How to properly configure monitoring in games

Detailed Guide to Using MSI Afterburner or FPS Monitor to Analyze Performance

I often want to understand how well a computer can handle a new game. Especially if the PC is new too. By itself, the FPS counter is not difficult to display, but it gives too little information. So, you will not find out, for example, whether all the processor cores are involved in the work and at what frequency they operate, and you will not receive any information on the video card. Sometimes the smoothness of the gameplay can be easily corrected by understanding which component of the gaming PC is the “weak point”. And all this will require detailed indicators of the work of “hardware” in the game.

Detailed information on how your computer handles the game can be obtained using monitoring applications. The most popular solutions today are RivaTuner Statistics Server bundled with MSI Afterburner , as well as the domestic FPS Monitor . In this article, we will give tips on how to set them up correctly.

What kind of monitoring metrics are needed for games and how to work with them?

The information below will teach monitoring at the same level

First, let’s figure out which sensors are generally useful to us and what they are for.

Minimum set of sensors (basic level):

• Current FPS rate. Monitoring performance in games began with it. It displays how many frames per second are being rendered at a given moment. Usually refreshed from 1 time per second to 10 times per second (like other sensors) depending on the setting.
• Frame timeline. It makes it easier to track the smoothness of the gameplay. Ideally, it should be flat. Sharp drops or sharp “peaks” indicate a lack of smoothness (especially noticeable when turning the camera).
• CPU utilization percentage. Most often, freezes occur when the processor is overloaded. This can be tracked using this sensor – the indicators should NOT reach 100%. To reduce the load on the processor, you can try increasing the resolution, increasing anti-aliasing, or weakening the processor-dependent graphics settings (usually they are associated with the placement of objects or rendering the game logic).
• CPU frequency. Allows you to understand how well the CPU keeps the declared frequencies under load. Usually, the maximum frequency is kept only on one core, and on all of them it is noticeably lower. For modern games, it is necessary from 3000 megahertz.
• CPU temperature. If the previous sensor gives suspiciously low readings, then the reason may be overheating of the processor. This can be tracked here. Temperatures below 80 degrees Celsius are considered good. In case of overheating, changing the cooling system and replacing the thermal paste with better ones can help.
• Percentage of loading the core of the video card (GPU). If the video card is not fully loaded, but the processor is fully loaded, then this indicates a too weak CPU. And if both the video card and the processor are not fully loaded, then this means poor optimization of the game (this is the fault of the developers). Ideally, the video card should be used from 99%, and the processor should always be below 90%.
• The frequency of the video card core. As with a similar sensor for the CPU, it allows you to understand how well the hardware keeps the stated frequencies under load. For modern games, you need from 1500 megahertz.
• GPU core temperature. For GPU, temperatures below 80 degrees Celsius are also desirable.
• The amount of used video memory. The second most common cause of freezes is the lack of memory on the video card. It is desirable that at least 10% remain free. Today, the minimumamount of graphics memory for games can be considered 4 gigabytes.
• The amount of used RAM. The worst situation is if the game lacks both video memory and RAM. Then the additional megabytes of memory will be taken from the paging file at all, which will almost inevitably lead to freezes. Replacing anoutdated hard drive with a modern solid state drive can help a bit with this .

In our opinion, the above sensors are already sufficient for most users. However, below we will also consider popular tools for in-depth performance analysis.

Some games have built-in benchmarks, but a detailed report is issued only after measurements

Additional sensors (for experts):

• Average FPS sensor. Gives the arithmetic mean between the maximum and minimum frames per second.
• Maximum FPS sensor. Displays the highest current frames per second.
• Minimum FPS sensor. Shows the lowest frames per second at the moment. Usually excluding friezes.
• FPS rate sensor in rare events (1%). Displays the number of frames per second that was during short-term drawdowns (“brakes”, statters). Ideally should be the same as the previous sensor or slightly lower.
• FPS sensor in very rare events (0.1%). Allows you to detect microfreezes if the values ​​here are below 10 FPS.
• The frequency of each processor thread. Such sensors are activated as much as physical and virtual cores of the processor in total (usually from 4 to 32). This allows you to understand whether all streams are operating at maximum frequency.
• Load of each processor thread. Here you can track how well the game distributes the load across different cores. Many old applications can only work with 1. And among the new ones, not all support more than 4.
• The temperature of each processor core. In our opinion, the temperature of the entire processor is still more useful, since the cores are very densely packed in it.
• Loading the swap file. If the RAM is overloaded, then the paging file is definitely being used. Otherwise, it is not used. Not the most useful sensor.
• Loading the network bus. Can be useful for identifying problems in online games.

How to set up monitoring via MSI Afterburner and RivaTuner Statistics Server

This is the most popular set of monitoring software, but not the most flexible. MSI Afterburner was originally created as an application for overclocking a video card, but then the partner RivaTuner Statistics Server began to be added to it. The latter can only beautifully display the data collected in this case by MSI Afterburner.

Monitoring setup instructions:

1. Download MSI Afterburner.
2. Unpack the archive to any folder and run the exefile .
3. During the installation process, the installer of RivaTuner Statistics Serverwill start – install it along the standard path too.
4. Launch MSI Afterburner.
5. In the program settings ( gearbutton ) go to the “Monitoring” tab .
6. Disable all unnecessary sensors and leave only the necessary ones (consult the previous chapter) checkboxes.
7. Go through all the enabled sensors and check the box “Show in EOS”.
8. To monitor the frame time, it is better to switch the display method to the graph (next to the item “Show in EDI”).
9. Go to the “EDM”tab of the program settings and set the hotkey to switch the visibility of monitoring (any unused in the game).
10. Click the OK button to save the new settings and close the program (do not close!).

Now you can start any game. If monitoring does not appear, then press the button to switch the visibility. If this does not work, you will have to restart MSI Afterburner.

How to configure monitoring via FPS Monitor

A newer program from domestic developers, which is now gaining popularity. Can output more sensors than MSI Afterburner coupled with RTSS. In addition, it allows you to flexibly customize the display of sensors for greater beauty, convenience or informational content.

Monitoring setup instructions:

1. Download FPS Monitor.
2. Run the downloaded file.
3. Install the program in a standard way.
4. Launch FPS Monitor.
5. In the “Scenes”menu in the upper left corner of the program window, switch between different templates from the “Recent Scenes” item and select the most detailed or simply the one you like most.
6. Configure hotkeys to toggle visibility by clicking the keyboard button next to the menu at the top left of the program window.
7. Minimize the program (do not close it!).

One of the standard templates should be suitable for most users, but any of them can be customized for yourself. To do this, simply select the desired element with LMB , stretch it or open options via RMB . New sensors can be added through the floating window on the left ( Scene Elements ). The previous chapter will help determine the sensors.

After minimizing the program, you can start any game. If monitoring does not appear, then press the button to switch the visibility. If this does not help, then you will have to restart FPS Monitor.