How to Fix COD Modern Warfare 4 Low FPS Drops on PC

If your PC meets or exceeds the requirements but you’re still getting unusually low FPS, continue with the methods below.

2. Update Your Graphics Driver

An outdated graphics driver is one of the first things you should check when experiencing low FPS or sudden frame drops.

To check for an update through Windows:

Right-click the Start Menu.
Select Device Manager.
Double-click Display adapters.
Right-click your dedicated graphics card.
Select Update driver.
Click Search automatically for drivers.
Install the update if Windows finds one.
Restart your PC.

However, Windows may not always detect the newest Game Ready or optimized graphics driver. We recommend checking the official website or software provided by your GPU manufacturer as well.

You can get the latest drivers directly from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel, depending on the graphics card installed on your PC.

After updating the graphics driver, restart Windows before launching the game.

3. Let Shader Preloading Complete

Modern Warfare 4 may need to compile or preload shaders after installing the game, updating it, or installing a new graphics driver.

If shader preloading is still running, avoid immediately jumping into a multiplayer match.

Wait until the shader compilation process reaches 100% and then restart the game once.

We’ve found this particularly useful after graphics driver updates because the game may need to rebuild its shader cache. Playing while shaders are still compiling can result in temporary stutters and frame-rate drops.

4. Switch Between Display Modes

The display mode you’re using can sometimes affect performance.

Open the Modern Warfare 4 graphics settings and try switching between:

Fullscreen Exclusive
Fullscreen Borderless
Windowed

We recommend starting with Fullscreen Exclusive if it’s available, particularly if you’re trying to get the highest possible performance.

However, results can vary depending on your monitor, GPU, Windows configuration, and whether you’re using multiple displays.

Try another display mode and play for a few minutes to see whether the FPS becomes more stable.

5. Run Modern Warfare 4 as an Administrator

Windows permissions can occasionally interfere with games and their related services. You can try running Modern Warfare 4 with administrator privileges.

To do this:

Go to the Modern Warfare 4 installation directory.
Find the game’s main executable file.
Right-click on it.
Select Properties.
Open the Compatibility tab.
Enable Run this program as an administrator.
Click Apply and then OK.

If you’re using Steam or Battle.net, you can also try running the respective launcher as administrator.

Launch the game again and check whether performance improves.

6. Lower the Graphics Settings

If your GPU is consistently running at maximum usage and the frame rate is lower than expected, your graphics settings may simply be too demanding.

Instead of immediately setting everything to Low, reduce some of the more performance-heavy options first.

Try lowering:

Shadow quality
Volumetric quality
Reflection quality
Particle quality
Screen-space effects
Water quality
Tessellation
Texture resolution
On-demand texture streaming

You should also keep an eye on the game’s estimated VRAM usage.

Running very close to or beyond your graphics card’s available VRAM can result in stuttering, texture-loading problems, and sudden frame drops.

If your VRAM usage is too high, lower texture-related settings first.

7. Use DLSS, FSR, or XeSS

Modern Warfare 4 supports modern upscaling technologies that can help improve FPS without requiring you to dramatically lower every graphics option.

Depending on your GPU, try:

NVIDIA DLSS
AMD FSR
Intel XeSS

Start with Quality mode.

If you’re still struggling to maintain your target frame rate, try Balanced.

Performance modes can provide an additional FPS boost, but image quality may become noticeably softer, particularly at lower display resolutions.

Players using 1440p or 4K monitors will generally benefit more from upscaling than those playing at lower resolutions.

8. Test Frame Generation

If your graphics card supports Frame Generation, you can try enabling it to increase the displayed frame rate.

Open the Modern Warfare 4 graphics settings and look for the available Frame Generation option. Enable it and test the game.

Keep in mind that Frame Generation isn’t the same as improving the game’s native frame rate. It inserts generated frames between rendered frames and can introduce additional latency or visual artifacts in some situations.

If the game feels less responsive or starts showing unusual stuttering after enabling it, turn Frame Generation back off.

9. Close Background Running Tasks

Background applications can consume CPU, RAM, GPU, disk, and network resources that Modern Warfare 4 could otherwise use.

To close unnecessary programs:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Open the Processes tab.
Check which programs are consuming significant system resources.
Select an unnecessary application.
Click End Task.
Repeat this for other programs you don’t need.

Browsers with many open tabs, editing software, RGB applications, game launchers, recording software, cloud synchronization programs, and hardware monitoring utilities can all consume resources.

Avoid terminating Windows services or system processes unless you know exactly what they do.

10. Stop Background Downloads

Downloading another game, Windows update, cloud backup, or large file while playing Modern Warfare 4 can affect both network and storage performance.

