Performance monitors have long been a staple in the PC gaming community, serving as essential tools for benchmarking hardware and diagnosing issues. While third-party software like MSI Afterburner has traditionally been the go-to solution, modern GPU brands now provide built-in overlays within their driver suites, reducing the need for external applications.
Steam’s Innovative Performance Monitor
In a noteworthy development, Steam is unveiling a new performance monitor that not only tracks frames per second (FPS) but also distinguishes between genuine frames and those artificially generated through upscaling technologies such as DLSS and FSR. This enhancement marks a significant evolution from Steam’s previous overlay, which merely displayed a cumulative frame counter. After a successful beta testing phase, this feature is now officially included in today’s client update.
According to Valve, this new performance monitor aims to provide gamers with a clearer understanding of their PC’s performance, especially as modern games increasingly rely on upscaling techniques amid rising hardware demands and a noticeable decline in optimization since the last generation. Essentially, Steam’s overlay will reveal how much assistance your GPU requires to maintain performance levels.
In addition to FPS metrics, the performance monitor will offer insights into CPU, GPU, and RAM usage. Users can expect to see detailed information such as processor clock speeds, graphics card temperatures, and available system memory for background tasks. This update brings Steam’s desktop overlay in line with MangoHud, a tool that has been popular among SteamOS and Steam Deck users for some time.
However, it is important to note that Valve is currently limiting this overlay to Windows, focusing on the most prevalent GPU hardware. Users operating on Linux or with older graphics cards may not experience the full capabilities of this new feature. Nevertheless, ongoing improvements from both Valve and the community are anticipated.
To activate the new overlay, users can navigate to Settings > In Game and select the Show performance monitor option following the client update installation. For those interested in a comprehensive guide on utilizing Steam’s new in-game performance monitor, additional resources are available.
