bUseNVIDIAStreaming and NVIDIAStreaming parameters should be absent or set to false.

Solution 6: Adjust Windows Performance and Power Settings

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 8 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Administrator access. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type powercfg.cpl, and press Enter.
Select the Ultimate Performance power plan. If not visible, open Command Prompt as Administrator and execute: powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61.
Click "Change plan settings" next to Ultimate Performance, then "Change advanced power settings".
Expand Processor power management > Minimum processor state. Set both On battery and Plugged in to 100%.
Expand PCI Express > Link State Power Management. Set both settings to Off.
Click Apply and OK.
In Windows Settings (System > Display > Graphics), ensure Fortnite's .exe file is set to "High performance" GPU.

Technical Explanation: This prevents the CPU and PCIe bus from entering lower power states, which introduce latency when ramping back up. Maintaining constant high performance states eliminates micro-latency associated with power state transitions (C-states), a common cause of brief frame delivery pauses. Verification: Use a tool like HWiNFO64 to monitor CPU core clock speeds and C-state residency while Fortnite is idle in the lobby. Cores should remain at high clock speeds with minimal C6/C7 state residency.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain system stability by performing a clean driver installation using DDU following every major GPU driver update. Schedule a monthly clearing of the Fortnite Saved configuration folder and the %temp% directory. Configure Windows Update to