Skip to main content

How to turn on the Steam FPS counter

A person running Steam on the M4 MacBook Pro. Rocket League is up on the screen
Chris Hagan / Digital Trends

How many frames per second (FPS) your PC or laptop can hit can make or break even the best PC games. Too low, and the game will feel like a jittery mess. Some people have a keen eye for spotting a game's FPS, but even then, it is hard to tell in the middle of a multiplayer game or cross-platform game. Thankfully, Steam has a built-in feature that can show you exactly how your rig is holding up while playing and help you decide if you need to change some settings, especially with some of the intensive upcoming PC games. Here's how to quickly turn on Steam's FPS counter.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Steam

A dynamic collection in Steam.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

How to turn on Steam's FPS counter

Because Steam has this feature as part of the launcher itself, it will work on any game you can run through Steam. It only takes a second to turn on or off, but you do need to do it before launching a game.

Step 1: Launch Steam and click on Steam in the top left corner.

The Steam homepage settings.
Valve

Step 2: Choose Settings.

Step 3: Choose In-game and then scroll down to find the In-game FPS counter drop-down.

The steam in-game settings.
Valve

Step 4: Choose if you want the FPS counter to be displayed on either the top left, top right, bottom left, or bottom right corner of your screen.

Step 5: You can also toggle on the High contrast color switch if you would rather the numbers be red as opposed to gray.

As soon as you boot up your next game, the current FPS will be displayed wherever you chose until you go back into the settings and turn it off.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
How to unlock Duchess and Revenant classes in Elden Ring: Nightreign
The duchess turning invisible in Elden Ring: Nightreign.

As a multiplayer spinoff, Elden Ring: Nightreign changes up the formula from the original game in some major ways. Besides the shifting world and focus on playing with friends, the biggest change is that you no longer make your own unique character. Now, you will choose from a selection of classes to embody on any given run that each have their own skills, attributes, and starting gear. Six are available from the start, but the Duchess and Revenant are locked. These are two of the more unique options in Elden Ring: Nightreign and should be your priority to make sure you can have the best team composition. Here's how to unlock each class.

Read more
Elden Ring: Nightreign: how to play with friends
Fighting enemies in Elden Ring Nightreign.

The major factor that sets Elden Ring: Nightreign apart from the base game is that it is designed to be a co-op experience. Instead of a long, primarily solo RPG adventure, you and two companions will rush through Limveld slaying bosses, getting loot, and hopefully surviving all three nights. While you could try your luck matchmaking with random players, your best bet at success is to get a group of friends together. FromSoftware games have notoriously obtuse matchmaking systems, and sadly, Elden Ring: Nightreign isn't much better. Here's how to play with your friends.

Read more
Best Buy Canada launches Ultimate PC Gaming Sale: Massive savings up for grabs
Man gaming on a laptop.

Best Buy Canada just launched its Ultimate PC Gaming Sale, so now's an excellent time to shop for gamers who are thinking about spending on some upgrades and additional accessories. The event, which is sponsored by Razer and AMD, will run until May 29, but you should hurry with your purchase because stocks of the popular items may not last until the final day. You can browse through the entire sale though the link below, but we also highlighted our favorite deals to help you make your decision on what to buy faster.

SHOP THE SALE

Read more