Fix Modern Warfare 2 Stuttering & FPS Drop

Are you experiencing frame drops, stuttering, and other performance problems with Modern Warfare 2? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is now being played by gamers on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation. However, problems are currently plaguing gamers across all platforms. In addition to the “Verify Phone Number” problem and the 0x00001338 (0) N Error Code, PC players are also seeing severe performance problems. Here are a few potential solutions if you’re experiencing FPS drops, stuttering, or lag when playing Modern Warfare 2 on PC.

Fixing the Performance Issues, Stuttering, Lagging, and Frame Drops in Modern Warfare 2

For those who pre-ordered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox and PC, the COD MW2 beta is now available. Many problems, unfortunately, plagued the PC beta’s first day, but that was to be expected. People complain about the MW2 beta’s terrible PC performance, among many other issues. Beta testers report many frame drops, unplayable stutter, lag, and screen tearing on forums, social media, and Reddit. The situation is awful even for players with high-end PCs, who should have no such problems.

Let’s first emphasize something before moving on to potential answers. The game is still in beta, and it will be another month before it is officially released. As a result, poor optimization and performance concerns are somewhat predicted. Hopefully, the creators will have enough time to address these issues before the game’s release. Having stated that, let’s look at what you can do right now to solve these issues:

System Requirements

You should verify the game’s minimum and recommended system requirements before running the beta. Also, adjust your expectations in accordance. Make graphics adjustments to ensure your game runs as smoothly as possible if you don’t meet the requirements.

Minimum System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-3570 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470

Recommended System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10/11
• Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580

Ensure Resolution is Not Set to Auto

One of the reasons the game could be stuttering for you is if you have set the resolution to auto or it’s set that way by default. To fix the issue, go to the resolution section in the Display settings and set the resolution to what your monitor supports. Also, ensure that the Display Render Resolution is 100. Mine was at 33, and the game was stuttering.

Turn off Overlay and Third-Party Apps

Switching off any unnecessary background third-party applications while playing the MW2 beta is advised. It’s common knowledge that many applications can interfere with and clash with video games. This is especially true for programs that use overlays during gameplay. This applies to apps like the Discord overlay, the Steam overlay, the NVIDIA overlay, and others.

Try Enabling or Disabling Nvidia DLSS

If your game has been stuttering, enabling the Nvidia DLSS may reduce the stutter. The game, by default, runs on the FidelityFX CAS; you need to disable this setting first to enable the DLSS. Set the DLSS to quality, and you should see some improvement in frame rate and stutter.

On the other hand, some users have reported that disabling the Nvidia DLSS and other upscaling techniques fixes the Modern Warfare 2 stuttering.

Set Game’s Priority to Low

Another fix you can try is to set the game’s priority to low from the Task Manager. Right-click on the application in the task manager and choose the Priority option. Set the game to run on low priority. it’s a weird fix but it works. Here is how to perform the fix:

1. Right-click on the task bar and open Task Manager
2. Right-click on COD MW2 and “go to details”
3. Right-click on cod.exe and choose “set priority”
4. set it to low

Set CPU Affinity from Task Manager

This is another fix that can work from the task manager if you run a 6-12 core CPU. Set the CPU affinity from the task manager. Here are the steps you can follow to replicate the fix.

1. Right-click on the task bar and open Task Manager
2. Right-click on COD MW2 and “go to details”
3. Right-click on cod.exe and click “Set Affinity”
4. check the CPU cores to use as CPU 0,1,2,3 and uncheck all processes.

Check for Driver Updates or Roll Back

Old GPU drivers may be the source of many COD Modern Warfare 2 beta performance issues. Therefore, before playing the game, ensure your graphics drivers are up to date. Using the links below, you can download the most recent drivers or search for them using the GPU software that came with your computer. While installing the driver, go for a clean install.

If you have the latest driver and still struggle with stuttering. Some players have highlighted that the current driver may be the issue, and you need to roll back. To roll back the driver, go to:

1. Press the Windows Key + X
2. Open the Device Manager
3. Right-click on your Display Adapter and go to Properties
4. In the Driver tab, you will find the option to Roll Back Driver.

If the option is unavailable for you or it’s greyed out, you need to manually download and install the previous driver version from the manufacturer’s website.

Do Not Overclock

If you have overclocked the GPU or the CPU, that may cause the stutter. COD games are notorious for not functioning well on overclocked systems. Even if you have a factory overclocked GPU, that can be the cause of the issue. For NVidia users, disabling the factory overclock is relatively easy. Follow the below steps:

1. Open the Nvidia Control panel
2. Click on Help at the top-right
3. Check the Debug Mode

Update your Chipset Driver

If you are struggling with the Modern Warfare 2 low FPS or FPS drop, updating the chipset driver can fix the issue, especially for AMD users. To check the chipset driver version, run the command msinfo32 in Run wizard. You can bring up the Run wizard by pressing Windows Key + R and type msinfo32. Note down the Motherboard product no and go to the manufacturer’s website to download the chipset driver.

Verify Integrity of Game Files on Steam

To confirm that there are no corrupted or missing files, use Steam’s “Verify integrity of game files” option. If you had the game pre-loaded, previous data might have problems because the Modern Warfare II PC beta received a major update at launch. Here’s how to accomplish it on Steam:

• Right-click the Modern Warfare 2 Beta when you find it in your Steam library, 
• Click on Properties.
• Choose the “Local Files” tab.
• Select “Verify integrity of game files” from the menu.
• Wait till the process is completed.
• Once finished, restart your computer.
• Start the Modern Warfare 2 Beta on Steam.

If you are using Battle.net to play the MW2 beta, pick ‘Scan and repair’ from the drop-down menu next to the ‘Play’ button to see if there are any potential bugs. 

Run the Game on SSD instead of an External Hard Disk

One of the players on Reddit suggested playing the game on your SSD internal storage instead of the external hard disk. Try this and stuttering and FPS drop issues will get fixed.

Update Your MSI Motherboard Bios

Some players have fixed stuttering and FPS drops issues simply by updating their MSI Motherboard Bios to the latest version. For this:

– Turn on your computer and keep tapping the “Del” key on your keyboard to Enter into the BIOS menu 

– Select M-FLASH mode and then Yes

– Select the inserted USB drive and also the BIOS folder

– Click on the BIOS update file

– Press the Enter

– Hit on the Yes button and the update process will start

– Wait for some time until it ends

– Once done, run the game and you won’t face stuttering and FPS drop issue

Clear Out Cached RAM

Clearing out cached RAM is also one of the best solutions to get rid of the stuttering issues in the CoD Modern Warfare Campaign. You can also use a third-party cleaner like Intelligent Standbylist Cleaner.

That is all you can do now to address the Modern Warfare 2 beta’s frame drops, latency, and stuttering issues. We will update this guide if we come across any further solutions that might be useful. Before we wrap up this post, we’d like to point out that the beta has only just begun so things will improve in the future. Please check out more content on different titles from our homepage. Thank you for reading this article.