What counts as "good" depends on the type of game and on your screen's refresh rate.
What FPS means
FPS (frames per second) is how many images your PC draws every second. More frames means smoother motion and a game that reacts faster to your mouse or controller. The time between frames is called frame time: at 60 FPS each frame takes about 16.7 milliseconds, at 30 FPS about 33 milliseconds.
FPS levels at a glance
| FPS | Frame time | How it feels | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | 34+ ms | Choppy, input feels slow | Not recommended |
| 30 | 33 ms | Playable, but motion is not smooth | Slow single-player games, older consoles' target |
| 45-55 | 18-22 ms | Mostly smooth, small stutters | Story games on weaker PCs |
| 60 | 16.7 ms | Smooth | Almost every game; the classic PC target |
| 90-120 | 8-11 ms | Very smooth and responsive | Action games, high-refresh monitors |
| 144 | 6.9 ms | Very responsive | Competitive shooters on 144 Hz monitors |
| 240+ | 4 ms or less | Ultra responsive | Esports players on 240 Hz+ monitors |
What FPS do you need for your type of game?
| Game type | Comfortable target | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive shooters | 120-240+ FPS | Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Apex Legends |
| Battle royale and online action | 60-144 FPS | Fortnite, Warzone, PUBG |
| Open-world and story games | 50-60+ FPS | Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring |
| Strategy, simulation, slow games | 30-60 FPS | Civilization VI, Cities: Skylines |
Some games limit FPS on purpose. For example, Elden Ring is capped at 60 FPS on PC, so a faster PC will not go higher in that game. FPSVibe shows this on game pages when a cap applies.
Your monitor sets the ceiling
Your screen can only show as many frames as its refresh rate (Hz). A 60 Hz monitor shows at most 60 frames per second, even if your PC makes 150. Extra frames above the refresh rate can still lower input delay a little, but you will not see smoother motion.
- 60 Hz monitor: aim for a steady 60 FPS.
- 144 Hz monitor: aim for 100-144 FPS in fast games.
- 240 Hz or higher: worth it only if your PC reaches those frame rates in the games you play.
FreeSync, G-Sync and "Adaptive Sync" let the monitor follow your FPS, which removes tearing and makes 45-60 FPS feel smoother than on a fixed-rate screen.
Average FPS vs "1% lows"
Average FPS is only part of the story. If a game averages 70 FPS but regularly dips to 25, it will feel stuttery. Reviewers report 1% lows (the slowest 1% of frames) for this reason. A steady 60 FPS feels better than an average of 80 with big drops. Stutters usually come from too little RAM or VRAM, a processor that is too slow for the game, or background apps.
How to see your FPS
- Steam: Settings → In Game → In-game FPS counter.
- NVIDIA: the NVIDIA app overlay (Alt + R opens the statistics overlay on supported versions).
- AMD: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition → Performance metrics overlay.
- Windows: press Windows key + G to open Game Bar and use the Performance widget.
- Many games also have an FPS counter in their own settings.
Not getting a good FPS?
Check your PC in the FPS calculator to see what to expect in each game, find out if your processor or graphics card is the limit with the bottleneck calculator, and try the fixes in How to increase FPS on a low-end PC.
