What Is an FPS Drop and Why It Matters
An FPS drop happens when your frame rate suddenly decreases during gameplay. Even if your average FPS looks strong, sudden dips can make a game feel choppy or unresponsive. These "micro-stutters" are often the difference between a system that feels premium and one that feels poorly optimized.
The Detection Logic
We use two primary methods to find instability in your benchmark:
- Average-Based Dips: We compare every frame to your session average. If it falls significantly below (e.g., 25%), it's flagged as a performance dip.
- Instant Spike Detection: We compare each frame to the one before it. A sudden 50 FPS drop in just one frame is a physical stutter you will likely see and feel.
Sample Detection Reference
| Frame ID | FPS Value | Drop State | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 144 FPS | Stable | -- |
| #2 | 142 FPS | Stable | -- |
| #3 | 60 FPS | ⚠️ DETECTED | 58% |
| #4 | 143 FPS | Stable | -- |
| #5 | 40 FPS | ⚠️ DETECTED | 72% |
| #6 | 144 FPS | Stable | -- |
Root Causes of Drops
If you see frequent spikes in your data, common causes include thermal throttling (GPU/CPU overheating), background resources (Windows Update or Chrome tabs), or VRAM limitations where the game is swapping data to a slower system RAM.