Valve has released the new Performance Monitor for Steam, which replaces the old FPS display.
Valve has released the new “Performance Monitor” with a Steam update. The monitoring tool replaces and expands the FPS display previously integrated into the platform with a range of interesting information.
What the new Performance Monitor offers
Steam players have always had the option of displaying the frame rate of the current game as an overlay. Valve has now expanded this display with a comprehensive update.
The overlay can now be expanded to four levels:
- Level 1: The classic FPS display
- Level 2: Detailed FPS statistics including min/max/values
- Level 3: Level 2 plus CPU and GPU usage
- Level 4: Full view with FPS, CPU, GPU, and RAM, including graphs
So if you’re happy with the previous display, you don’t need to change anything. However, the additional information is very helpful and could previously only be displayed using programs from other providers.
The display can also be customized in terms of size, color, and layout, and can be turned on and off live in the game.
A core element of the Performance Monitor is that Steam recognizes frame-generating techniques such as DLSS or FSR and distinguishes between native frames, i.e., frames rendered directly by the game, and additionally generated frames.
This makes it easier to determine whether a supposedly smooth gaming experience is actually due to rendering performance or merely visual smoothing. This, in turn, is helpful for better understanding input latency, for example.
The feature is currently only available on Windows and on certain hardware. However, it will be expanded in the future to include CPU temperature and detection of common performance issues.
Under a Reddit post on the topic, there is a lot of excitement about the Performance Monitor.
<blockquote class=”reddit-embed-bq” style=”height:500px” data-embed-height=“546”><a href=”https://www.reddit.com/r/BluePrince/comments/1lmb5t3/im_the_worst_gamer_alive/”>IM THE WORST GAMER ALIVE</a><br> by<a href=”https://www.reddit.com/user/Hadriellll/”>u/Hadriellll</a> in<a href=”https://www.reddit.com/r/BluePrince/”>BluePrince</a></blockquote><script async=”” src=”https://embed.reddit.com/widgets.js” charset=”UTF-8″></script>
Several users like the fact that Steam offers such features directly. They say the feature is a practical alternative to MSI Afterburner and a welcome addition to the popular gaming platform.
The Performance Monitor was released on June 30, 2025, and should be available on compatible devices after a small update. You can find it in the settings under “In-Game.”
What do you think of the new feature?
