Performance Issue Fortnite

Fortnite PC Stuttering and FPS Drops - Complete Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-06 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-06 👥 Reports: 1 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

Disable the Epic Games Launcher overlay and set Fortnite's process priority to High in Windows to eliminate periodic stuttering caused by background service interference.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The error is defined as severe, periodic performance degradation characterized by frame rate drops to sub-20 FPS at regular intervals during gameplay. This issue primarily affects the Windows PC platform. The problem occurs across multiple versions of Fortnite, particularly those utilizing the Unreal Engine 5 feature set with DirectX 12 or Performance Mode rendering. This is a common issue reported on high-performance systems. The severity is game-breaking, as the stuttering renders competitive gameplay non-viable. No specific error codes are generated; the malfunction manifests solely as a performance metric failure within the game engine's frame pacing.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The primary symptom is a drastic reduction in frames per second (FPS) from a stable high value to approximately 15 FPS. This drop occurs at regular intervals, typically every 45-60 seconds, and lasts for 2-5 seconds before recovery. The application continues running without crashing. The stuttering is observable as severe visual hitch and input lag. Performance monitoring software confirms the periodic frame time spike. The error occurs during standard gameplay across all modes and is not tied to specific in-game actions or locations.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: The Epic Games Launcher overlay service (EOSOverlayRenderer.exe) experiences scheduling conflicts or performs periodic checks that monopolize CPU threads, starving the game process. Why this causes the problem: The overlay's CPU interrupts cause the game engine's main thread to stall, resulting in missed render deadlines and massive frame time spikes. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Incorrect Windows power plan settings or AMD Ryzen power profile limiting CPU boost behavior. Why this causes the problem: Aggressive power saving causes the CPU to downclock cores at intervals, creating a performance bottleneck exactly when the game requires maximum single-thread performance. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: NVIDIA ShadowPlay Instant Replay or GeForce Experience overlay conflicting with Fortnite's anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye). Why this causes the problem: The overlay's frame buffer capture interrupts the GPU render queue, causing pipeline stalls that manifest as stuttering. Category: Game Bug Specific technical explanation: Fortnite's shader compilation stutter occurring mid-match instead of during initial loading. Why this causes the problem: The game engine fails to pre-compile all necessary shaders, forcing compilation during gameplay which halts the rendering thread. Category: Hardware Issue Specific technical explanation: Resizable BAR (Smart Access Memory) enabled with an incompatible driver or system firmware configuration. Why this causes the problem: Incorrect BAR sizing causes the GPU to experience memory access latency spikes when fetching large assets, resulting in periodic stalls. Category: Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Fortnite's in-game graphics settings, specifically Nanite Virtualized Geometry or Hardware Ray Tracing, creating unsustainable VRAM pressure. Why this causes the problem: The RTX 5070's VRAM management triggers garbage collection at intervals, causing the renderer to wait for memory operations to complete.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Disable Epic Games Launcher Overlay and Adjust Process Priority

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

Launch the Epic Games Launcher. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner and select Settings.
Scroll to the Fortnite section. Toggle the Enable Overlay option to OFF.
Launch Fortnite and enter a match. Alt+Tab to return to Windows.
Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc). Navigate to the Details tab.
Right-click on FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe. Select Set priority and choose High. Do not select "Realtime".
Check the box for Set affinity. Ensure all CPU cores are selected, then click OK.

Technical Explanation: This prevents the overlay service from interrupting the game's main thread and ensures Windows scheduler allocates more consistent CPU time slices to the game process, eliminating regular background-induced hitches. Verification: Monitor frame times using MSI Afterburner. The regular 45-second interval of high frame times (stutters) will be eliminated, showing a stable frame time graph.

Solution 2: Configure NVIDIA Control Panel and Driver Settings

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 10 minutes Prerequisites: Latest NVIDIA Game Ready Driver installed Steps:

Right-click the Windows desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
Navigate to Manage 3D settings > Program Settings. Select Fortnite from the list or add FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe manually.
Apply the following specific settings:

- Power management mode: Prefer maximum performance - Low Latency Mode: Ultra - Texture filtering - Quality: High performance - Vertical sync: Off - Background Application Max Frame Rate: 20 FPS

Save changes. Open GeForce Experience. Disable In-Game Overlay in the General settings.
Open Windows Settings > Gaming > Captures. Disable Record in the background while I'm playing a game.

