The Illusion of High Average FPS
When gamers look at a benchmark showing 140 FPS average, they expect a buttery-smooth gameplay experience. However, games often feel jittery, sluggish, or prone to sudden stutters during firefights and explosions. The culprit is almost always poor 1% low frame rates.
What Exactly Are 1% Lows?
1% Low FPS represents the average of the slowest 1% of all frames rendered during a gameplay session. If you render 10,000 frames over a match, the 1% low measurement analyzes the 100 worst frames that caused frame pacing spikes.
Primary Causes of Low 1% Lows:
- CPU L3 Cache Misses: In complex game engines (e.g. Unreal Engine 5, Unity), the CPU frequently has to fetch asset data from system RAM if it doesn't fit in the cache. AMD's 3D V-Cache processors drastically reduce cache misses, resulting in dramatic 1% low improvements.
- Single-Channel RAM: Operating a PC on a single stick of RAM cuts memory bandwidth in half, causing massive frame pacing spikes.
- VRAM Capacity Exhaustion: When a game requests 10GB of VRAM on an 8GB graphics card, assets spill over into PCIe system RAM, causing severe frame drops.
How to Improve 1% Lows:
1. Ensure dual-channel XMP/EXPO memory is enabled in your BIOS.
2. Keep background apps like hardware monitors and browser tabs minimized.
3. Lower CPU-heavy settings such as Crowd Density, Volumetric Fog, and Extended View Distance.