Fix: VALORANT Crashing, Freezing & Stuttering on PC

VALORANT can often get freeze due to enabled Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. It is a feature in Windows that is used to transfer high-priority tasks from CPU to GPU, which results in improving overall gaming and PC performance.

Since VALORANT is CPU based game, hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling won’t give you a big impact, especially if you have a low-end graphics card Instead, it can freeze VALORANT because it offloads the high-priority VALORANT tasks to GPU, which the CPU can handle more efficiently than GPU.

When it comes to crashing, you should not have multiple background applications running in the background because it often cause the VALORANT to run out of memory, which results in crashes.

To address this issue, we have included all the methods that are actually verified and worked for the affected users. Therefore, follow all of the methods as one of them might work for you.

1. Disable Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling

Using Hardware-Accelerated GPU scheduling while playing games can be a good idea where GPU performance is required. But when it comes to VALORANT, GPU performance is required, but CPU performance is most important as it is a CPU-based game.

Thus, VALORANT can get freeze if you use Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling, especially with a low-end graphics card. Hence, try disabling it by using the following steps:

1. Go to Windows Settings by pressing Win + I together.
2. Navigate to Display Settings, scroll down to the bottom, and open Graphics Settings.
   
3. Click Change default graphics settings to view more options.
4. Here disable the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling by toggling off the button.
5. Once done, launch VALORANT and play for some time to see if it still freezes or crashes.

2. Configure Compatibility Settings

Compatibility settings include various different options, but our main focus is only to configure two options. One is to Run this program as an administrator, which will allow VALORANT to access required DLL files of MS Visual C++ redistributables and DirectX runtime.

The second option is to Disable Full Screen optimization, which disables the Windows built-in optimization that helps the application take control of the entire screen. But since VALORANT has its own optimization, it can conflict with Window’s built-in optimization, so we will try disabling it.

To configure the compatibility settings, follow the steps:

1. If you have a desktop shortcut, right-click the VALORANT and select Properties. Otherwise, go to the VALORANT directory to open its properties.
   
2. Then, go to Compatibility and tick Run this program as an administrator and Disable fullscreen optimizations.
3. Once done, click Apply and click OK.
   
4. Now launch the game and see the result.

3. Switch to Your Native Resolution

The native resolution also knows as recommended resolution. The difference between normal resolution and recommended resolution is the recommended resolution is more compatible with your monitor to receive data in pixels.

So if you are using a high resolution above your native resolution, we recommend you to come to your native one because when you lower your resolution, the monitor displays fewer pixels on the screen according to the selected resolution. This helps offloads some load from the GPU, which can help reduce freezing and crashing in games.

To change the monitor resolution, follow the steps:

1. Right-click the desktop and select Display Settings to open it.
   
2. Under Scale and Layout, next to Display Resolution, click the dropdown icon to see more resolutions.
   
3. Now select the Recommended or Native resolution and click Keep changes.
   
4. Once you have switched the resolution, launch and play VALORANT to check if the issue is fixed.

4. Close Background and overlay apps

If you are used to running many background applications while playing VALORANT, such as Discord, Steam, and other applications, then you should consider disabling overlays and background apps.

Crashing and freezing in VALORANT often causes when CPU and Memory usage spikes to 90 percent. Hence, when playing VALORANT, no unnecessary background apps should be running.

Before following the steps, launch VALORANT to see how many background applications are using resources while playing VALORANT.

1. To close background apps, right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager to open it.
   
2. Now click the Memory option to view tasks consuming RAM, then right-click each task to end task them except for VALORANT.
   
3. Once done, click CPU and close the applications consuming CPU usage.
   
4. Once done, now go back to VALORANT and see the difference.

5. Uninstall Third-Party Antivirus Software

Using third-party antivirus software instead Windows Defender can lead to crashes and freezes in VALORANT. Third-party antivirus software can interfere with the running games and applications. It can also block VALORANT from accessing the required files that it needs to run properly, which can cause this issue.

So, if you are using any third-party antivirus software, especially Avast antivirus, uninstalling it can fix your issue. Follow the instructions:

1. Open Run Program by pressing the Win + R simultaneously.
2. Enter appwiz.cpl and click OK. This will open control panel programs and features.
   
3. Now right-click the antivirus software you are using, and click Uninstall.
   
4. Now follow the prompts to uninstall the antivirus software.
5. Once done, open VALORANT to check the result.

6. Rollback Graphics Driver

If your issue has started after updating the graphics drivers, you can try rolling back the drivers to the outdated version rather than staying on the latest graphics drivers.

Despite having the latest graphics drivers, you could face crashes and freezes due to a fault that has not been addressed by your GPU manufacturers in the latest driver.

To roll back the graphics drivers, you can either use the device manager to install the previous driver update or manually download and install the GPU driver by navigating to the manufacturer’s site and searching for the driver version name. We recommend using the device manager as it is easier than installing an old GPU driver from scratch.

1. To do so, right-click the Start Menu and select Device Manager to open it.
   
2. Once it is opened, expand the Display adapters, right-click the GPU driver, and select Properties.
   
3. Now go to Driver and Roll Back Driver. If this option is not available, try installing the driver manually.
   
4. Here select any reason and click Yes to install the previous version of your driver.
   

7. Configure Video and Graphics settings in VALORANT

This method is very important if you are using high graphics and video settings. If your GPU is capable of handling high graphics settings, still try lower the graphics and video settings to determine whether it is causing the issue or not. Match your graphics setting with the following settings.

