You've heard so much about Fortnite and you have seen it played by friends and other players on the web. Intrigued by this game, you decided to download it too, since it is free. By starting it on your computer, however, you realized that you have some lag problems (i.e. slowdowns), without being able to understand if they are caused by the PC or by the Internet connection. So how can you solve this problem? Don't worry, I'll explain it to you in a few moments.
In today's guide, in fact, I will explain to you how not to let Fortnite run on PC while playing an online game with other players. The advice I will give you concerns updating the drivers on your computer and some precautions that can help you solve the lag on Fortnite.
How do you say? Can't wait to start reading this guide? So let's not get lost in other chat and sit nice and comfortable in front of your computer. In a few minutes, you will be able to understand how to solve the problems that afflict your gaming sessions on Fortnite. Are you ready? Let's start immediately. All that remains for me is to wish you a good read and, above all, a good time!
Index
- Check the system requirements
- Update the video card drivers
- Check your Internet connection
- Change the game settings
- Repair game files
- Other useful tips to keep Fortnite from lagging
Check the system requirements
If you experience lag problems during a game session a Fortnite (I explained how to download it in this guide of mine), first of all it is important to check if the computer you own meets the minimum requirements for its correct execution.
Minimum requirements
- CPU: i3 2.4 GHz or equivalent.
- RAM: 4 GB
- Video card: Intel HD 4000.
- HDD: 15GB of free space.
- Operating system: Windows 7 and later 64bit, macOS Sierra (10.12.6+) with Metal API support.
- Internet connection to download game files and play online.
Recommended requirements
- CPU: i5 2.8GHz.
- RAM: 8GB.
- Video card: Nvidia GTX 660, AMD Radeon HD 7870 DX11 or equivalent.
- VRAM: 2GB
- HDD: 20GB (SSD recommended).
- Operating system: Windows 7 and later 64bit, macOS Sierra (10.13.3+) with Metal API support.
If you find any discrepancies when comparing your computer's performance to the above requirements, your computer is probably having hardware (or software) difficulties to run Fortnite correctly.
In this specific case, you may not solve the lag problem with the advice that I will give you in this guide of mine. In this regard, however, you can think of updating your computer by purchasing new hardware components or by installing the latest version of the operating system.
If you want to learn more about these topics, I suggest you read my guide on how to assemble a gaming PC or the tutorials on how to switch to Windows 10 or how to update a Mac.
Update the video card drivers
Fortnite, like all the latest generation games, it requires a computer that is not too outdated to run smoothly. However, if you have a performing computer but with outdated video drivers, you risk running into problems that can affect the fluidity of the games played.
In this regard, what I recommend is to update the drivers on your PC, to solve the problems related to the drop in FPS in most cases. To do this, you can act either through the built-in tools of the operating system or by downloading the latest version of the drivers directly from the website of the manufacturer of the video card mounted on the computer.
In Windows 10, for example, perform the key combination Windows+[I] to open the Settings Windows. Then go to the sections Update and security > Windows Update and press pulsating Check for updates. This way, Windows will search your computer for new updates, including video drivers, in case a new version is available.
Alternatively, go to the website of the video card manufacturer, for example AMD or Nvidia, and search for the model of the one installed on your computer, using the drop-down menus you see in the section Download of the respective official sites.
If you don't know the model of the video card you have, you can use third-party software, such as CPU-Z, to achieve your goal. In general, if you want more information on how to update the video card drivers, I suggest you read my guide dedicated to the subject.
Check your Internet connection
Playing online a Fortnite, you may notice delays when executing in-game commands or clicks that bring you back to where you were.
For example, if you run the jump command, you may notice that it does not play in-game immediately; in the worst case, you may have jumped an obstacle, only to see you a few seconds later the instant before you were about to take this action. To solve these lag problems, I recommend that you read the following lines.
Check the ping
When you have lag problems, these may be due to poor connection quality with the Fortnite server. This problem can be caused by the game's servers, but in this case you can't do anything about it and you have to wait for everything to be solved by the Fortnite developers themselves.
