Here’s something most players don’t know. Valorant was built from the ground up to run on hardware your parents might have thrown out. Riot’s stated design goal was 30 FPS on a machine from 2014 using integrated graphics and they hit it. The minimum spec is an Intel Core i3-4150 with Intel HD Graphics 4000, no dedicated GPU required.
That means 60 FPS on integrated graphics is genuinely achievable you just need to know exactly what to change. This guide gets you there, step by step.
Why You’re Getting Low FPS on Integrated Graphics
Integrated graphics share system RAM with your CPU there’s no dedicated VRAM. Every texture, shadow, and particle effect you render comes directly out of the same memory pool your OS and background apps are already competing for.
The fix isn’t magic it’s about removing every unnecessary GPU and CPU load so everything your hardware has goes toward frame generation and hit registration. Nothing else.
Step 1: The Resolution Drop Biggest Single FPS Gain
This is the change that moves the needle more than anything else in the graphics settings menu. Resolution 1280×720 is the single biggest gain on integrated graphics. This alone takes most integrated setups from under 30 FPS to 45-60 FPS.
If you want maximum boost, try 1024×768 (True 4:3). Unlike CS:GO, 4:3 in Valorant does not make enemy heads wider (hitboxes stay the same). However, it makes the crosshair and UI larger and can give you a 20-30 FPS boost on potato PCs.
Set your display mode to Fullscreen never Windowed or Borderless. Both Windowed and Borderless add latency and reduce performance compared to exclusive Fullscreen.
Step 2: In-Game Graphics Settings The Exact Values
Go to Settings, click the Video tab, then Graphics Quality. Here’s exactly what to set for maximum FPS on integrated graphics:
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Multithreaded Rendering | ON | Gives the biggest single-setting FPS boost, typically adding 20-50% more frames on any CPU with 4 or more cores |
| Material Quality | Low | Direct GPU load reduction |
| Texture Quality | Low | All quality settings: Low, no exceptions on integrated graphics |
| Detail Quality | Low | One of the few settings that impacts performance across all system types |
| UI Quality | Low | Reduces rendering overhead |
| Vignette | Off | No gameplay value, wastes GPU cycles |
| V-Sync | OFF | Causes massive input lag always off |
| Anti-Aliasing | None | Expensive on integrated graphics |
| Anisotropic Filtering | 1x | Lowest setting |
| Cast Shadows | Off | Major performance cost, zero gameplay benefit |
| Bloom | Off | Adds visual noise that hides enemies |
| Distortion | Off | GPU cost with no competitive upside |
| NVIDIA Reflex | On + Boost | Reduces input latency even on low-end hardware |
The single most important setting on this entire list is Multithreaded Rendering. Turning it off can halve your FPS. Patches sometimes reset it and a shocking number of players have it flipped off from some old troubleshooting attempt that never got reversed. Check it every time after a major patch.
Step 3: Windows Power Plan Fix
Windows is actively throttling your integrated graphics and you don’t know it. Sometimes the problem isn’t the game it’s Windows trying to save power. This is a Windows feature that limits your CPU and GPU performance to save battery.
Fix it in two steps:
- Search “Power Plan” in the Windows start menu
- Select High Performance or Ultimate Performance (if available)
This is especially critical on laptops most laptops default to Balanced or Power Saver mode, which actively reduces CPU clock speeds during gaming. Switching to High Performance unlocks your processor’s full clock speed and your integrated GPU’s maximum operating frequency.
Step 4: Intel and AMD Integrated Graphics Driver Settings
Your integrated graphics driver has its own performance settings and the defaults are not set for gaming.
For Intel Integrated Graphics (Intel HD/UHD/Iris Xe): Open Intel Graphics Command Center, find Valorant under Gaming, and set these:
| Intel Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Application Optimal Mode | On |
| Graphics Performance Preference | Performance |
| Vertical Sync | Off |
| Anisotropic Filtering | Application Default |
For AMD Integrated Graphics (Ryzen APU with Radeon Vega/RDNA): Open AMD Radeon Software, navigate to the Gaming tab, and select Valorant. AMD’s Anti-Lag feature works similarly to NVIDIA Reflex and can reduce input latency by a full frame on lower-end hardware.
Set Radeon Anti-Lag to On and Graphics Profile to eSports this profile reduces visual quality in favour of raw frame rate, which is exactly what integrated graphics needs.
Step 5: Allocate More RAM to Integrated Graphics
On most laptops and desktops with integrated graphics, you can increase the shared VRAM allocation in the BIOS and this makes a meaningful difference in Valorant.
How to do it:
- Restart your PC and press Delete, F2, or F10 to enter BIOS (varies by manufacturer)
- Look for “UMA Frame Buffer Size”, “Shared Memory Size”, or “IGPU Multi-Monitor” depending on your board
- Change from 128MB or 256MB to 512MB or 1GB
- Save and restart
More shared VRAM means fewer texture streaming stalls which is one of the main causes of sudden FPS drops mid-match on integrated graphics.
Step 6: Close Everything Before You Launch
Integrated graphics has no VRAM buffer to absorb background app overhead. Every MB of RAM your background apps consume is a MB taken from Valorant.
Close or disable before launching:
- Browser (Chrome especially 300-500MB minimum)
- Discord (close it or set to push-to-talk to reduce CPU)
- Windows Update (pause for 7 days in Settings)
- OneDrive and any cloud sync
- Xbox Game Bar (Settings, Gaming, Xbox Game Bar, Off)
- Background apps in Settings, Privacy, Background Apps
Set Valorant’s priority to High in Task Manager after launching find Valorant.exe, right-click, Set Priority to High this forces Windows to give Valorant more CPU time over background processes.
Step 7: Update Your Integrated Graphics Driver
Outdated drivers are one of the most common hidden causes of low FPS on integrated graphics. AMD’s 2025-2026 drivers have introduced significant performance improvements for older GPUs. After installing new drivers, restart your PC. This step takes five minutes and can genuinely add 5-15 FPS across the board.
For Intel: Download the latest driver from Intel’s Driver Support page search “Intel Driver and Support Assistant” and run the automatic detection tool.
For AMD APUs: Download directly from AMD’s website under Drivers and Support, enter your APU model number, and install the latest Adrenalin Edition driver.
What FPS to Expect After All Optimisations
| Hardware | Before Optimisation | After Optimisation |
|---|---|---|
| Intel HD 4000 (i3-4150) | 15-25 FPS | 35-50 FPS |
| Intel UHD 620 (i5-8250U) | 30-40 FPS | 55-70 FPS |
| Intel Iris Xe (i5-1135G7) | 50-70 FPS | 80-100 FPS |
| AMD Radeon Vega 8 (Ryzen 5 2500U) | 40-55 FPS | 65-80 FPS |
| AMD Radeon 680M (Ryzen 7 6800H) | 70-90 FPS | 100-130 FPS |
The One Setting Most Players Still Get Wrong
Multithreaded Rendering is the setting that matters most. Turning it off can halve your FPS it’s on by default but patches sometimes reset it.
Every time Valorant updates, check this setting first. It takes five seconds and it’s the difference between playable and unplayable on integrated graphics. Everything else on this list matters but this one setting has ended more ranked games than any other.
Follow every step in order, check Multithreaded Rendering after every patch, and 60 FPS on integrated graphics is not just possible it’s consistent.
