Apex Legends: what +fps_max actually does
Capping your frame rate is the most-reported stability fix in Apex. Here is the command, the number to pick, and what else to change.
Respawn's own community troubleshooting guide leads with one recommendation: cap your frame rate. It is not glamorous, and it is the change that most often stops Apex Legends from crashing — because uncapped rendering pushes the GPU into the load, heat and power-spike territory where driver resets happen.
The command and the number
In Steam, right-click Apex Legends, open Properties and use the Launch Options box. In the EA app, use the game's properties or advanced launch settings. The most broadly useful value is +fps_max 120. If crashes continue, work down through 100, 90 and 80 until they stop, then raise again once stable.
If you have a specific refresh rate, match the cap to it instead: 141 FPS on a 144Hz panel, 162 on 165Hz, 237 on 240Hz. Other useful options are -novid to skip the intro video, -nojoy to disable joystick enumeration, and -high to raise process priority. Add one at a time — stacked commands copied from older guides can create the problems they claim to solve.
Pick the cap for your monitor →Max visible FPS for any monitor and what your average FPS means for smoothness.The rest of the stability list
- Set Easy Anti-Cheat priority to Low in Task Manager's Details tab. It sounds backwards and it is one of the most reported fixes — you will need to redo it each launch.
- Repair Easy Anti-Cheat via EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe as administrator if you crash on startup or when loading into the lobby.
- Disable every overlay: Discord, Steam, GeForce Experience, MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner, OBS, Razer Synapse and Chroma are all named in EA's guide.
- Remove all overclocking, including factory OC modes.
- Lower Texture Streaming Budget below your card's VRAM — 2GB to 4GB on mid-range cards.
- Let Windows manage the page file, and keep the EA app, the game and the page file on the same drive.
One exception: if you see an "illegal instruction" error, that is an anti-cheat or CPU instruction set issue to report to Easy Anti-Cheat — no frame cap will fix it.
Where to start if it crashes before the lobby
Crashes on startup or when loading into the lobby usually point at Easy Anti-Cheat rather than at graphics. Run EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe from the game's EasyAntiCheat folder as administrator and choose Repair Service, then restart before relaunching. If the setup tool will not open at all, your antivirus is blocking it — add the Apex and Easy Anti-Cheat folders to the allowlist first.
Frequently asked questions
What does +fps_max do in Apex Legends?
It caps your frame rate, which is the change that most often stops Apex from crashing. The most broadly useful value is +fps_max 120; work down through 100, 90 and 80 if crashes continue.
Why does Apex Legends crash when FPS is uncapped?
Uncapped rendering pushes the GPU into the load, heat and power-spike territory where driver resets happen. Capping keeps the card out of that range.
Why does Apex Legends crash before reaching the lobby?
Crashes on startup or when loading into the lobby usually point at Easy Anti-Cheat. Run EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe as administrator and choose Repair Service, then restart before relaunching.