A frame rate stuck at exactly 60 FPS is almost never a performance problem. It is a cap. When a game truly lacks the horsepower to exceed 60, you would see fluctuation — 58, 55, 42 — not a rock-solid ceiling. If your counter reads 60.0 or hovers between 59 and 61 without ever breaking higher, something in your software stack has locked the frame rate. This guide walks through every layer where that lock can originate, from the game’s own settings down to the display pipeline between your GPU and your monitor.
- Likely Causes
- Fix 1: Disable In-Game VSync
- Fix 2: Raise Windows Display Refresh Rate
- Fix 3: Remove NVIDIA or AMD Global Frame Limiters
- Fix 4: Edit Game Config Files for Hidden Caps
- Fix 5: Close Overlay and Monitoring Software
- Fix 6: Adjust Windows Power Plan and GPU Power Settings
- Fix 7: Clean Reinstall GPU Drivers
- If Nothing Works
- FAQ
Likely Causes
| Cause | How to confirm | Fix difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| In-game VSync enabled | Open the game’s graphics or display settings menu. Look for VSync, Vertical Sync, or a toggle labeled “Sync to Monitor Refresh Rate.” If it is On, this is your cap. | Very easy |
| Windows display refresh rate set to 60 Hz | Right-click the desktop, choose Display settings, scroll to Advanced display, and check the Refresh rate dropdown. | Easy |
| NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software global frame limiter | Open NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings and look for “Max Frame Rate.” In AMD Software, check “Frame Rate Target Control” under Gaming > Graphics. | Easy |
| Game config file contains a hard cap (fps_max, r.VSync, framerateLimit) | Search the game’s config directory for numerical values matching 60 in .ini, .cfg, or .json files. | Moderate |
| Discord overlay, RivaTuner, or MSI Afterburner capping frames | Temporarily close the overlay software and re-check your frame counter. | Easy |
| Windows power plan or laptop battery throttle reducing GPU clocks | Check whether the cap disappears when you plug in the laptop or switch to a High Performance power plan. | Easy |
| Corrupt or outdated GPU driver | Only consider this after ruling out everything above. Check for driver updates through GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin. | Moderate |
Fix 1: Disable In-Game VSync
How to check
Launch the game and open its graphics or display options. In most engines — Unreal Engine, Unity, id Tech, Frostbite — the VSync toggle is under “Display,” “Advanced Graphics,” or “Performance.” Source Engine games (Counter-Strike 2, Half-Life: Alyx) place it under Video settings. A cap at exactly your monitor’s refresh rate (60 Hz in this case) strongly indicates VSync is active somewhere.
What to do
Set VSync to Off. If the game also has a separate “Frame Rate Limit” or “Max FPS” slider, set it to Unlimited or 0. Apply the change and restart the game. For Source Engine titles, you can also open the developer console (~) and type fps_max 0 to remove any additional cap.
How to undo it
Re-enable VSync in the same menu. If you want to keep VSync but remove a separate numerical cap, set the frame limit back to 0 (Unlimited) while leaving VSync On. Note that VSync off may introduce screen tearing on some setups.
Fix 2: Raise Windows Display Refresh Rate
How to check
Open Windows Settings > System > Display. Scroll to the bottom and click “Advanced display.” The “Refresh rate” dropdown shows the current value. If it reads 60 Hz, the entire display pipeline is locked to 60 regardless of what your GPU can render.
What to do
Click the dropdown and select the highest refresh rate your monitor supports (120, 144, 165, 240, or 360 Hz). If the option is grayed out or missing, confirm you are using a DisplayPort 1.2+ cable rather than HDMI 1.4, which maxes out at 60 Hz for many resolutions. On some monitors you must also change the refresh rate in the monitor’s own on-screen display menu.
How to undo it
Return to the same dropdown and select 60 Hz. Windows will apply the change after a three-second confirmation dialog. If you see a black screen, press Escape to revert automatically.
Fix 3: Remove NVIDIA or AMD Global Frame Limiters
How to check
For NVIDIA users: right-click the desktop, open NVIDIA Control Panel, navigate to “Manage 3D Settings,” and inspect the “Max Frame Rate” option under both Global Settings and Program Settings for the game. For AMD users: open AMD Software, go to Gaming > Graphics (or the per-game profile), and look for “Frame Rate Target Control.”
What to do
Set “Max Frame Rate” to Off in NVIDIA Control Panel. In AMD Software, disable “Frame Rate Target Control” or set it to the maximum value. Apply and restart the game. These driver-level caps override in-game settings, so even if you turned VSync off in the game, the driver might still be holding you at 60.
How to undo it
Re-enable the frame limiter by entering 60 (or your preferred value) in the same field and clicking Apply. This is a purely reversible setting with no file changes.
Fix 4: Edit Game Config Files for Hidden Caps
How to check
Navigate to the game’s configuration directory and search for values matching 60. Common paths:
- Unreal Engine games:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\[GameName]\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\GameUserSettings.ini— look forFrameRateLimit=60or[ConsoleVariables]entries liker.VSync=1. - Source Engine:
Steam\steamapps\common\[GameName]\[GameName]\cfg\config.cfg— search for"fps_max" "60". - Unity-based games: often in
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\[Developer]\[GameName]\orDocuments\My Games\[GameName]\in a settings .ini or .json file.
