Severe Low FPS Makes EA FC 26 Unplayable

Hey everyone! I wanted to share the solution to this frustrating issue I had with FC26. Maybe this will help others with similar problems.

My Problem:

Sometimes I could play perfectly with stable FPS and normal GPU usage

But randomly (especially in Ultimate Team menus), FPS would suddenly drop to 10-20 FPS with GPU stuck at 100%

Had to exit and re-enter menus to temporarily fix it

All settings were on LOW, using MSI Afterburner + RivaTuner for monitoring and FPS cap

What I Tried First (helped but didn't solve completely):

Disabled GPU Power Percent monitoring in MSI Afterburner

Disabled Windows Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)

Updated NVIDIA drivers

The Final Solution That Worked:

The main issue was FC26 automatically resetting graphics settings (especially Strand Based Hair) back to HIGH in certain menus, even though I set everything to LOW.

Step 1: Edit Configuration Files

Navigate to: C:\Users$$YourName]\AppData\Local\EA SPORTS FC 26\

overrideAutodetect.lua (complete file):

FullscreenEnabled = 1           # 1 = fullscreen, 0 = windowed

FullscreenScreen = 0            # Monitor index (0 = primary)

ResolutionWidth = 1920          # Change to your resolution

ResolutionHeight = 1080         # Change to your resolution  

OverallGraphicsQuality = 0      # 0 = Low, 1 = Medium, 2 = High, 3 = Ultra

VSyncEnabled = 0                # 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled

FullscreenRefreshRate = 165     # Change to your monitor's refresh rate

MaxFrameRate = 87               # Your desired FPS cap

TargetFrameRate = 87            # Same as MaxFrameRate

ResolutionScale = 0.850000      # 0.5-1.0 (lower = better performance)

PresentInterval = 0             # 0 = no frame pacing

WindowedBorderless = 1          # 1 = borderless windowed

StrandBasedHair = 0             # CRUCIAL - 0 = disabled

UseGoalNets3d = -1              # -1 = auto, 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled

NisAtFullFps = 1                # NVIDIA Image Scaling

CrowdQuality = 0                # 0 = Low, 1 = Medium, 2 = High

GrassQuality = 0                # 0 = Low, 1 = Medium, 2 = High

MotionBlur = 0                  # 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled

ClothQuality = 0                # 0 = Low, 1 = Medium, 2 = High

DynamicAOQuality = 0            # Ambient Occlusion quality

DynamicResolution = 1           # 1 = enabled (helps maintain FPS)

MinWindowWidth = 1280           # Minimum window size

MinWindowHeight = 720           # Minimum window size

fcsetup.ini (complete file):

AUDIO_MIX_MODE = 0              # Audio mixing mode

CONFIG_APP_LOCALE = en-US       # Language setting

FULLSCREEN = 1                  # 1 = fullscreen

FULLSCREEN_OUTPUT_INDEX = 0     # Monitor index

MSAA_LEVEL = 0                  # Anti-aliasing (0 = off)

RENDERING_QUALITY = 1           # Base rendering quality

RESOLUTIONWIDTH = 1920          # Your screen width

RESOLUTIONHEIGHT = 1080         # Your screen height

REFRESH_RATE = 165              # Your monitor refresh rate

VOICECHAT = 0                   # Voice chat (0 = disabled)

WAITFORVSYNC = 0                # VSync (0 = disabled)

MAX_FRAME_RATE = 87             # FPS cap

TARGET_FRAME_RATE = 87          # Target FPS

RENDERING_SCALE = 0.85          # Match overrideAutodetect.lua

WINDOWED_BORDERLESS = 1         # Borderless windowed mode

STRAND_BASED_HAIR = 0           # CRUCIAL - main FPS killer

USE_GOAL_NETS_3D = -1           # 3D goal nets

NIS_AT_FULL_FPS = 1             # NVIDIA Image Scaling

CROWD_QUALITY = 0               # Crowd detail level

GRASS_QUALITY = 0               # Grass quality

DYNAMIC_RESOLUTION = 1          # Dynamic resolution scaling

GRAPHICS_PRESET = 0             # 0 = Low preset

MOTION_BLUR = 0                 # Motion blur effect

CLOTH_QUALITY = 0               # Cloth physics quality

DYNAMIC_AO_QUALITY = 0          # Dynamic ambient occlusion

RESOLUTION_FOR_DISPLAY_MODE_LIST = 0_125830200|1_125830200|2_125830200|

Step 2: Lock the Files (CRUCIAL!)

Right-click each file → Properties → Security → Edit

Select your user account

Check "Deny" for "Write" permission

Apply and OK

How to Adapt for Your System:

Your Resolution: Change ResolutionWidth/Height in both files

Your Refresh Rate: Change FullscreenRefreshRate and REFRESH_RATE

Your Target FPS: Change MaxFrameRate and TARGET_FRAME_RATE

Lower-end GPU: Set ResolutionScale to 0.7, reduce FPS target

Higher-end GPU: Set ResolutionScale to 1.0, increase FPS target

My Setup:

Acer Nitro 5 GTX 3050

i5-11400H

64GB RAM

Hope this complete solution helps everyone!