If your frames feel inconsistent, the problem is rarely a single setting — it's the stack. This guide walks the full chain from Windows to GPU to peripherals so the gains actually hold under load.
Start with a clean Windows baseline
The single biggest source of stutter we see is the OS scheduling background work during gameplay. Lock that down first and every later tweak gets more stable.
Set the power plan to High Performance (or Ultimate), disable startup apps you don't need, and turn off Memory Integrity if you're chasing every last frame — re-test after each change.
- Power plan → High Performance / Ultimate
- Disable non-essential startup apps in Task Manager
- Turn off Game Bar + background recording
- Set Graphics preference → High Performance for the game's .exe
Tighten the network path
Ping spikes and packet loss read as 'lag' but feel like death-behind-walls. Wired beats wireless every time for consistency.
Use Ethernet, pick the closest reliable server region, and enable QoS on your router to prioritise game traffic over downloads on the same line.
- Ethernet over Wi-Fi (or 5GHz + DFS channel if you must)
- Closest stable server region, not just lowest ping
- Router QoS / gaming mode prioritising your PC
- Disable background updates and cloud sync while playing
Verify it actually worked
Never trust the average FPS number alone. Watch 1% and 0.1% lows and frame-time consistency — that's what 'smooth' really means.
Run the same replay or aim-trainer routine before and after, capture with a frame-time overlay, and only keep changes that flatten the graph.
- Benchmark the same scene before/after
- Track 1% lows, not just average FPS
- Watch the frame-time line — flatter is better
- Change one thing at a time so you know what moved the needle
- ✓Power plan → High Performance / Ultimate
- ✓Ethernet over Wi-Fi (or 5GHz + DFS channel if you must)
- ✓Benchmark the same scene before/after
Skip the manual work
Bravo applies every tweak in this guide — and hundreds more — in one click, fully reversible. Tuned per game, per rig.
See the tweak packs →