If the problem is not on the server side, you may simply have a poor quality internet connection, which has very high latencies. What I advise you to do is to close all background programs on your computer (especially those that use the Internet connection) and to turn off all unnecessary devices that access your home network. At this point, run a connection test using one of the many services used for this purpose, such as SpeedTest.net by Ookla or Fast.com by Netflix.
After carrying out the test, check the value that is shown in correspondence with the wording Ping (o Latency). If the value is between 0 e 100, it means that you have an Internet connection optimized for gaming. If the values are higher than this interval, however, lag occurs, gradually more severe with values higher than 200.
You can try to solve the ping problems by contacting the Internet line manager you have subscribed to or by downloading tools for optimizing the transfer of data packets, such as TCP Optimizer.
If you want to learn more about these topics, I suggest you read my guide on how to lower the ping, in which I explain how to contact the Customer Service of your ADSL or fiber line and how to optimize the data transfer between the computer and the modem.
Open the ports on the router
Another piece of advice I can give you is to check your router settings by enabling the function QoS (Quality of Service). This has the purpose of automatically managing inbound and outbound connections, giving priority to the resources that need them most. Fortnite, being an online game, can benefit from this feature, as the router grants it a high priority, minimizing latency when exchanging data.
There is no specific procedure to indicate to you, as on each router the operations to enable this tool may be different. Also, not all routers have this feature that you can tap into to improve the quality of your Fortnite gaming experience.
In general, you just need to access the router panel (if you don't know how to do it, I told you about it in this guide of mine) and look for the item QoS, among those you see on the screen. After finding it, select it and activate it, enabling some specific ports for Fortnite, such as doors 80 TCP, 443 TCP, 5222 UDP/TCP, 9000-9100 PDU, 5000-5300 TCP e 15000-15200 PDU.
For specific instructions related to the various router models, I suggest you read my tutorials on how to configure a Netgear router, how to configure a TP-Link router, how to configure a D-Link router, how to configure a TIM / Telecom router, how to configure an Infostrada router and how to configure a Fastweb router.
Other than that, you can try change the DNS with those of Google or other services, such as CloudFlare or OpenDNS. In this case, I recommend that you read my dedicated guide on how to change DNS.
Change the game settings
Another piece of advice I can give you is to change game settings which concern some parameters automatically set by Fortnite. To do this, start the game via its quick launch icon and, on the main Fortnite screen, select one of the available modes. In my example, I will enter the mode Battle royal, to play against other players.
After the upload is complete, click on theicon ☰ located at the top right and, in the context menu, click on the icon with the symbol of a gear. After logging into the Fortnite settings, in the top bar click on the tab with the symbol of a monitor, to view the graphical configuration parameters.
Set the value 60 FPS or lower, corresponding to the item Limite frame rate, to have a frame rate as stable as possible. Then disable the items v-sync e motion blur to improve the fluidity of the game. Now, near the wording Quality, click one of the buttons to the left of the one currently set. Just to give you an example, if Fortnite is set to the quality level Alto, you must choose Low o Medium to improve performance on your computer.
Once this is done, press on the tab with the symbol of a gear, located in the top bar, to view some configuration parameters on the connection to the game servers. At the entry Matchmaking region, select the one closest to where you live with the lowest ping value. In my example, I have to choose Europe, with a latency value of 20.
After changing all the values that I indicated in the previous lines, press the button below Apply, to confirm the changes just made.
Repair game files
Another solution you can rely on is to use the tools available on the Fortnite launcher.
Make sure the game is closed and start Epic Games Launcher, via its quick launch icon. Once this is done, press the button with the symbol of a gear that you find next to the wording starts. In the context menu that is shown to you, click on the item Verifica to perform the repair of Fortnite files, in the event that any of them are damaged enough to cause problems during the game session.
In addition to this tool, you can run a diagnostic on the system requirements and connectivity to the Fortnite servers, by accessing the entry Settings > Troubleshoot.
Other useful tips to keep Fortnite from lagging
If the advice I gave you in the previous lines were not enough, I suggest you perform procedures on your computer to try to speed it up. In this regard, I suggest you consult some of my guides dedicated to this topic on how to speed up your PC and programs to speed up your PC.
If you encounter any problems in Fortnite that cannot be solved using the solutions indicated in this guide of mine, I recommend that you contact the Technical Support, reaching the dedicated section on the official website.
