What does FPS mean in Gaming?

In case you have just started gaming, you must have already heard lots of people asking you about FPS. Well, don’t be confused about it, since we will be explaining everything revolving around FPS to you in this guide.

So, if you are looking for answers for what does FPS means, and how does it make any difference in your gaming experience?

Keep reading this guide until the end as you will find all your answers here. So, without complicating things, let’s start from the basics!

What is FPS?

You must have already heard this term hundreds of times if you have recently started playing games and are new to the PC gaming community.

FPS basically is an abbreviation of “Frames per Second”. So, what does it actually mean, especially in gaming?

The answer lies within the name itself. FPS is basically the number of frame rates that your monitor is actually displaying in one second at that time.

For instance, if your game is running at 60FPS, it simply means that your monitor is actually showing your 60 different images in one single second.

Related to gaming, FPS is also a popular gaming genre, aka First Person Shooter games.

How much FPS should you have while playing games?

FPS is the most common question that comes into every beginner gamer’s mind. Maybe you are also wondering how much FPS is ideal for playing games. Well, that actually depends on what type of game you are playing.

In general, if we keep things simple and straightforward, playing games on as high as possible FPS provides you with the best gaming experience. So, let’s categorize what range of FPS is suitable for playing what sort of games.

• 30FPS-60FPS: In general, most console games or high-end PC games run in this range of FPS, since they are too heavy, and put more load on the overall system. However, considering the games are more about the story, and you are not competing with someone online, a 30FPS to 60 FPS range is ideal for such games.

• 60FPS: If you ask us what’s the ideal FPS for playing games on any platform, 60FPS is our answer. Speaking of console gaming, 60FPS is the max most consoles can achieve. However, if you are on a PC with a decent configuration, hitting 60FPS even in high-end games should not be an issue. You will definitely have a decent experience playing any game at 60FPS.

• 120FPS: Such high game FPS is only achievable by gaming PCs. Playing games at 120FPS is fun, but there’s a catch. If your PC has a 60 Hz monitor, no matter if your game is running at 120FPS, you will only experience the fun of 60FPS since the monitor is not capable of showing you more than 60FPS. Hence, if you want to utilize and experience all those game FPS numbers, get a monitor with more than a 60Hz refresh rate, like a 144Hz one.

• 240FPS or more: If you own an extremely powerful gaming PC, you sure have a huge interest in FPS (First Person Shooter) games. However, as we said earlier, you can’t see these 240FPS in action until and unless you have a 240Hz gaming monitor.       

How are FPS and Refresh Rate correlated?

Like we discussed earlier, FPS means the number of frame rates that your computer is displaying on the monitor each second. So, if the FPS is at 60, the monitor is refreshing almost 60 different pictures on the screen in one second.

Until and unless you are playing games that only reach FPS up to 60, using a 60Hz refresh monitor is good enough.

Hence, if your computer generally provides you FPS in the range of 60-150, you should upgrade to a 144Hz monitor for the smoothest gaming experience. On the other hand, if you are getting FPS of more than 150, 240Hz monitors will do the job.

Does high FPS provide you an advantage?

Considering you are playing a competitive game, a higher FPS definitely provides you with an edge over your opponents, only if they are playing on low FPS than you. And, as we said earlier, a high refresh rate monitor along with high FPS is required if you really want to have an advantage. Since higher FPS makes your game appear smooth, as compared to low FPS, you’ll be able to react to things better than your opponents.

Wrapping Up

This is it! This was all about the term FPS that we believe you should know as a new gamer. Now you know what does FPS mean in gaming. All we can say to you is that, if you want to enjoy the best experience of playing games, don’t be lazy to upgrade your computer parts as they will help you achieve better and higher FPS. Not only that, upgrading your monitor accordingly is a highly important factor as well. That said, if you have any other queries, you can leave a comment down below and ask us.