Valve has released an update to its Steam client with a new built-in performance monitor , which can be activated as an overlay within any game. The dashboard offers more detail than the old FPS counter , allowing you to identify CPU, GPU, or memory bottlenecks , as well as separate natively rendered frames from those generated by DLSS , FSR , or other AI reconstruction techniques.
Unlike the traditional frame rate overlay, the new Steam Performance Dashboard shows minimum and maximum FPS values , as well as graphs of variation over time .
The highlight, however, is the ability to differentiate real frames from artificially generated ones .
With this, players can understand why a game appears to run at 60 frames per second, but responds as if it were at a native 30 FPS, for example, something common in games that use frame generation techniques such as Nvidia DLSS 3 or AMD FSR 3 .
Four levels of detail in the interface
The new feature brings four customizable visualization levels , accessible directly during gameplay:
- Current FPS only
- Detailed FPS
- Detailed FPS + CPU and GPU usage
- FPS, CPU, GPU and RAM with full details
The user can switch between modes without having to restart the game. It is also possible to configure the text size , background opacity and color saturation , adapting the overlay as needed, whether for technical analysis or more discreet use.
Data displayed in real time
In addition to the frame rate, the panel also displays:
- CPU usage and its cores
- GPU and Video Memory Usage
- System RAM Usage
- Real-time temperatures and clocks (on some GPUs)
These indicators allow you to detect whether the video card is at the limit of its VRAM , whether the processor is being overloaded or whether performance is impaired by a lack of available RAM .
Activation in the Steam client
To use the new feature, the user must:
- Go to Settings > In-Game
- Look for the “Performance Overlay Monitor” section
- Set display preferences, hotkeys, position, and level of detail
The dashboard is currently available for Windows users and is compatible with most common GPUs on the market. Older models or unusual configurations may not display all of the data in this first release.
According to Valve, the feature is an extension of the experience already present on Steam Deck and SteamOS , where tools like MangoHud allow you to monitor performance directly in games.
The difference now is native integration into desktop Steam , without the need for external tools or manual tweaks.
Future expansion and additional support
Valve says this is just the first version of the performance dashboard. In the future, it plans to add more metrics, detect problem patterns, and show more complete performance summaries in the dashboard.
Additionally, there are plans to expand support to other operating systems , such as Linux, and improve compatibility with less mainstream GPUs.
The new Steam Performance Dashboard is now available to Windows users via client update.
