Frame pacing
Also searched as: frame pacing · frame time consistency · frame pacing issues · uneven frames · microstutter
What it means
Frame pacing is how EVEN the gaps between frames are — not how many you get. Smooth gameplay needs frames delivered on a steady rhythm, not just a high average.
More detail
Two PCs can both read 60 FPS and feel completely different. One spaces its frames evenly — a fresh frame about every 16 milliseconds — and looks fluid. The other averages 60 but bunches some frames and gaps others, so motion hitches even though the headline number looks fine. That unevenness is bad frame pacing (you will also hear it called microstutter), and it is exactly what a frametime graph and your 1% lows reveal when the average hides it. It is why chasing a bigger average can feel worse, and why a frame cap — or a variable-refresh display (VRR) that lets the screen wait for each frame — often feels smoother than a higher but choppier FPS. Judge smoothness by the rhythm, not the headline number.
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