Games are measured by their FPS rate, which stands for frames per second. Higher FPS means better game quality. To achieve a high FPS, you need compatible hardware. Ensure your GPU is not being used by other applications so that the game can freely use the hardware. Other factors can cause lower FPS in a game. You can add an FPS counter to monitor your FPS and check if it’s lower than expected or dropping frequently.
How to add FPS counter for Windows 10
Many apps are available to add an FPS counter on Windows 10. These apps usually work best during gaming sessions because very few other apps require or update frames as frequently as games do.
1. FPS counter – Windows 10 game bar
Windows 10 has a built-in FPS counter. It is compatible with the Windows 10 game bar—no need to install anything. Just pin the FPS counter to your screen and use it to monitor the frame rate.
- Run a game.
- To show the game bar, press the Win+G keyboard shortcut.
- Turn on the Performance widget.
- Click on the FPS tab in the widget.
- Place the widget in a screen corner.
- To pin it, click the pin icon.
- The game’s FPS will be displayed in real-time.
2. Fraps
The Windows 10 game bar FPS monitor is a relatively new feature that has been highly anticipated by Windows users. It provides a convenient way to monitor the FPS while playing games. They have used Fraps.
Fraps hasn’t been updated for a while. The product page doesn’t mention Windows 10, but it works well on that operating system. You can use it to monitor the FPS of a game.
- Run Fraps.
- Access the app’s settings.
- Choose the FPS tab.
- To enable the FPS box for benchmarking, follow these steps.
- Choose the screen corner for the FPS display.
- Create a toggle to easily show or hide it.
- Open a game.
- To see the FPS, simply press the toggle and it will show up in a corner.
3. GeForce Experience in-game overlay
If you own a gaming PC, you’ll have a GPU. To enable the in-game overlay for Nvidia GPUs, install the GeForce Experience app. This overlay will show the game’s FPS, among other features.
- Get GeForce Experience from Nvidia.
- To open GeForce Experience, click on the cogwheel button at the top right corner.
- To enable the Game overlay, go to the General tab.
- Click on the Settings button.
- Choose HUD Layout.
- Navigate to the FPS Counter tab.
- Choose the screen corner for the FPS display.
- To run a game, press Alt+Z.
- The FPS counter will show up.
4. The Steam in-game overlay
When playing a game on Steam, you can use the in-game overlay to show the FPS.
To enable it, follow these steps.
- Launch Steam.
- To access the settings on Steam, go to Steam and click “Settings.”
- Choose the In-game tab.
- To open the in-game FPS counter dropdown, follow these steps.
- Choose the corner of the screen where you want it to appear.
- To enable the game, run it and press Shift+Tab on your keyboard.
5. MSI Afterburner – FPS monitor
MSI Afterburner is a popular tool users use to overclock or undervolt their GPU. This tool can monitor your system and easily enable an FPS counter on Windows 10.
- To get started, download and install MSI Afterburner.
- Access the app’s settings.
- Click on the Monitoring tab.
- Choose “Framerate” from the list of items and enable it by activating the check mark.
- Follow these steps to enable the ‘Show in On-screen display’ option.
- The FPS counter shows up when you play a game.
Final Words
These apps require minimal system resources to operate. These games are lightweight and won’t use up much of your system resources, leaving them free for your game to use. You need to ensure no other apps are running on your system that could slow down the game’s FPS.