Performance Issue Fortnite

Fortnite Frame Drops to 20 FPS - PC Troubleshooting Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-05 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-05 👥 Reports: 15 ⚡ Severity: 🟡 Medium

🎯 Quick Answer

Disable NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency in Fortnite's video settings, as this setting is a primary cause of periodic 20 FPS lock on new systems with RTX 50-series GPUs.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The error manifests as a periodic, severe frame rate drop where Fortnite's performance locks to approximately 20 frames per second (FPS) at regular intervals, typically every 10 seconds. This issue primarily affects the Windows PC platform. The problem occurs across recent versions of Fortnite, particularly following major engine updates or on systems with newly released hardware components. This is a common troubleshooting issue for users who have recently migrated to a new PC build. The severity is high, as the consistent frame lock creates a game-breaking stutter that severely impacts gameplay, especially in timing-sensitive modes. No specific error code is generated; the malfunction is observed purely as a performance degradation within the game's rendering pipeline.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application exhibits a consistent pattern of performance degradation during standard gameplay. The frame rate, which may otherwise be stable at a high value, drops precisely to 20 FPS for a duration of 1-2 seconds. This event recurs at regular intervals, approximately every 10 seconds. The user observes severe visual stuttering and an unresponsive control input during the drop. The issue persists regardless of in-game graphical preset changes, including the use of Performance Mode. The problem is isolated to the Fortnite application; other games and system benchmarks operate within expected performance parameters.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: The NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency setting within Fortnite is set to "On + Boost". This feature can conflict with certain power management states on new GPUs, causing the driver to periodically force a minimum performance state that locks the frame rate to 20 FPS. Why this causes the problem: The Boost mode aggressively manages GPU clocks, and a mismatch with Windows or driver power plans triggers a forced idle state. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Outdated, corrupted, or improperly installed NVIDIA Display Driver (particularly versions 550+ or early drivers for RTX 50-series GPUs) contains scheduling bugs that interfere with Fortnite's rendering thread. Why this causes the problem: The driver fails to maintain consistent GPU utilization, causing the DirectX 12 backend to stall while waiting for resource submission. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: The Windows Power Plan is configured to "Power Saver" or "Balanced" with aggressive PCI Express Link State Power Management. This forces the GPU into a low-power state during minor load fluctuations. Why this causes the problem: The system throttles the PCIe bus bandwidth, creating a bottleneck that the game engine interprets as a render stall, triggering a frame rate cap. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Epic Games Launcher or Fortnite High Precision Event Timer (HPET) settings are misaligned with the system's timer resolution. This creates a conflict in the game's internal frame pacing scheduler. Why this causes the problem: The scheduler receives irregular timing signals, causing it to reset its frame budget at fixed intervals, resulting in the periodic 20 FPS lock. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Fullscreen Optimizations or Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows is enabled but conflicting with Fortnite's exclusive fullscreen or borderless windowed mode implementation. Why this causes the problem: Two separate compositors (Windows DWM and the game engine) contend for presentation queue control, causing periodic sync failures. Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: Fortnite's shader compilation stutter is exacerbated on new PCs, where the shader cache is empty. The engine halts the main render thread to compile shaders synchronously. Why this causes the problem: The synchronous compilation blocks rendering for a duration sufficient to drop the frame rate to a consistent low value before recovering.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Disable NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 2 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: None Steps:

Launch Fortnite and navigate to the main menu.
Open the Settings menu by pressing the Escape key and clicking the gear icon, or from the lobby menu.
Select the Video Settings tab.
Scroll down to the Advanced Graphics section.
Locate the NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency setting.
Change this setting from "On + Boost" or "On" to "Off".
Apply the settings and restart Fortnite to ensure the change takes full effect.

Technical Explanation: This resolves a known conflict where the Reflex Low Latency "Boost" mode interferes with GPU power state management on newer architectures, forcing a periodic downclock that manifests as a 20 FPS lock. Verification: Monitor frame rate using the in-game performance overlay (Settings > Game UI > Net Debug Stats > On). The periodic 20 FPS drops cease, and frame timing becomes consistent.

Solution 2: Perform a Clean GPU Driver Installation Using DDU

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

Download the latest NVIDIA Game Ready Driver from the official NVIDIA website for your specific GPU model (e.g., RTX 5070).
Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from Guru3D.com.
Restart Windows in Safe Mode. This is done via Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced startup > Restart now > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart > Press 4 or F4.
Run DDU in Safe Mode. Select "NVIDIA" from the device type dropdown and click "Clean and restart".
After the system restarts to normal Windows, install the previously downloaded NVIDIA driver. During installation, select "Custom (Advanced)" and then check the box for "Perform a clean installation".
Complete the installation and restart the system.

