[Fixed] Modern Warfare 2 FPS Drops and Stuttering on Windows

With its new engine and gameplay mechanics adding more realism, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 2 is definitely an exceptional game and a worthy successor. However, this game is not problem-free, just like many other big releases. A number of players are getting massive in-game stutters and FPS drops. If you’re on the same boat, don’t fret! We’ll walk you through the simplest yet most effective steps to fix the issue you’re having.

Before getting started…

Before diving into the comprehensive performance boost guide, make sure that your computer meets system requirements for the game.

MINIMUM:

OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-6100 / Core™ i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960 or AMD Radeon™ RX 470 – DirectX 12.0 compatible system
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 125 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:

OS: Windows® 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows® 11 64 Bit (latest update)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-6600K / Core™ i7-4770 or AMD Ryzen™ 5 1400
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 580 – DirectX 12.0 compatible system
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 125 GB available space

Remember that even players with high-end gaming rigs are suffering from FPS drops and random stutters. Therefore, it’s suggested that yours meets recommended requirements if you wish to get the most out of the game.

If your computer perfectly meets the requirements but you’re still having the issue, try the fixes below.

Try these fixes

Not all methods are necessary; simply work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.

1. Download & install all Windows updates
2. Update your graphics driver
3. Disable non-essential applications
4. Reset priority and affinity
5. Enable hardware acceleration
6. Verify your game files
7. Tweak in-game settings

1. Download & install all Windows updates

Windows updates usually come with bug fixes and new features. To get the best performance, you should check if there are any updates available for download. This could be the easiest way to fix your issue without much troubleshooting.

1. In the Search box, type check for updates. Then click Check for updates from the list of results.
   
   
2. Click on the Check for updates button.
   
   

If Updates are available, click Install now and wait for the updates to be installed on your system. Once complete, restart your computer and relaunch your game. If it doesn’t have a huge impact, try the next fix below.

2. Update your graphics driver

Your graphics card is one of the core components of your computer. And your graphics driver is an essential piece of software that guarantees you can get the top performance from your graphics card. If it’s outdated, myriads of issues can be expected to occur. To mitigate the in-game stutters, you need to update your graphics driver.

There are mainly two ways to update your graphics driver: manually and automatically.

Option 1: Update your graphics driver manually

First, you’ll need to know your graphics card’s name and its manufacturer.

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box.
2. Type dxdiag and hit Enter to open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
   
   
3. Select the Display tab. In the Device section, you’ll see your graphics card’s name and manufacturer.
   
   

Now go to the manufacturer’s official website of your graphics card. Find the most up-to-date driver for your system. Then all you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.

Below are the driver download pages of the major graphics card manufacturers.

• NVIDIA
• AMD
• Intel

Option 2: Update your graphics driver automatically (recommended)

If you don’t have the time or patience to hunt for driver updates, you can instead use Driver Easy, a handy driver updater that can automatically help detect any outdated or missing drivers, download and install the correct drivers for your system. With Driver Easy, getting driver updates is just a matter of a few mouse clicks. You don’t need to know your system configuration and you don’t need to risk downloading the wrong driver. Below is a simple step-by-step guide to update drivers using Driver Easy.

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any devices with outdated drivers.
   
   
3. Click Update All. Driver Easy will then download and update all your outdated and missing device drivers, giving you the latest version of each, direct from the device manufacturer.
   
   This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. If you don’t want to upgrade to the Pro version, you can also update your drivers with the FREE version. All you need to do is to download them one at a time and manually install them.
   
   
   
   

After updating drivers, restart your computer and check whether this has a blast on your performance. If that’s not your case, no worries! Below are some other methods you can try.

3. Disable non-essential applications

As you know, games are CPU intensive and graphically demanding. If you have too many applications running in the background while playing Modern Warfare 2, you definitely cannot get the optimum performance. To prevent them from eating up your system memory, you can temporarily disable them. Below are the steps you can take.

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box.
2. Type taskmgr and hit Enter.
   
   
3. Under the Processes tab, right-click on each of the applications you don’t necessarily use while playing the game and select End task.
   
   

Once you’re done, dive into a new gameplay. If your problem persists, proceed to the next fix.

4. Reset priority and affinity

There’s another tweak that can be used when experiencing low FPS and stutters in Modern Warfare 2. It’s that you adjust the task priority and reset the affinity. This trick has been upvoted by many players on Reddit and you should give it a shot. Below are the steps you can take.

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo + R keys simultaneously to open the Run box.
2. Input taskmgr and hit Enter to open the Task Manager.
3. Select the Details tab. Find your game and your game launcher and select Set priority > Low.
   
   
4. Click Change priority to confirm the changes.
   
   

For users who have a 6-12 core CPU, use the Task Manager and set affinity to CPU 0,1,2,3. All you have to do is right-click your game and your game launcher, then select Set affinity. When the window opens, make sure only the boxes next to CPU 0, CPU 1, CPU 2, CPU 3 are checked.

Don’t know how many cores your CPU has? Simply go to the Performance tab on the Task Manager. Then you’ll see the number of cores in your processor.

After you’ve applied all the changes, launch your game and see how things go. If no improvements have been seen, move on to the next fix.

5. Enable hardware acceleration

The next method you should try is to enable the hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling, a feature that is designed to boost in-game FPS. If you have the latest Windows version, a Geforce 10 series or later/ Radeon 5600 or 5700 series graphics card with the latest driver, you can enable this feature and see if you can notice a performance improvement. Below are the steps you can take to enable it.

(Screenshots below come from Windows 10. If you’re running Windows 11, your screen might look slightly different. )

1. In the search box, type graphics settings.
2. Toggle on Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. Select Desktop app from the drop-down. Then click on the Browse button.
   
   
3. Then go to your game’s installation folder and add the exe file to the list.
4. Now click on the Options button.
   
   
5. Tick High performance. Then click Save.
   
   
   
   

After applying the changes, launch the game and test the performance. If you can’t see many improvements, move on to the next method below.

6. Verify your game files

From time to time, your game files might get corrupted and some essential files even go missing out of nowhere. When that happens, various issues would occur, ranging from minor game glitches to critical issues. To check if that’s your case, you can utilize the repair tool.

• Steam
• Battle.net

On Steam

1. Open your Steam client. Under LIBRARY, right-click the game title and select Properties.
   
   
2. Choose the LOCAL FILES tab. Then click on the Verify integrity of game files… button.
   
   

Steam is now verifying the integrity of your game files. This process could take several minutes depending on the file size.

Once the repair is finished, close the window and play your game to check if it works. If this doesn’t do the trick, proceed to the next fix.

On Battle.net

1. Open the Battle.net desktop app.
2. Click on the game icon.
3. Click on the cogwheel next to the Play button and select Scan and Repair.
4. Wait for the repair to finish.

If that doesn’t make any difference, try the next fix below.

7. Tweak in-game settings

Sometimes, the settings by default may not be tailored to your rigs. You can adjust them and check if that can give you a performance boost. Simply open your game settings and make the following adjustments.

• Under the DISPLAY section

• Under the QUALITY section

That’s it – a full troubleshooting guide for your FPS drops and stuttering issue on Modern Warfare 2. If you have any ideas or questions, do not hesitate to write them down in the comment section below.