Technical Explanation: These settings prevent the GPU from downclocking during gameplay, minimize render queue latency, and eliminate background recording services that cause periodic disk/CPU usage spikes. Verification: GPU-Z sensors will show consistent GPU Core Clock speeds during gameplay, without periodic drops coinciding with the stutter interval.

Solution 3: Optimize Windows Power & AMD Ryzen Settings

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 7 minutes Prerequisites: Administrator access Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type powercfg.cpl, and press Enter.
Select 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 > Change advanced power settings.
Expand Processor power management. Set both Minimum processor state and Maximum processor state to 100%.
Download and install the latest AMD Chipset Drivers from AMD.com. Reboot.
Open the installed AMD Ryzen Master application or check the Windows Power Plans for a new AMD Ryzen High Performance plan and select it.

Technical Explanation: This configuration prevents the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's cores from entering low-power states, ensuring the V-Cache and CPU cores maintain peak clock speeds without the latency of power state transitions. Verification: Use HWiNFO64 to monitor CPU effective clocks. All cores should maintain boost frequencies (above 4.5 GHz) during gameplay without dipping to base clock.

Solution 4: Adjust Fortnite Graphics Configuration Files

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 10 minutes Prerequisites: Locate game configuration files Steps:

Navigate to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved\Config\WindowsClient.
Open GameUserSettings.ini in a text editor like Notepad.
Find the [/Script/FortniteGame.FortGameUserSettings] section.
Add or modify the following lines:

` bUseVsync=False FrameRateLimit=0 bUseDynamicResolution=False LastUserConfirmedResolutionSizeX=1920 LastUserConfirmedResolutionSizeY=1080 DesiredScreenWidth=1920 DesiredScreenHeight=1080 LastUserConfirmedDesiredScreenWidth=1920 LastUserConfirmedDesiredScreenHeight=1080 `

Save the file. Right-click the file, select Properties, and check Read-only to prevent the game from overwriting these settings.
In the same folder, open Engine.ini. Add these lines at the end:

` [SystemSettings] r.TextureStreaming=1 r.Streaming.PoolSize=6000 r.Streaming.HLODStrategy=2 ` Technical Explanation: This locks the render resolution, disables dynamic resolution scaling that can cause periodic adjustments, and manually allocates VRAM budget for texture streaming to prevent mid-game asset loading hitches. Verification: The in-game settings menu will show your specified resolution. The stuttering associated with resolution scaling or texture streaming will cease.

Solution 5: Perform a Clean Boot and Service Cleanup

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 15 minutes Prerequisites: Administrator access Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
Navigate to the Services tab. Check Hide all Microsoft services. Click Disable all.
Navigate to the Startup tab. Click Open Task Manager. Disable all startup items.
Reboot the system. Launch only the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite.
If stuttering is resolved, systematically re-enable services in groups of 5 in msconfig and reboot to identify the conflicting service.
Common culprits are: "NVIDIA FrameView SDK", "Wallpaper Engine", "MSI Afterburner", "iCUE", or "Nahimic".

Technical Explanation: This isolates and identifies third-party software that performs scheduled tasks or polling, which conflicts with Fortnite's real-time resource demands. Verification: A clean boot environment will show no periodic stuttering. The conflicting service is identified when stuttering returns after re-enabling a specific group.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain system stability by updating the NVIDIA GPU driver using the "Clean Install" option in the installer monthly. Update the AMD Chipset drivers quarterly from AMD.com. Set the Windows Power Plan to Ultimate Performance permanently. Before each major Fortnite season update, delete the contents of the C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved folder to force fresh shader compilation. Monitor background CPU usage via Task Manager's Startup tab and disable non-essential applications. Use a monitoring tool like HWiNFO64 to log performance during gameplay, checking for correlation between stutters and specific hardware events.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Epic Games Support only after confirming all solutions in Section 4 fail in a clean boot state. Provide the full diagnostic report from the Epic Games Launcher (Help > Diagnostics) and the FortniteGame.log file located in C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved\Logs. Include a 60-second performance log from HWiNFO64 showing CPU clock, GPU clock, and frame times during the stutter event. Official support channels are accessible via the Epic Games Help site. Escalation is necessary only for issues traceable to a verified game bug after a clean installation of Windows.