Question Valorant causes Windows 11 to lag ?

[mymercedesisntfast]

So I recently updated Valorant after not playing it for a while, and now it's making my PC super laggy. The game itself lags really bad, frame rate drops from 200 to 30 and it keeps freezing. When I try to alt-tab to desktop, even Windows starts lagging. I have to fully exit the game to get things back to normal. I tried other games like GTA V Online, did a quick diamond casino heist, no issue at all, Roblx, and MC with shaders, and they all run perfectly fine only Valorant is acting up like this. This never happened before the update. Anyone else experiencing this?

Specs:
Windows 11
i3-8100
GTX 1050 2GB
8GB RAM (2 x 4GB)
128GB Samsung M.2 SSD (OS)
512GB Samsung M.2 SSD (where Valorant and other games are installed)

 

[Lutfij]

Perhaps try and run the game with Administrator privileges.

What is the make and model of your motherboard? What BIOS version are you on for your motherboard? Make and model of your PSU as well as it's age?

Try and use DDU in Safe Mode to remove all GPU drivers(intel, AMD and Nvidia) then manually install the latest GPU driver sourced from Nvidia's support site(although Nvidia's discontinuing driver support for your GTX 1000 series GPU) in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

 

[K77X]

They recently updated their engine/graphics which has some performance issues. Not sure if 2GB of VRAM is sufficient to run it smoothly now (website says minimum spec is 4GB VRAM, 16GB RAM). Try putting all the settings to low and see if that helps.

 

[mymercedesisntfast]

Perhaps try and run the game with Administrator privileges.

What is the make and model of your motherboard? What BIOS version are you on for your motherboard? Make and model of your PSU as well as it's age?

Try and use DDU in Safe Mode to remove all GPU drivers(intel, AMD and Nvidia) then manually install the latest GPU driver sourced from Nvidia's support site(although Nvidia's discontinuing driver support for your GTX 1000 series GPU) in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

I’m using a Biostar B365MHC motherboard, but I’m not sure which driver version I currently have installed. As for the PSU, it’s a Thermaltake Litepower. I know it’s not the best, but since I'm running a relatively light setup (an i3 paired with a GTX 1050), I’m not putting it under heavy load. I’m planning to wipe the current GPU driver and do a clean reinstall to see if that resolves the issue. For now, I’ve found a temporary fix, enabling V-Sync or capping the FPS at 60 seems to help. Do you have any idea why this issue might be happening?

They recently updated their engine/graphics which has some performance issues. Not sure if 2GB of VRAM is sufficient to run it smoothly now (website says minimum spec is 4GB VRAM, 16GB RAM). Try putting all the settings to low and see if that helps.

Thanks for your reply! For now, I’ve found a temporary fix: enabling V-Sync or capping the FPS at 60 seems to help. Do you have any idea why this issue might be happening?

 

[Lutfij]

I’m using a Biostar B365MHC motherboard, but I’m not sure which driver version I currently have installed.
Use CPU-Z, look under mainboard tab and the BIOS version will be listed underneath said tab. BIOS is a type of firmware not a driver.

As for the PSU, it’s a Thermaltake Litepower.
Thermaltake is the brand of the unit, while Litepower is the model of the unit. What is the wattage for said unit? In either case, those units are known to be dumpster fires. They come tied in with Gigabyte's P series exploding PSU's. So no, they aren't the best, they are a disaster waiting to happen.

Glad you found a fix in the interim period.

 

[mymercedesisntfast]

I’m using a Biostar B365MHC motherboard, but I’m not sure which driver version I currently have installed.
Use CPU-Z, look under mainboard tab and the BIOS version will be listed underneath said tab. BIOS is a type of firmware not a driver.

As for the PSU, it’s a Thermaltake Litepower.
Thermaltake is the brand of the unit, while Litepower is the model of the unit. What is the wattage for said unit? In either case, those units are known to be dumpster fires. They come tied in with Gigabyte's P series exploding PSU's. So no, they aren't the best, they are a disaster waiting to happen.

Glad you found a fix in the interim period.

My bad, it's a 650w. I thought since it's not gonna be hitting over 250w at full load, it would be okay. As for how old it is, I bought it back in 2022, did some PC testing for a day and hadn’t been used until last year, and i'll look more into the BIOS version when I get home! thanks