Check Steam, Battle.net, Windows Update, OneDrive, your browser, and any other download applications.

Pause unnecessary downloads before starting the game. This is particularly important if you’re using the same SSD for Windows, Modern Warfare 4, and your downloads.

Once you’ve finished playing, you can resume them.

11. Disable Unnecessary Overlays

Overlay applications can be convenient, but they also run alongside the game and consume additional resources.

Temporarily disable overlays such as:

Steam Overlay
Discord Overlay
Xbox Game Bar
NVIDIA Overlay
AMD Overlay
MSI Afterburner
RivaTuner Statistics Server
Overwolf
Third-party recording overlays

For Steam:

Open Steam.
Go to Library.
Right-click Call of Duty.
Select Properties.
Under General, disable Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.

Restart the game and check the FPS. If performance improves, one of your overlay applications may have been contributing to the problem.

12. Disable Background Recording

Windows and GPU utilities may record gameplay in the background even when you’re not actively recording anything.

To check Windows recording options:

Press Win + I.
Go to Gaming.
Open Captures.
Disable unnecessary background recording features.

You should also check NVIDIA, AMD, Steam, Discord, OBS, or any other recording application you have installed.

Disabling background recording can free up some CPU, GPU, and storage resources.

13. Set Windows to Performance Mode

Windows power settings can affect CPU performance, particularly on laptops.

Go to:

Settings → System → Power & battery → Power mode

Choose a performance-oriented mode if one is available.

Alternatively:

Open the Start Menu.
Search for Control Panel.
Go to Hardware and Sound.
Select Power Options.
Choose High Performance if available.

Laptop users should also connect their charger while gaming. Many laptops significantly reduce CPU and GPU performance when running only on battery power.

14. Update Modern Warfare 4

Performance problems may sometimes be caused by the game itself rather than your PC. Activision regularly releases game updates containing bug fixes, optimizations, balance changes, and other improvements.

For Battle.net:

Open Battle.net.
Select Call of Duty.
Click the gear icon next to Play.
Select Check for Updates.
Install any available update.

For Steam:

Open Steam.
Go to Library.
Select Call of Duty.
Install the update if one is available.

After updating the game, restart the launcher and allow shader preloading to finish before testing your FPS.

15. Verify and Repair the Game Files

Missing or corrupted game files can cause performance problems, crashes, stutters, and other unexpected behaviour.

For Steam:

Open Steam.
Go to Library.
Right-click Call of Duty.
Select Properties.
Open Installed Files.
Click Verify integrity of game files.
Wait for Steam to complete the verification.

For Battle.net:

Open Battle.net.
Select Call of Duty.
Click the gear icon next to Play.
Select Scan and Repair.
Start the scan.
Wait for it to complete.

If damaged or missing files are detected, the launcher should automatically download replacements.

16. Update Windows

An outdated Windows build may cause compatibility or performance problems with newer games and GPU drivers.

To update Windows:

Press Win + I.
Open Windows Update.
Click Check for updates.
Download and install available important updates.
Restart your computer.

After restarting, launch Modern Warfare 4 and check your performance again.

17. Check CPU and GPU Temperatures

If your FPS starts high and gradually drops after playing for some time, overheating could be responsible.

When a CPU or GPU becomes too hot, it may reduce its operating frequency to protect the hardware. This is known as thermal throttling.

Check that:

PC fans are working correctly.
Air vents aren’t blocked.
Dust hasn’t clogged the cooling system.
Your PC case has sufficient airflow.
Your CPU cooler is properly installed.
Your laptop is placed on a hard, flat surface.

Avoid gaming with a laptop sitting on a bed, blanket, or sofa because these surfaces can block the ventilation openings.

18. Reset CPU or GPU Overclocking

Overclocking can increase performance, but an unstable overclock can also cause frame drops, freezes, crashes, and inconsistent frame times.

If you’ve manually overclocked or undervolted your CPU, GPU, or VRAM, temporarily restore the settings to their defaults.

This includes adjustments made through:

MSI Afterburner
AMD tuning software
Motherboard utilities
BIOS
Other overclocking applications

Restart your computer and test Modern Warfare 4 again.

If performance becomes more consistent, your previous tuning configuration may have been unstable.

19. Check RAM Usage

Insufficient system memory can result in poor performance, particularly when Modern Warfare 4 is running alongside several background applications.

Open:

Task Manager → Performance → Memory

Check your RAM usage while the game is running.

If memory usage is consistently near 100%, close unnecessary applications.

If your system has limited RAM and frequently runs out of memory while gaming, a RAM upgrade may help.

Where supported, running RAM in a proper dual-channel configuration can also provide better gaming performance than using a single memory module.

