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How to Fix League of Legends FPS Drops

Richard Heimer

4 th  June 2018 Edited at: 7th May 2024

With League of Legends being one of the most popular games in the world, it’s only natural that a few players will have technical issues while running it. One of the most common technical problems with League of Legends is experiencing a sudden FPS drop.

Maybe you’re just about to dive the enemy or claim a tower when suddenly your FPS shrivels down to 10 FPS. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, but it can also lead to your character dying if it happens frequently. Not exactly what you want to look forward to when trying to play ranked games and climb the ladder.

The most obvious thing to do when you experience a sudden FPS drop in League of Legends is to determine how to fix it. That’s why we’re covering the top 5 ways on how to fix League of Legends FPS drops.

Close Unwanted Programs

task manager programs

The first thing to do when you start to experience sudden FPS drops in League of Legends is to check what unwanted programs you have open. To get the best performance out of LoL, you want to make sure that there aren’t any other programs open in the background that are hogging all those precious resources.

To check what program is using the most of your resources, simply bash ctrl + alt + delete and select the task manager. Once open, you’ll be able to see exactly how much RAM, and CPU power specific applications are using. Most of the programs that are the usual suspects will be things such as anti-virus software, download managers, and web browsers with lots of tabs.

If you already have an old PC, then these unwanted programs running in the background can often be responsible for using your PC’s resources. Sometimes, fixing an FPS drop is as simple as making sure you don't have any programs running in the background.

Update Your Drivers

graphics card drivers

The second most common problem when it comes to FPS drops in League of Legends is often your video card drivers. If you don’t regularly update your drives, then you could be missing out on lots of free performance.

When new video card drivers get released, this is usually so that old cards can get a boost and maintain their performance levels. Skipping video card drivers can leave you behind and your FPS lagging. Making sure you have the latest video card drivers can often fix lots of FPS problems within games, including League of Legends.

To get the latest version of your video card drivers, simply check your graphics card control panel for the newest update or head to the manufactures website.

Update Your GFX Card

hybrid graphics card

If updating your graphics drivers and closing any unwanted programs down still hasn't fixed the problem, then you might want to look upgrading your GFX card. Graphics cards are almost solely responsible for FPS when it comes to games. If you’re continually experiencing a drop in FPS, then your GFX might be broken, or not powerful enough.

With new graphics cards coming out every single year, you’d be surprised at how cheap good graphics cards have become. For only a few hundred dollars you can grab yourself a sweet graphics card that will easily hit over 100 FPS consistently.

If you’re looking for the best deals on GFX cards, then be sure to check out Amazon for any super discounts!

Check Temperatures

GPU Monitoring software

Another common problem when it comes to FPS drops and freezing is overheating on important computer parts. When you first build or buy your PC, everything is as fresh and as clean as it comes. This means that you’ll get optimal temperatures when putting your PC under stress by playing games.

However, if you’ve had a system for a long time, then dust and debris will slowly start to build up around components. This means area such as CPU fans, GPU fans and generally all inside the case. This dust and debris will often act as insulation and actually warm up your PC which is definitely something you want to avoid.

If you do start to experience an FPS drop in League of Legends, then be sure to take a look at your temperatures and inside your PC. Specifically, take a look at your CPU and GPU fans as keeping these clean is the most important. If you do happen to notice a lot of dust, then grab the hoover and start to get rid of it.

If your temperatures remain high after you’ve given your PC a spring clean, then it could be something related to the cooler itself. Maybe a CPU or GPU fan has stopped working, or your heatsink needs reseating. The second step would be to examine all of your coolers to ensure they are functioning and replacing/returning any that aren’t.

In the worst case scenario, you might end up replacing your CPU cooler or buying some new fans for your system.

Restore Windows

system restore

Sometimes your PC will start playing up for no obviously apparent reason. Maybe last week your PC was working fine as you climbed to Diamond, but now suddenly it's not so smooth. A useful trick is to perform a Windows restore to a previous backup when everything was working fine.

By default, Windows creates backups of your computer and settings at different intervals.

If you happened to turn off the Windows backups to save space, then as a last resort we suggest trying installing windows from scratch. Often enough a clean install will help you determine if it is a driver issue or hardware fault. If you’re still experiencing

We hope this article has given you some ideas on how to fix your League of Legends FPS drops. Maintaining a healthy and clean PC is crucial if you want to ensure smooth gameplay while pwning noobs. By following the steps above, you should be able to debug any problem with your PC and enjoy consistent FPS throughout your games.

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Richard Heimer

Content Writer
Richard is our resident League of Legends player. He knows everything.

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