Technical Explanation: A clean installation removes corrupted driver files and registry entries that cause scheduling conflicts, ensuring a stable interface between Fortnite's DirectX 12 runtime and the GPU hardware. Verification: Open NVIDIA Control Panel > System Information to confirm driver version. In Fortnite, the stuttering interval is eliminated.

Solution 3: Configure Windows Power & Graphics Settings

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

Open Windows Start Menu, type "Edit power plan", and select it.
Click "Change advanced power settings".
In the Power Options window, expand Processor power management, then Minimum processor state. Set it to 100% for both "On battery" and "Plugged in".
Expand PCI Express, then Link State Power Management. Set both settings to "Off".
Click Apply and OK.
Open Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
Click "Browse" and navigate to C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe. Add it to the list.
Click on the added Fortnite executable, select "Options", and set the Graphics preference to "High performance".

Technical Explanation: This prevents the system from throttling CPU and PCIe bus performance during minor load variations, ensuring consistent resource availability to Fortnite's rendering pipeline. Verification: The system maintains higher base clock speeds. Use a monitoring tool like HWiNFO to confirm PCIe Link State remains at Gen4 or Gen5 x16 during gameplay.

Solution 4: Disable Fullscreen Optimizations for Fortnite

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 3 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None Steps:

Navigate to the Fortnite executable location: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\.
Right-click on FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe and select Properties.
Select the Compatibility tab.
Check the box labeled "Disable fullscreen optimizations".
Click Apply, then OK.
Repeat these steps for the Epic Games Launcher executable if the issue persists.

Technical Explanation: This grants Fortnite exclusive control over the display output, bypassing the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) compositor, which eliminates presentation conflicts that cause periodic frame pacing failures. Verification: The game runs in true exclusive fullscreen mode. The periodic frame drops are absent when the game is the focused application.

Solution 5: Reset Fortnite Configuration Files

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 7 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: None. Note: This will reset all game settings to default. Steps:

Close the Epic Games Launcher completely via the system tray.
Press Windows Key + R, type %localappdata%, and press Enter.
Navigate to the FortniteGame folder, then the Saved folder.
Locate the Config folder and rename it to Config_Old.
Locate the WindowsClient folder within the Saved folder and rename it to WindowsClient_Old.
Restart the Epic Games Launcher and launch Fortnite. The game will generate fresh configuration files.
Reconfigure your video and game settings. Test before restoring any backup files.

Technical Explanation: This eliminates corrupted or misconfigured settings files (GameUserSettings.ini) that may contain invalid parameters forcing erroneous frame rate caps or scheduler behavior. Verification: A new Config folder is created upon launch. The issue is resolved with default settings, confirming a local configuration error.

Solution 6: Adjust Timer Resolution via Command Line

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Low Prerequisites: Administrator access. Steps:

Press Windows Key, type "cmd", right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator".
Execute the following command to disable the HPET if it is forcing a bad timer resolution: bcdedit /deletevalue useplatformclock
Press Enter. You will see "The operation completed successfully."
Next, execute this command to set a consistent timer resolution: bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes
Press Enter.
Execute the final command: bcdedit /set tscsyncpolicy Enhanced
Press Enter.
Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

Technical Explanation: This standardizes the system timer source and policy, reducing scheduling latency variances that can interrupt the game engine's fixed-interval frame budgeting, which manifests as periodic stutters. Verification: After reboot, the periodic nature of the frame drops is disrupted or eliminated. Use a tool like TimerTool to confirm timer resolution is stable.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain GPU drivers by performing a clean installation using DDU every 2-3 major driver updates. Configure the Windows Power Plan to "High performance" before gaming sessions and verify PCIe Link State Power Management remains disabled after system updates. Regularly clear the Fortnite shader cache located in %localappdata%\FortniteGame\Saved\D3D12RHI after significant game engine updates to prevent compilation stutter. Monitor background processes using Task Manager to ensure no resource-monitoring software (e.g., MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner) is applying conflicting frame rate caps or injecting overlays that cause conflicts.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Epic Games Support if all solutions fail and the issue persists exclusively in Fortnite on a system meeting the game's recommended specifications. Provide diagnostic information including the FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.log file from %localappdata%\FortniteGame\Saved\Logs and a complete DxDiag report. Include specific details: GPU model (e.g., GeForce RTX 5070), driver version, and the exact interval of frame drops. Official support channels are accessible via the Epic Games Help Center at epicgames.com/help.