20. Keep Virtual Memory Enabled

Some older optimization guides recommend disabling the Windows page file when you have plenty of RAM. We don’t recommend doing this for Modern Warfare 4.

Windows and certain games may still rely on virtual memory.

To check the setting:

Search View advanced system settings from the Start Menu.
Open the Advanced tab.
Under Performance, click Settings.
Select Advanced.
Under Virtual memory, click Change.
Enable Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.

Alternatively, you can use System managed size on your Windows SSD.

Restart your PC after making changes.

21. Make Sure the Game Is Installed on an SSD

Modern Warfare 4 requires an SSD on PC.

Installing the game on a mechanical HDD can result in slow loading, texture streaming problems, hitching, and other performance issues.

If possible, keep Modern Warfare 4 on a fast internal SSD.

Also make sure the SSD has enough free space. Filling an SSD almost completely can affect system and game performance, especially when Windows needs additional room for temporary files, shader caches, updates, and virtual memory.

22. Perform a Clean Boot

If an unknown third-party program is interfering with the game, a clean boot can help identify it.

Press Win + R.
Type msconfig.
Press Enter.
Open the Services tab.
Enable Hide all Microsoft services.
Click Disable all.
Click Apply.
Open the Startup tab.
Click Open Task Manager.
Disable unnecessary startup applications.
Restart your PC.

Now launch Modern Warfare 4 and check the FPS.

If performance improves significantly, gradually re-enable the disabled applications until you identify which one is causing the problem.

23. Reinstall the Graphics Driver

If updating the graphics driver didn’t improve performance, the existing driver installation may be corrupted.

Download the newest compatible driver directly from your GPU manufacturer’s official website.

Where available, choose the clean installation option during setup.

Once the installation finishes:

Restart your PC.
Launch Modern Warfare 4.
Allow shader compilation to complete.
Restart the game if necessary.
Test the FPS again.

This can be particularly helpful if your performance problems started after a graphics driver update.

24. Check Your In-Game Resolution

Running Modern Warfare 4 at a resolution that’s too demanding for your GPU can dramatically reduce FPS.

For example, moving from 1080p to 1440p or 4K requires the graphics card to render substantially more pixels.

Check:

Settings → Graphics → Display

Make sure the game is running at your intended resolution.

Also check the render resolution or resolution scale setting. Setting this significantly above 100% can put a large additional load on your GPU.

If necessary, lower the render resolution or use DLSS, FSR, or XeSS instead.

25. Cap Your Frame Rate

This may sound strange when you’re trying to increase FPS, but limiting the maximum frame rate can sometimes provide a smoother overall experience.

For example, if your PC constantly jumps between 90 FPS and 140 FPS, setting a reasonable frame-rate limit can reduce large fluctuations and improve frame pacing.

Try setting the gameplay frame-rate limit slightly below the FPS your PC can consistently maintain.

This won’t increase your maximum FPS, but it may make the game feel smoother and reduce unnecessary GPU load.

26. Reinstall Modern Warfare 4

If none of the above methods work, consider reinstalling Modern Warfare 4.

We recommend verifying the game files first because downloading the entire game again can take considerable time and bandwidth.

If verification doesn’t help:

Uninstall Modern Warfare 4 from Steam or Battle.net.
Restart your PC.
Make sure you have enough SSD space.
Reinstall the game.
Download available updates.
Launch the game.
Wait for shader preloading to reach 100%.

Then test the game using the default graphics settings before applying your previous configuration.

27. Contact Activision Support

If Modern Warfare 4 continues to deliver unusually low FPS despite your PC meeting the recommended requirements, the issue may be related to a game update, specific hardware configuration, or another game-side problem.

In that situation, contact Activision Support and report the issue.

When submitting your report, it’s useful to include your:

CPU model
GPU model
RAM capacity
Windows version
Graphics driver version
Average FPS
Graphics settings and resolution
Details about when the FPS drops occur

Providing detailed information can make it easier to identify whether the issue is specific to your configuration.

Final Words

Low FPS in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 can be caused by several factors, and upgrading your graphics card isn’t always the answer. In many cases, updating the GPU driver, allowing shaders to compile completely, reducing demanding graphics settings, disabling overlays, or closing unnecessary background applications can make a noticeable difference.

We recommend starting with the simpler fixes first: update the game and graphics driver, complete shader preloading, check your graphics settings, monitor VRAM usage, and close unnecessary programs.

If the FPS drops only after playing for some time, check CPU and GPU temperatures as well. For systems that already exceed the recommended requirements, unusually poor performance may point to a driver, game update, background software, or configuration issue rather than insufficient hardware.