Lowering render scale / resolution for FPS
Also searched as: render scale · resolution scale · lower resolution fps · render resolution · 3d resolution
What it does
Dropping the resolution a game RENDERS at — the output resolution, or an in-game 'render scale' / 'resolution scale' slider set below 100%.
The honest verdict
This is the most reliable FPS lever there is, and the honest counterpoint to every placebo registry tweak: frames cost pixels, so rendering fewer pixels makes more frames, every time, on every GPU. Going from 1440p to 1080p, or render scale 100% to 80%, gives a large and measurable jump whenever you are GPU-limited. The trade is sharpness. Modern upscalers (DLSS / FSR / XeSS) are the smart version — they render low and reconstruct detail so you keep most of the image — but even a plain resolution drop works. When a tweak promises free frames at no visual cost, doubt it; this one is honest about the cost and actually delivers the frames.
How Compy treats it
Where it genuinely fits a rig, Compy can recommend it — applied with a snapshot first and a one-click rollback after, like every change it makes.
The Compy Blackbook holds 174 graded entries like this one, judged against your hardware — and every change it does make is reversible, with the receipt to prove it.
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