What is Frame Rate/FPS? The Ultimate Guide For Gamers
Your frame rate or FPS is one of the most important things when it comes down to performance in gaming.
Many PC gamers know how important it is to have a high frame rate especially if you are into competitive games such as Valorant, Call of Duty, or Overwatch.
For non-competitive gamers, the frame rate is less important because these types of people focus more on the quality over the performance aspect of gaming. However, FPS still plays a pretty important role in the quality of your game.
If you are still intrigued and want to learn what FPS is, why it matters, and how it affects performance, then keep reading because this guide has everything you are looking for.
What is Frame Rate?
Frame rate is the frequency at which frames appear on the screen. The higher the frame rate the more consecutive pictures are being uploaded to the screen in front of you.
When you look at a digital video it looks like the objects on the screen are moving. However, the screen isn’t actually moving it is just a bunch of static frames being shown on your screen to make it appear like the screen itself is moving.
When you talk about frame rate you will hear the word FPS a lot because this is the measurement we use when calculating how many frames we are getting.
FPS stands for frames per second. The more frames per second you get the smoother your game or video will be.
The standard frequency of FPS is about 60 FPS, which is considered the baseline for the amount of FPS you should get when gaming.
If you are more interested in videography and cinema then the base FPS for an average video should be around 24-60 FPS.
Although, it might seem like the higher FPS you get the better. This is actually not the case because in certain circumstances having too high of an FPS could cause screen tearing, which interferes with your gaming performance, and the quality of the video.
Why Does FPS Matter?
There are many reasons why FPS matters for both games and video.
Why Does FPS Matter In Video?
FPS matters a lot in the video because it helps a lot with the perception of the video. You are going to want to have a different amount of FPS depending on the type of viewing experience you are looking to provide for your audience.
For example, at 24 FPS the video is going to have a lot more motion blur. This is going to help a lot with more cinematic-style films because it brings a lot more action out.
Whereas if you used 60 FPS actions will be a lot more fluid and crisp to the eye. This can also be bad if that is not what you are looking for in a video because sometimes it makes the video look unnatural.
Why Does FPS Matter In Games?
In games, the higher FPS the better. The reason for this is that the higher FPS the higher your game’s performance. We will get into this in the next paragraph.
Now, you might be thinking that if you had a higher FPS it would ruin the experience of motion blur and other visual effects that are nice to see in video games.
However, this is not true for games because there are other settings that you can enable in the game that will help enhance motion blur and these other effects; having a higher FPS will help amplify the experience of these visuals.
How Does High FPS Improve Your Computers Performance?
High FPS can Improve the performance of your computer, especially in gaming because it allows objects to move faster and smoother on your screen.
The higher your FPS the less “choppy” your game will feel. When FPS is too low this can make the game feel almost unplayable because there are not enough frames being displayed on the screen making you skip over small movements, that could give you the edge in the game you are playing.
Although you might not think it’s a big deal when it comes to competitive gaming, it really is because the choppy gameplay from low FPS will affect target tracking, reaction time, and screen ghosting.
Having a higher FPS will allow you to see movements faster, react faster, and help you be more accurate/precise with your movements.
Frame Rate vs Refresh Rate
The difference between frame rate and refresh rate is that frame rate is the number of frames your computer is processing every second, and refresh rate is processing how many times your monitor refreshes every second.
When most people think of frame rate vs refresh rate, they usually ask which one is better and most important.
The answer is FPS, but in an ideal world, you want your monitor’s refresh rate to match your computer’s frame rate as this allows for the smoothest gaming experience.
To learn more about frame rate and refresh rate I have actually written a very in-depth article that talks about “The Difference Between Refresh Rate and FPS”
