MW3 Stuttering and FPS Drops – COD Games are relatively better optimized at launch than the other AAA Games. But there are some minor issues like stuttering and FPS Drops that you need to address that can help you get a better experience while playing MW3. Since many people have been complaining about the micro stutters in the game, here are some tips and tricks you can use to fix those.
So, this performance guide will help you fix Stuttering and FPS Drops in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.
Fix COD MW3 Stuttering and FPS Drops
Check for System Requirements
These are the minimum and recommended System Requirements for COD Modern Warfare 3.
Download Drivers for MW3
We recommend downloading the latest Graphics Drivers from the respective Nvidia and AMD Websites. Driver updates are crucial whenever you face any graphical or launch issues with newer games.
- Nvidia – Download the latest Gameready Driver v537.58
- AMD – Download the latest AMD Driver version 23.11.1
Use Proper Graphics Settings
You can try using the settings that we have suggested here. We have compiled the best Graphics settings for MW3 that you can check out. But obviously, you can play around with your settings as well.
Disable Background Applications
You can try disabling all the Background Applications if you find any app causing a conflict with the game itself. To do that
- Open Task Manager
- Go to the Startup Apps Tab
- Keep all the Essential Applications Enabled while disabling the rest.
- Restart your System, and you are done.
Disable Windows Recording
Suppose your PC doesn’t have a powerful CPU, then it’s better to turn off all the Background Recording features or the Nvidia Instant Replay. These are similar but can cause stuttering in games like Call of Duty. Disabling the Xbox Gamebar and the Xbox Game Mode would be best.
Windows Background Recording:
- Go to your Windows 11 settings menu.
- Select Gaming and click on Captures from the left.
- Turn off Background Recording from there.
Nvidia Instant Replay:
- Press Alt+Z [You have Nvidia in-game overlay enabled if you use instant replay].
- Click on the Instant Replay block.
- Turn it off.
Check Discord Settings
Since Discord is the most common VOIP, you can also make a few tweaks to stop Discord from reducing the performance of the System.
- Open Discord and click on the User Settings.
- Click on the Voice and Video on the left sidebar.
- Go down to the Advanced Section
- Open up the H.264 Video Codec provided by the Cisco System Inc.
- Turn off Hardware Acceleration
- Down and disable the ‘Enable Quality of Service High Packet Priority’.
- You can also click on the Game Overlay option on the sidebar and disable it.
- Restart Discord, and you are good to go.
Don’t use Game Overlays
We always recommend not using Game Overlays. COD Games are prone to eat up a lot of RAM; hence, running game overlays will lower your in-game performance. Before you can start with MW3, make sure the following overlays are disabled on your system. Avoid Overlays, as they are the main culprits for stuttering. So it’s better to avoid them if you don’t have a high-powered system.
- Steam
- Discord
- Nvidia GeForce Experience
- AMD Adrenalin Overlay
- Razer
- Logitech
MW3 Nvidia Settings
To tweak the Nvidia Settings for MW3, click the ‘Adjust image settings with preview ‘ on the left side under 3D settings. Ensure you have selected the ‘Use the advanced 3D image settings‘. Then follow the following steps.
- Open the Nvidia Control Panel.
- Click on Manage 3D settings on the left bar.
- Select the ‘Program Settings’ tab.
- Click on the ‘Add’ button
- Select Call of Duty HQ from the list.
Now tweak the following settings:
-
- Low Latency Mode: Off
- OpenGL rendering GPU: Select your Dedicated GPU
- Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance
- Texture filtering : Quality: Performance
- Threaded Optimization: On
- Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames: 2
COD MW3 AMD Settings
Open the ‘Settings’ button in the app’s top-right corner, then click the ‘Graphics’ tab. Use the following settings:
- Radeon Anti-Lag: Disabled
- Radeon Chill: Disabled
- Radeon Boost: Disabled
- Radeon Image Sharpening: Off
- Radeon Enhanced Sync: Enabled
- Wait for Vertical Refresh: Off unless the application specifies
Then Click on ‘Advanced’ Settings and then use the following settings
- Frame Rate Target Control: Disabled
- Anti-Aliasing: Use Application settings
- Anti-aliasing Method: Multisampling
- Morphological Anti-Aliasing: Disabled
- Anisotropic Filtering: Disabled
- Texture Filtering Quality: Performance
- Surface Format Optimization: Enabled
- Tessellation Mode: Use application settings
- OpenGL Triple Buffering: Disabled
- 10-Bit Pixel Format: Disabled
Now, click on the ‘Preferences’ tab and uncheck everything.
Don’t use Integrated GPUs
If your laptop has a dedicated GPU inside, ensure you are not using the Integrated one but, instead, the dedicated GPU when running COD MW3. To do that, follow these steps:
- Open up the Nvidia Control Panel
- Go to Manage 3D settings located on the left side
- Select the Program Settings tab
- Click on “Select a program to customize” and select Call of Duty HQ
- Click on Add and then select it if it’s not there.
- Now set “Select the preferred graphics processor for this program” to “High-performance NVIDIA processor”
So this was all about fixing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Stuttering and FPS Drops.
Remember that none of these methods are advanced and are pretty basic. There is no guarantee that these steps will fix your problem 100%. If your issue is severe, the best option would be to contact Activision support.
If you think this guide has helped, then let us know in the comment section below. And for more COD MW3 Guides, keep an eye on Frondtech. We will be covering every single technical issue and bug of the game. Good luck!
That’s all, folks!
Last Updated on November 10, 2023
Akash Roy, 31, Senior Editor at Frondtech and an avid gamer by choice dabbles in all things tech. Whether be it spending hours in single-player narrative-based games or going through the latest innovation in technology and chip manufacturing he prefers to stay on top of things. At the other times, you’ll find him tucked away drumming and headbanging to Rock and Roll Classics.