Higher Frame Rate Vs Resolution: How To Find The Perfect Balance For Video Games

If you dig through enough forums, you can find decades-old conversations that showcase many different preferences when it comes to frame rates and resolutions in gaming. The discussion often boils down to improved graphics versus improved performance, but the ideal balance depends on more than just FPS counts and dimensions. For one, you'll need to take your PC's specs into consideration; if you output certain frame rates at resolutions higher than your graphics card can handle, it'll hamper performance and take the fun out of your game. However, when adjusting your graphics settings, you also need to consider the types of games you want to play.

In online multiplayer games, getting the highest frame rates you possibly can is often considered paramount to having a competitive edge. If you don't mind getting a bit of a performance boost at the expense of crisp graphics, you can reduce your in-game resolution and get higher frame rates, since there are fewer pixels to render. You can also use what's known as a "stretched resolution," which entails setting up an old-school 4:3 aspect ratio, then stretching the picture to fill in the resulting black bars that appear on a standard 16:9 monitor. Not only does this result in higher frame rates, but it also tends to widen hitboxes, which is especially advantageous in first-person shooters.

Conversely, if you're looking to experience the latest and greatest solo campaigns in AAA gaming — or if you just want to delve deeper into that new indie game you've been digging — prioritizing resolution is almost always the way to go. With these games, playing at higher resolutions is far more immersive and aesthetically appealing, provided your frame rates don't take too much of a hit. But even if that does happen, you can try improving the balance between performance and graphical fidelity using nothing more than graphics settings.

Many PCs built with mid-grade components from 2020 and onwards are capable of supporting 1440p (QHD) at 144 frames per second, which has been deemed the "sweet spot" in gaming by a number of tech writers. This setting offers improved graphical fidelity and smoother gameplay compared to 1080p (FHD) at 60 frames per second, and it also offers a more stable experience than the resource-hungry 4K resolution does. While many gamers are moving away from 1080p monitors toward ones with 1440p resolution, there's only so much mileage you can get from a monitor upgrade if your PC's specs aren't up to par. The good news, though? Even if you're running an older graphics card, you may still be able to improve your gaming experience thanks to advances in graphics card upscaling technology.

If you own a graphics card from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 series, AMD Radeon 5000 series, Intel Arc A-series, or higher, you can improve in-game performance using your card's native features. These cards leverage proprietary, AI-based upscaling technologies — DLSS on Nvidia graphics cards, FSR on AMD graphics cards, and XeSS on Intel graphics cards — to generate extra frames in your games. AMD even announced that it will be upgrading some of its older graphics cards to its improved FSR 4 tech for free. Moves like this make it even easier for gamers to balance frame rate with resolution using nothing more than their existing hardware.

While frame generation does net you more frames for a smoother experience, it achieves this by inserting fake frames into your game, which might impact responsiveness more than you'd like. If your PC can't natively hit 60 frames per second without additional support, using frame generation can actually introduce input latency, so be sure to fiddle with your upscaling settings to find a balance that works for you, your PC, and your monitor. The right combination of resolution and upscaling settings could breathe new life into your gaming experience.