FPS Calculator
Get a rough frames-per-second estimate for 20 popular games from your CPU and graphics card at 1080p, 1440p or 4K, with the likely limiting component and a video memory check.
What the FPS Calculator Does
Pick a CPU, a graphics card, one of 20 games and a resolution, and the calculator gives a rough frames-per-second estimate, a likely limiting component, and whether the card's video memory looks sufficient. It's meant for a first sense of scale, for example whether a card is closer to 60 fps or 144 fps in a game, before you look up proper benchmarks.
The estimate comes from a built-in table and simple adjustment factors, not from running anything on your computer. Expect real results to differ, sometimes by a lot.
How to Use It
- Choose your CPU and graphics card, or click an example build to fill them in.
- Choose a game and resolution.
- Optionally open More settings to set the quality preset, upscaling and ray tracing.
- Click Estimate FPS. The result shows a single estimate, a rough ±15% range and any notes about how it was worked out.
How the Estimate Is Worked Out
- Base figure: each game has a table of approximate frame rates at 1080p on Ultra for several graphics cards. These are Orbit2x's own approximations compiled when the tool was built, not results from one specific benchmark run.
- Cards without an entry: the figure is scaled from another card in the table using a relative performance index. The result says when this happened.
- Settings: the base figure is multiplied by the factors below.
- CPU: in games the calculator marks as CPU-heavy (such as Valorant, Counter-Strike 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator), the figure is reduced according to the CPU's gaming score, more so at high frame rates.
- Frame-rate caps: games with an engine limit, such as Elden Ring at 60 fps, are held to it.
| Setting | Factor | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1440p | × 0.7 | 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p |
| 4K | × 0.45 | 4 times the pixels of 1080p; frame rates rarely fall that far because not all work scales with resolution |
| High preset | × 1.1 | Compared with Ultra |
| Medium preset | × 1.3 | Compared with Ultra |
| Low preset | × 1.6 | Compared with Ultra |
| Ray tracing on | × 0.7 | Only in games where the calculator knows ray tracing is available |
| DLSS | × 1.5 | NVIDIA RTX cards only |
| FSR | × 1.4 | Works on most GPUs |
These are rules of thumb. In real games the effect of each setting varies widely: ray tracing costs little in some titles and most of the frame rate in others, and upscaling helps most when the graphics card, not the CPU, is the limit.
Reading the Result
- Estimate and range: the range is simply ±15% around the estimate to remind you it's approximate. It isn't a measured minimum or maximum, and it says nothing about 1% lows or stutter.
- Likely limit: a rough guide based on the CPU's gaming score and the card's performance index. To check on your own PC, lower the resolution: if the frame rate barely rises, the CPU is the limit; if it rises a lot, the graphics card is.
- Video memory: compares the card's memory with an approximate requirement for the game. Running out shows up as stutter and texture pop-in more than as a lower average frame rate.
Limitations
- The hardware lists end with cards and processors released in 2023, and only 20 games are included.
- Game patches, driver updates and the part of the game you're playing all change real frame rates.
- Upscaling quality modes, frame generation and per-game settings aren't modelled individually.
- RAM speed, background apps, power limits and cooling aren't taken into account.
For buying decisions, look for recent benchmarks of your exact game and hardware from independent reviewers.
Your selections are sent to Orbit2x's server to calculate the estimate and aren't saved. See the privacy policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my real frame rate different?
The estimate is an average for a typical scene based on approximate figures. Your game version, drivers, settings beyond the preset, the area you're in, and the rest of your system all shift the result.
How many FPS do I need?
Around 60 fps feels smooth to most people. With a high-refresh monitor, frame rates close to its refresh rate make motion clearer and input feel more responsive, which competitive players value most. Below about 30 fps most games feel choppy.
Does upscaling (DLSS or FSR) always raise FPS?
Upscalers render at a lower resolution and reconstruct the image, so they raise frame rates when the graphics card is the limit. When the CPU is the limit, the gain is small. Frame generation is a separate feature that inserts extra frames and isn't included in this calculator.
Why doesn't 4K cut FPS to a quarter of 1080p?
4K has four times as many pixels, but some of each frame's work (game logic, geometry and CPU work) doesn't grow with resolution. That's why the calculator uses a smaller reduction.