How to cap FPS

Fans spinning up and frame times all over the place? An FPS cap can help. A cap stops the graphics card from drawing frames above a number you choose. The game still runs. The card simply does not start the frames past that number. The monitor does not change. A 144 Hz panel still starts 144 trips a second. You have only told the card to stop early. The frame-time and Hz calculator is 1000 divided by that pair.

I play Zarya in Overwatch on a 1080p 240 Hz and a 1440p 155 Hz monitor, driven by an RTX 5080 and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. More on the Zarya guide and the guides index. VSync is the other switch: it holds a finished frame until the next trip. A cap never does that. It chooses how many frames get drawn at all.

Official limiter paths (use one)

• NVIDIA Max Frame Rate: NVIDIA Control Panel, Manage 3D Settings. NVIDIA’s Max Frame Rate note lists three jobs: stay inside a G-SYNC or G-SYNC Compatible VRR range, cut power, or sit slightly below the average FPS in a GPU-bound scene. For VRR, set it slightly below the display’s maximum refresh.
• NVIDIA Reflex on a G-SYNC screen: NVIDIA’s system latency guide says G-SYNC plus VSync plus Reflex, or Ultra Low Latency Mode, will automatically cap below refresh so VSync does not add backpressure. The Reflex page is that line. If that stack is already on, do not type a second cap above it.
• AMD Frame Rate Target Control: AMD’s FRTC page is a target maximum in full-screen mode, including menus. AMD’s Adrenalin graphics FAQ puts the slider under Global Graphics, Advanced. Radeon Chill is a moving min/max. Do not stack both.

The short version: one limiter. A few under refresh only when VRR is the job. Uncapped when you want the click and the PC stays cool.

What to check first

A cap stops the card from drawing frames above a number you choose. Use the game's own limit. Refresh minus 3 is a VRR safety margin (G-SYNC or FreeSync), not a universal rule. VSync and Reflex are different switches.

The refresh rateNot sure yet60 Hz75 Hz100 Hz120 Hz144 Hz165 Hz180 Hz240 Hz360 HzWhy you want a capNot sure yetVRR is on (G-SYNC or FreeSync)The PC is getting hotI want the lowest delayThe game menuNo frame limit in the gameThe game has a frame limit

What this means

Read the refresh

The cap is a number under or at the refresh you are actually using. Windows shows that rate under Settings, System, Display, Advanced display.

Read the refresh rate before you type a number. Windows shows it under Settings, System, Display, Advanced display. Microsoft’s Advanced display page is that menu. The cap follows the rate Windows is using, not the number on the monitor box. A 144 Hz panel left at 60 is a 60 Hz screen until you change it. How to set 144 Hz is the same path for 155 or 240.

Refresh minus 3 is a VRR safety margin, not a universal rule. The goal is to keep the counter inside the monitor’s variable-refresh range. If the limiter overshoots the maximum Hertz, VRR drops out. Then you get tearing (VSync off) or extra wait (VSync on). That is the problem the three-under number is for. It is not for a fixed-refresh screen that only needs heat control.

Check the refresh rate in Windows

See what VSync is for how to check the real refresh rate in Windows.

One limiter, in the game first

Open the game’s graphics or display menu and look for a frame limit, an FPS cap, or a max frame rate. If that line exists, type the number there. Then turn off any frame-rate limit in the graphics driver’s control panel. One limiter is the cap. Two of them fight. The lower number is the one you will see, and the second one does not make the first one smoother.

If the game has no line, the driver’s limit is the one to set. On an NVIDIA card that control is Max Frame Rate, in the NVIDIA Control Panel’s 3D settings. Set it on that game when a per-program page exists. A global limit also caps other 3D work.

On an AMD card, use Frame Rate Target Control in Adrenalin. AMD’s FRTC page says to exit the game, set the number, then start again, and that the current write-up is for exclusive full-screen titles. A borderless window is not that mode.

Leave every other limiter off, including a program you installed only to cap frames. A third switch is not a more precise cap.

Some games only offer 30, 60, or 120. If your number is not in that list, do not pick a higher preset and hope. Use the driver’s limit instead, and leave the game’s list on unlimited so the two do not stack.

Replay one busy moment you already know. Read the frame-rate counter there. The number should sit on the cap and not climb past it. If it climbs past, the line you edited is not the one in force. Fix that before you type a second number.

A cap holds the top. It does not fill the dips. The late frames are the rest of the frame-rate work, not a lower cap. A 1% low that sits far under the cap is a hitch problem, not a reason to type 60.

A borderless game uses the desktop rate. A fullscreen game can keep its own limit. NVIDIA’s latency guide still prefers exclusive fullscreen, because the compositor adds a step in borderless. If you capped the desktop and the match still runs away, the limit has to be in the game, or in the driver setting that applies to that game.

NVIDIA Max Frame Rate, Reflex, and VRR

Variable refresh — G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible, or FreeSync — follows the frames you have, inside a range. VRR and G-SYNC is that range. NVIDIA’s G-SYNC Compatible testing note says a module G-SYNC panel can follow from 1 Hz to the display’s max, while G-SYNC Compatible and Adaptive-Sync panels only activate VRR in a listed range. The cap has to stay inside the range that panel actually has.

A counter that sits on the refresh, or jumps over it, leaves that range. Then VRR is not doing the job. If you cap by hand, three under the refresh Windows is actually using is the usual safety margin: 141 at 144 Hz, 237 at 240 Hz, 152 at 155 Hz. Limiters are not exact. Two or three frames of room stops a small overshoot from hitting the ceiling. NVIDIA’s Max Frame Rate note says to set it slightly below the display’s maximum refresh to stay in the VRR range, and to set Low Latency Mode to Ultra with VSync on for the smoothest no-tear path.

