How to See Your Frames Per Second (FPS) in Games

Want to notice your FPS counter while gaming? then is  how to turn on in-game operation and authorize monitoring programs to help track frame rates, as well as CPU and GPU usage.

So you just got a shiny latest graphics card and you want to notice how it performs. Or maybe your games are more sluggish than you expected, and you want to try and diagnose the problem. Monitoring your game's frame rate can help, and there are a number of tools you can use to get the job done.

Your frame rate, measured in frames per second online, describes how evenly a given game runs on your PC. The more frames you can pack into one second, the smoother on-screen motion will appear. Lower frame rates—typically frame rates lower than 30fps or so—will appear choppy or unhurried. It's a useful metric for evaluating your hardware's gaming performance, and often touted by PC enthusiasts looking to boast about their system.

It isn't just about bragging rights, though—knowing your frame rate can also help you ensure you're getting the masterpiece possible. For example, if your game is running slowly, displaying the frame rate can help you figure out which graphics settings to turn down for the most meaningful performance improvement.

Knowing your frame rate can help you decide which monitor to buy—after all, there's no reason to spring for a 144Hz monitor if your graphics card is only powerful enough to produce 60fps in the games you play. Monitoring the frame rate alongside other hardware stats—like CPU, GPU, and VRAM usage—can even tell you which component is the bottleneck in your system, and where you'd benefit most from an upgrade. Convinced? Here are a few ways to measure your frame rate, depending on how much info you need.

Quick and Dirty: Use a Built-In FPS Counter

You can usually monitor your frame rates from the launcher you use to the play a game. How you enable this feature will differ based on the app, but they all tend to give the same basic data in one corner of the screen.

Steam's FPS Counter

If you're launching a game on Steam, even if it's a game you didn't buy on Steam, you can use the launcher's in-game frame rate counter to measure performance. On Steam, open Settings > In-Game > In-Game FPS Counter. Select a location in the drop-down to turn it on. The next time you launch a game, you'll see your frame rate displayed in the corner using dark gray text (though you can check the High Contrast Color box to display it in more readable text).

If you're playing an EA game, Origin has its own FPS counter in the launcher's settings. Click the Origin tab at the top and select Application Settings. Choose the Origin In-Game heading, then use the Display FPS Counter drop-down to choose where it should be displayed on the screen. You can then change the size and transparency of the in-game counter.

GOG Galaxy's FPS Counter

With the GOG Galaxy program, there is no option in the settings menu to enable an FPS counter. Instead, you can simply press Ctrl + Shift + Tab while in-game to make a small FPS tracker appear on-screen.

Nvidia's FPS Counter

As an alternative, those with an Nvidia graphics card can use GeForce Experience to embed a small FPS tracker over their game. Open GeForce Experience and select the Settings gear, then enable the In-Game Overlay option. From there, click Settings > HUD Layout > FPS Counter, then select a location.

These options are easy to enable, but they're pretty basic—you don't have the option to show any other stats like third-party tools may offer. But for something quick and unobtrusive, it's a perfect solution. For something that gives you more information, keep reading.

For More Detailed Info: Monitoring Software

Sometimes, monitoring your frame rate isn't quite enough. Other hardware stats can show you if a component is being maxed out. If your CPU is always at 100% in-game while your GPU chugs along at 40%, for example, you're better off putting your upgrade money toward a new CPU. Or maybe your CPU and GPU usage are fine while VRAM usage is maxed out, which would indicate that texture resolution is set too high for smooth performance.

Install MSI Afterburner

For seeing these other stat, I like using a tool called MSI Afterburner(Opens in a new window). Technically, its main purpose is overclocking your graphics card, but it also provides an incredibly detailed, customizable overlay with more stats than you can shake a stick at. And it works with any graphics card, not just those manufactured by MSI.

Install MSI Afterburner, making sure you include the bundled Riva Tuner Statistics Server application (which is required for displaying performance information). Open Afterburner and click the Settings gear in the app. Click the Monitoring tab inside the pop-up menu and look through the list of metrics you can display on-screen.

Go through the list and click the checkmark next to any stat you want to monitor—such as frame rates, GPU usage, memory usage, CPU usage, or fan speed—then click the item and make sure the Show in On-Screen Display option is selected. You can then open the On-Screen Display tab and assign a shortcut to toggle the on-screen display.

Once you're done, click OK and launch your game of choice. Strike the keyboard shortcut you chose in the settings, and you should see the on-screen display appear in the corner of your monitor, full of juicy stats about your PC's performance.