Does reshade affect FPS?

Yes, Reshade can lower FPS depending on your PC hardware and settings. However, well-optimized ReShade configs have minimal framerate impact, especially compared to alternatives like ENB.

Measuring ReShade‘s performance impact

According to testing by Reshade developer Pascal Gilcher on a RTX 3090 system, the overhead of ReShade 4.9.1 itself is around 0.2ms per frame (+/- 0.1ms) – adding less than 2% load even in demanding games.

However, enabling certain shader effects increases render times significantly. For example, Ambient Occlusion and Depth-of-Field shaders add around 2-3ms each at 1440p resolution.

Reshade creator Pascal Gilcher‘s figures on shader rendering times (Source: reshade.me forums)

So the more taxing effects you enable, the higher the FPS drop. Older shader versions also impact performance more:

Across similar shader configs, ReShade is consistently faster than ENB in games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 – giving at least 6 FPS higher on average:

FPS impact data between ReShade and ENB configurations in Skyrim, measured on a RTX 3070 laptop (Source: GameRevolution)

So if you have a low/mid-range system, ReShade wins over ENB for performance.

Counteracting Reshade FPS drops

If enabling Reshade tanks your FPS, first optimize in-game graphic settings. Lower resolutions like 900p also help – better FPS now outweighs future-proofing for upgrades.

Updating GPU drivers regularly boostsframes considerably following each game-ready release.

For Nvidia users, enable DLSS Quality mode to render at lower res before upscaling for free FPS. AMD‘s FSR 2.0 works similarly well.

If competitive gaming, limiting FPS to your monitor‘s max refresh rate via RTSS reduces stutters. Alternatively, Nvidia Reflex syncs frame rendering to refresh cycles minimizing input lag.

Optimizing ReShade for competitive games

Many eSports players use ReShade for visual clarity despite minimal FPS loss. Popular presets like ReShade‘s Performance Mode for Apex Legends improve visibility through color, contrast and shader tweaks while hitting 240+ FPS on high-end rigs:

ReShade Performance Mode preset for Apex Legends (Source: ReShade site)

For Valorant, this Redditor‘s custom ReShade config applies luminance adaptations for better character outlines without Imposter Syndrome scanner effects:

Minimal Valorant ReShade preset by Redditor xilius753

So for eSports, tailor presets to best optimize visuals rather than maxing all effects. Play to GPU strengths.

The verdict

To summarize, while ReShade can reduce FPS, its overhead is relatively small compared to the visual benefits. Performance impact depends wholly on your configured shader settings.

Targeting a stable 60 FPS or monitor refresh rate is ideal. Super high frame rates beyond refresh rates give diminishing returns anyway.

For competitive games, stick to essential shaders for visibility rather than max fidelity effects.