That number is not the only path, and it is not a rule for a fixed-refresh screen. NVIDIA’s latency guide says G-SYNC plus VSync plus Reflex, or Ultra Low Latency Mode, will automatically cap below refresh so VSync does not add backpressure. If that stack is already on, do not add a second cap. NVIDIA also says that stack has a little more latency than uncapped Reflex. I would leave Overwatch uncapped on the 5080 when the fans stay quiet and I will take a tear. Type 237 on a 240 Hz screen, or 141 on a 144 Hz screen, only when VRR is the job and you are capping by hand.

VSync alone is a different job. It holds a finished frame until the next trip. It is not a cap. On a VRR screen, VSync on is the no-tear net when you leave the range. VSync off is the tear if you leave it.

NVIDIA’s Max Frame Rate note has two other jobs that are not “three under refresh.” Power: enable Max Frame Rate and set Power Management Mode to Optimal Power. On a laptop it also works with Battery Boost and Whisper Mode; NVIDIA uses the lowest of those limits. GPU-bound latency: set Prefer maximum performance, cap slightly below the average FPS you can hold, and set Low Latency Mode to Ultra. That “slightly below” is below the scene, not below the Hertz on the box. Do not mix it with the VRR three-under number unless both problems are in front of you.

Frame generation is a different menu. The counter counts invented pictures. A render cap and a generated-frame target are not the same line.

AMD’s ceiling, and what Chill is not

AMD’s FRTC page is the official fixed ceiling in exclusive full-screen, including menus. That is the heat-and-power job AMD describes. It is not VSync, and it is not FreeSync by itself.

Radeon Chill, on AMD’s Anti-Lag / Boost / Chill FAQ, is a moving pair. AMD says enabling Chill disables Anti-Lag and Boost. For a FreeSync display, that FAQ sets Chill Max to the peak refresh and Chill Min to the higher of the FreeSync minimum or half the peak. That is AMD’s default, not a three-under cap. Use FRTC for one number, or Chill for the moving range, not both.

I do not play on an AMD GPU. The 5080 is the card in this tower. The Adrenalin lines are AMD’s pages, not a first-person setup.

Heat, or the lowest delay

Heat is a different goal from VRR. A laptop that is fine in a menu and slower ten minutes into a match is hitting a temperature limit. Cap at the refresh itself. Three under is not required for heat. Laptop cooling is the intake and the charger. A cap is only the ceiling after those two are already right.

Leave the cap off when you want the lowest delay and the machine stays cool. Frames above the refresh can trim a little delay; the screen will not show them as extra images. NVIDIA’s latency guide is blunt: uncapped Reflex is the lower-wait recipe if you will tolerate tearing. The G-SYNC plus VSync plus Reflex stack is the no-tear recipe, and NVIDIA says it costs a little latency.

An FPS monitor still has to be at the Hertz you paid for. A 240 Hz panel at 60 makes every cap a 60 cap. The RTX 5080 PC page covers the card.

What a cap does not change

It does not raise the frame rate. A scene that was already at 80 stays about 80 if you cap at 141. The cap only bites when the card was going to draw more than the number.

It does not stop a horizontal cut by itself. That cut is a frame arriving halfway down a trip. VSync is the wait that refuses the cut. A cap can keep you inside a VRR range. It is not a substitute for the wait.

It does not change the monitor’s refresh rate. Set that rate first. An asterisk next to a Hertz in Windows is a resolution warning, not a new cable, and not a cap.

It does not fill a 1% low. The ceiling is the peak. The hitch is the rest of the frame-rate work.

If one limiter already holds the scene on the number you chose, stop. A second program, a lower number, and VSync stacked on top are not the next step unless you can see the problem each one is for.

One limiter. A few under refresh only for VRR. Uncapped when you want the click and the machine stays cool. More guides.

Common questions

How do you cap FPS?

Use the frame rate limit in your game's graphics settings. If the game doesn't have one, use your driver: Max Frame Rate in the NVIDIA Control Panel or Frame Rate Target Control in AMD Adrenalin. Only use one limiter at a time.

What should I cap my FPS at?

With G-Sync or FreeSync, cap a few frames below your refresh rate, like 237 FPS on a 240 Hz monitor, to stay inside the VRR range. To reduce heat, cap at your refresh rate. For the lowest input lag on a cool PC, you can leave it uncapped.

Should I cap FPS to my monitor's refresh rate?

Often, yes. Capping at or slightly below your refresh rate stops your PC from making frames you'll never see and keeps it cooler. If your PC runs cool and you want the lowest input lag, uncapped is also fine.

Is an FPS cap the same as VSync?

No. An FPS cap limits how many frames your GPU renders, while VSync syncs frames to your monitor's refresh to stop tearing. You can use either one on its own or both together.

Does capping FPS increase performance?

No. A cap only stops your FPS from going above a set number. If your game was already running below the cap, your FPS stays the same, though frame pacing can feel smoother.

How do I cap FPS if a game has no limiter?

Use your graphics driver. On NVIDIA, set Max Frame Rate in the NVIDIA Control Panel under 3D Settings. On AMD, use Frame Rate Target Control in Adrenalin. Avoid stacking a third-party limiter on top.

How do you cap FPS in the NVIDIA Control Panel?

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel, go to Manage 3D Settings, and set Max Frame Rate. Use the per-program tab to cap just one game, since a global limit affects every 3D app.

Does capping FPS reduce input lag?

Sometimes. If your GPU is maxed out, capping slightly below your average FPS with Low Latency Mode on Ultra can lower input lag. In general, though, uncapped with NVIDIA Reflex gives the lowest latency.

What does the asterisk next to a refresh rate mean in Windows?

It means that refresh rate isn't supported at your current resolution. Selecting it will make Windows switch resolution so it can run. It doesn't mean your cable is broken.