1. Open VALORANT, go to Settings, then Video Settings from the top.
2. Here make sure that the Display Mode is set to Full Screen.
   
3. Now go to Graphics Quality and make sure all the settings are set to Low and Off. Anti-aliasing should be set to MSAA 2x. Anisotropic Filtering set to 2x or below.
4. Once you have matched the settings, test it for some time. If the issue is not fixed, try other methods.

8. Install Microsoft Visual C++ and DirectX runtime

Microsoft Visual C++ is used to run the applications developed with C and C++. While DirectX is a collection of APIs that are used to communicate with the graphics card to run the game or application.

So if you are missing any version of Microsoft Visual C++ or you have an outdated version of DirectX, VALORANT can get crash or freeze. So it is recommended to have the latest version of DirectX and also all the versions of Microsoft Visual C++.

To install the required MS Visual C++ versions and DirectX, follow the steps:

1. Download the DirectX installer from the link.
   
2. Once it is finished downloading, run the installer and follow the remaining instructions to install the DirectX.
   
3. Once done, the next step is to install MS Visual C++.
4. Download MS Visual C++ installer.
5. Run the installer and simply click the Install button.
6. Once it is installed, launch VALORANT and check if the issue is fixed.

9. Turned Off Variable Refresh Rate (Windows 10 Users)

Variable Refresh Rate automatically changes the Refresh Rate without user input. You can say, It is one of the best technology ever made in this industry. However, it can freeze VALORANT if you are not receiving the Frames Per Second (FPS) according to your monitor hertz. Hence, it is recommended to disable it with the help of the following steps:

1. Open Settings and navigate to System Settings.
2. Click Display from the left sidebar, then click Graphics Settings.
3. In the Graphics Settings, disable Variable Refresh Rate by toggling off the button.
   
4. Once done, check the result.

10. Configure Graphics Preferences Settings

Graphics Preferences settings will allow you to use High Performance for any program or game. It also helps to choose GPU between integrated and dedicated.

If you have configured to run VALORANT using power saving mode, meaning with iGPU, despite having a dedicated Graphics Card, it will result in crashes and freezes. Hence, try configuring the graphics preferences settings for VALORANT.

1. To do so, click Start Menu and search for Graphics Settings.
2. Open the Graphics Settings and click Browse.
3. Navigate to the VALORANT directory and select the VALORANT.exe file.
   
4. Then, click Add. Now select BootstrapPackagedGame from the list and click Options.
   
5. Select High Performance and click OK.
   
6. Again, click Browse and navigate to the VALORANT directory, then go to Shooter Game > Binaries > Win64.
7. Here select VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe and click Add.
   
8. Once added, Select VALORANT from the list and click Options.
   
9. Now select High Performance and click OK.
10. Once done, launch VALORANT and check if the issue still persists.

11. Reinstall Graphics Drivers with DDU

If you are still facing crashing or freezing in VALORANT, you should now proceed to reinstall Graphics Driver because it is possible that your Graphics Drivers are either corrupted or outdated, which is why the VALORANT keeps failing to utilize the GPU power, resulting in freezes or crashes.

To ensure that, you will have to reinstall the graphics driver using DDU. It is an application that is used to remove drivers along with registry files. To do so, follow the steps:

1. Download Display Driver Uninstaller using the link.
2. Once it is downloaded, extract the DDU Zip folder.
3. Navigate to the extracted folder, double-click the DDU 7Zip file, and click Extract.
   
4. Once it is extracted, open the folder and run the DDU application.
   
5. Now select the Device and the Device Type from the right.
6. Click Clean and Restart.
7. Once the drivers are uninstalled, go to your GPU manufacturer’s site and download the graphics driver from there.
   
8. Once done, install the graphics driver by running the installer and following the on-screen instructions.
9. Once done, again restart your computer then launch the VALORANT to see if it resolves the issue.

12. Disable Fast Startup

Fast startup is a feature in Windows that allows users to boot their PC faster. It hibernates all the running processes in a file, so when the user comes back, it resumes the previous state. In this way, the user will be able to boot fast.

However, since this feature won’t let Windows fully shut down, it can crash or freeze VALORANT. Hence, if fast startup is enabled or your PC is running for a very long time, it is recommended to shut down your computer fully every 24 hours to let the CPU fully reset.

To disable Fast Startup, follow the steps:

1. Click Start Menu and type Control Panel, then hit Enter to open it.
   
2. Navigate to Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
   
3. Click Choose what the power buttons do from the left pane.
4. Click Change Settings that are currently available and uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended).
5. Now click Save Changes. Once done, restart your computer and open VALORANT to see if your issue is resolved or not.

13. Perform a Clean Boot

If you are still encountering this issue, try performing a clean boot. It is a troubleshooting utility that is used to detect which third-party application or service is interfering with the problematic game or application. To perform a clean boot, follow the steps:

1. Press the Windows + R keys together to open Run Program.
2. Enter the command MSconfig to open the system configuration Window.
   
3. Then, select Selective Startup and go to Services.
4. Tick Hide all Microsoft services and click Disable All.
5. Now find Vgc service and check it, so you won’t have a problem with Riot Vanguard.
   
6. Once done, click Apply. Then, go to Startup and click Open Task Manager.
   
7. Here right-click the applications one by one and click Disable.
   
8. Once done, restart your computer and see the result.

If the problem still persists, you should follow the advanced guide on VALORANT, which contains all the possible solutions for fixing this issue.