What to do
Open the file in Notepad (or Notepad++). Change the capped value from 60 to 0 (Unlimited) or to your monitor’s refresh rate. For Unreal Engine configs, adding FrameRateLimit=0 under [/Script/Engine.GameUserSettings] removes the cap. Save the file, then make it read-only in Windows file properties if the game tends to overwrite settings on launch.
How to undo it
Delete or rename the config file. Most games regenerate a default version on next launch. Alternatively, revert the value to 60 manually. If you set the file to read-only, uncheck that attribute first.
Fix 5: Close Overlay and Monitoring Software
How to check
Temporarily exit Discord, MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS), or any on-screen display tool. Launch the game and check your frame rate counter. If it breaks past 60 immediately, one of those programs is injecting a cap.
What to do
In Discord: Settings > Game Overlay > toggle off “Enable in-game overlay.” In RTSS: open the RTSS window (system tray icon), select the game’s profile or the global profile, and set “Framerate limit” to 0. If you use Steam’s built-in FPS counter (Settings > In-Game > In-game FPS counter), that alone does not cap frames, but combining it with RTSS can sometimes trigger a cap.
How to undo it
Re-enable the overlay in Discord. In RTSS, restore the framerate limit value you had before (0 means unlimited). No permanent changes are made.
Fix 6: Adjust Windows Power Plan and GPU Power Settings
How to check
Check whether you are on a laptop running on battery. Also open Windows Settings > System > Power and verify your power plan is not set to “Battery Saver” or “Best power efficiency.” On desktops, open Control Panel > Power Options and confirm you are not in a power-saving mode that throttles GPU clocks.
What to do
Switch to “High performance” or “Ultimate performance” (if available). On laptops, plug in the charger. For NVIDIA GPUs, open NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings and set “Power management mode” to “Prefer maximum performance.” For AMD, set the power profile to “Turbo” in AMD Software under Performance > Tuning.
How to undo it
Return to your original power plan in Windows Settings. Reset the NVIDIA power management mode back to “Normal” or “Optimal power” in the same Control Panel section. This change affects all games, not just one, so revert if you notice increased fan noise or heat in less demanding titles.
Fix 7: Clean Reinstall GPU Drivers
How to check
If every other fix has been ruled out and the cap persists across multiple games, a corrupted driver installation may be the cause. Check Device Manager under Display adapters for any yellow warning icons. Also verify that Windows is not running a Microsoft Basic Display Adapter instead of your GPU driver.
What to do
Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from Guru3D. Boot into Safe Mode, run DDU, and select “Clean and restart.” Once back in normal Windows, install the latest driver from NVIDIA’s GeForce website or AMD’s driver page. During NVIDIA installation, choose “Custom installation” and check “Perform a clean installation.” This is the most invasive fix because it resets all your 3D settings to defaults.
How to undo it
There is no undo for a clean driver install. You will need to reconfigure any custom settings (color profiles, multi-GPU, surround display) you had previously. Save screenshots of your NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software settings before starting this process.
If Nothing Works
If you have worked through all seven fixes and the game still holds at 60 FPS, the cap may be hardcoded into the game itself with no exposed setting. Some titles, particularly older ones or console ports, ship with a locked 60 FPS frame rate that cannot be removed without a community mod or trainer. Check the game’s Steam Community Forums or Nexus Mods page — search for “unlock framerate” or “60 cap mod.” In a few cases, Windows GPU Scheduling (Settings > Display > Graphics > Change default graphics settings > “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling”) interacts poorly with older engines; toggling it off and rebooting has resolved stubborn 60 FPS locks in a small number of 2026-era DirectX 11 titles.
You can also test whether the cap is hardware-level by trying a different game at the same resolution and settings. If the second game also sits at exactly 60, the problem lives outside the specific game and points back to Windows display settings or driver-level limits. If only one game is affected, the issue is confined to that title’s configuration or engine.
FAQ
Why does my FPS cap at 60 only in fullscreen but not windowed mode?
Fullscreen-exclusive mode typically enables VSync automatically through the swap chain, while windowed or borderless-window modes use the desktop compositor’s present queue, which may not enforce the same sync. If you see 60 in fullscreen but higher FPS in borderless, the game is applying VSync only in the fullscreen path. Disabling VSync in the game settings should fix this regardless of window mode.
Does turning off VSync increase input lag?
Yes. VSync forces the GPU to wait for the monitor’s refresh cycle before presenting a frame, which adds latency. Removing the cap lets the GPU present frames as soon as they render, reducing input lag but potentially introducing screen tearing. If tearing is distracting, consider enabling G-Sync or FreeSync instead, which removes the rigid 60 Hz lock while still synchronizing frames to the monitor’s refresh without added wait states.
My monitor is 144 Hz but the game still locks at 60. Why?
The most common reason is that the monitor’s own on-screen display menu is still set to 60 Hz, even though Windows shows 144. This happens with some DisplayPort configurations and with HDMI cables that do not carry the bandwidth for 144 Hz at your resolution. Try a DisplayPort 1.4 cable if available, and check the monitor’s physical menu for a refresh rate or “overclock” setting that must be raised manually.
Can Windows Game Mode or Game Bar cap my frame rate?
Under normal circumstances, no. Xbox Game Mode and Game Bar do not impose a frame rate limit. However, Game Bar’s recording feature (Win + G > Capture > Record) can introduce a slight overhead on weaker GPUs. In rare cases, users have reported that disabling Game Bar recording entirely (Settings > Gaming > Captures > toggle “Record in the background”) resolved an intermittent cap. If you have tried everything else, toggling this off takes five seconds to test.
