How to Fix Apex Legends Low FPS Issue on PC

Can’t figure out why Apex Legends is having low FPS on your PC?

Apex Legends is a free battle royale game created by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released in February 2019 and quickly became popular due to its fast-paced gameplay and team-based approach to battle royale. 

While it’s considered one of the best battle royale titles, this doesn’t mean that Apex Legends is flawless. 

Like any game or software, it can suffer from bugs and errors. 

If you are reading this, we can assume that you are having a hard time playing the game due to low FPS. 

There are a handful of reasons why Apex Legends has low FPS on your PC. For one, it can be due to faulty display drivers. On the other hand, it can also be due to incompatible hardware, software issues, and improper configurations. 

In this guide, we will show you what to do if Apex Legends has low FPS on your PC. 

Let’s get right into it!

1. Restart Your Computer. 

Whenever you encounter issues with Apex Legends, the first thing you should do is restart your computer. A temporary bug or glitch may have occurred on your system during use, causing the game to run into issues. 

Here’s how you can restart your PC:

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu. 
2. After that, access the Power Options tab. 
3. Finally, click on Restart to reboot your system. 

Once done, go back to Apex Legends to check if the problem is solved. 

2. Check System Requirements. 

If it’s your first time playing the game, you might want to check Apex Legends’ system requirements first. Possibly, your computer specification doesn’t meet the minimum hardware needed to run the game, explaining why it’s performing badly. 

Minimum System Requirement: 

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7
• CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz / AMD FX-4350 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
• RAM: 6GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 / Radeon HD 7730
• GPU RAM: 1 GB
• HARD DRIVE: Minimum 22 GB of free space

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Recommended System Requirement: 

• OS: 64-bit Windows 7
• CPU: Intel i5 3570K or equivalent
• RAM: 8GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290
• GPU RAM: 8GB
• HARD DRIVE: Minimum 22 GB of free space

Sadly, there’s nothing much you can do if your current hardware doesn’t meet the minimum requirements of the game. In this case, the best thing to do is save up some cash and upgrade your computer. 

3. Check If You’re Using Your Graphics Card. 

This one has been a common mistake by first-time PC builders. As it turns out, rig owners connect their displays to the HDMI or Display Port in the motherboard. When they do this, their system will use the onboard graphics of their processor by default. 

To fix this, check the display cable of your monitor and ensure that it’s connected to the video out ports of your graphics card. 

You can also change this through Windows’ settings. Here’s what you need to do: 

1. First, press the Windows + I keys on your keyboard to open Windows Settings. 
2. After that, go to System > Display and click on Graphics Settings. 
3. Look for Apex Legends from the list and click on it. 
4. Choose the Options tab and select your AMD or NVIDIA graphics card. 

Restart your system to apply the changes and see if you’ll still encounter low FPS on Apex Legends. 

4. Adjust Power Options. 

Windows allow users to adjust their ‘power plan’ settings depending on their needs. If you encounter FPS issues with Apex Legends, it’s possible that your computer’s power plan is set to Power Saver. 

Here’s how you can adjust your settings to ‘High Performance’ mode: 

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings. 
2. Next, navigate to System > Power & Sleep. 
3. After that, click on Additional Power Settings on the right-side menu. 
4. Finally, make sure that High Performance is selected. 

Go back to Apex Legends afterward and check if the performance improved. 

5. Adjust In-Game Settings. 

Adjust your in-game settings if you are experiencing low FPS on Apex Legends. Your computer might be struggling to run the game on your current settings, explaining why you experience low FPS. 

Follow the steps below to tweak your in-game graphics settings: 

1. Launch Apex Legends on your computer and open the Settings page by clicking the Gear icon in the bottom right-hand corner. 
2. After that, go to the Video tab. 
3. Follow the recommended settings below and save the changes. 

• Display Mode: Full Screen
• Resolution: Native
• V-Sync: Disabled
• Anti-aliasing: TSSA or Disabled (2-3% more FPS)
• Texture Streaming Budget: High
• Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 4X
• Ambient Occlusion Quality: Low
• Sun Shadow Coverage: Low
• Sun Shadow Detail: Low
• Spot Shadow Detail: Low
• Volumetric Lighting: Disabled
• Dynamic Spot Shadows: Disabled
• Model Detail: Medium
• Effects Detail: Medium
• Impact Marks: Low
• Ragdolls: Medium

Relaunch Apex Legends on your computer after tweaking the in-game settings to apply the changes. Try playing a few games to see if you’ll still encounter low FPS. 

6. Check If Your PC Is Overheating. 

If you encounter low FPS on Apex Legends after playing for a few hours, there’s a possibility that your system is throttling to prevent itself from overheating. To confirm this, you can use third-party tools like HW Monitor to check your computer’s temperature. 

After confirming that your computer is indeed throttling, the best thing you can do is add some fans to your CPU case if there are slots available. This should increase airflow and help your system push hot air out and pull cold air in. 

You can also tweak the airflow configuration of your case fans to optimize cooling. Refer to your case’s manual and see if the manufacturer included a recommended airflow configuration. 

Ideally, you’d want your front case fans to be pulling cold air from outside and the rear fans blowing hot air out. 

7. Update Your Graphics Drivers. 

Corrupted or outdated graphics drivers could also be the reason you encounter low FPS on Apex Legends. To fix this, make sure that you have the latest drivers for your graphics card installed. 

Here’s how you can update your GPU drivers: 

1. Press the Windows + X keys on your keyboard to open the Quick Menu. 
2. Now, click on Device Manager. 
3. Look for the Display Adapters tab and expand it. 
4. Finally, right-click on your video card and choose Update Driver. Follow the prompts to continue. 

Restart your computer after installing the update and check if the problem is solved. 

8. Update Windows. 

If updating your drivers was not enough, you can try updating your operating system as well. The version of Windows you’re using might not be optimized for Apex Legends or your graphics card, explaining why you are not getting the best performance possible. 

To rule this out, follow the guide below to update Windows: 

1. Open the Start Menu and click on the Gear icon to open Windows Settings. 
2. Next, click on Update & Security. 
3. Finally, open Windows Update and click on Check for Updates or Download and Install. 

Your computer might restart several times while installing the update. Once done, go back to Apex Legends to check if the problem is solved. 

9. Contact Apex Legends. 

If none of the solutions above worked, the last thing you can do is report the problem to EA’s team. Head to Apex Legends’ support page and see if you can find solutions not mentioned above. 

On the other hand, you can also get in touch with a representative to ask for assistance regarding the issue you’ve been experiencing. When reporting an issue, make sure to provide helpful information, like the model of your GPU or the version of Windows you’re using, to speed up the process. 

That ends our guide on how to fix Apex Legends if it has low FPS on your PC. If you have questions, please voice them out in the comment section, and we’ll do our best to respond. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