Know Your Numbers: A Guide on How to Show FPS in CS:GO

If your game works better than the other guy’s, you’ll probably end up on top in that skirmish. Not only that, in CSGO, it is common to see the enemy before they see you. You’d need a high refresh-rate screen, low latency, and, most importantly, high FPS to achieve this. 

Frames per Second, or FPS for short, are crucially important in shooter games like CSGO. The higher your FPS is, the lower your input lag will be, allowing for quick and efficient shots. Even hit registration becomes an issue at low FPS, meaning your shots won’t hit even if on target. 

Ways to Show FPS in CSGO

It's quite handy to have any of the following options enabled, as knowing your FPS at any given time can help you tweak the game better. Sudden dips and frame rate changes might indicate problems, and being aware of the details can help fix them. Here are all the ways you can show frames per second in CS:GO.

Console commands:

A couple of quick console commands can show your FPS and more details. Once you’ve opened the console, you can use the following two commands to show your FPS: 

1. net_graph 1 – shows you the current FPS in game, packet loss, and latency information. 
2. cl_showfps 1 – displays only the FPS value in the top left of your screen. 

Both can be turned off by typing ‘net_graph 0’ or ‘cl_showfps 0’. You can also expand the net graph through the following two commands, which will offer much more information. Remember that these two, especially the latter, can cause clutter and take up parts of the screen. 

1. ‘net_graph 2’ adds some network information. 
2. ‘net_graph 3’ adds computer load information. 

Keeping things simple with the default ‘1’ should be enough. But if you want to know some other stuff from time to time, these two will undoubtedly help.

To avoid typing these every time you launch the game, you can add them to an Autoexec config file. You can create one by making a text file called ‘Autoexec’ and saving it as a .cfg file. 

Through the Steam Settings 

The Steam application has its own in-game FPS counter. It’s simple and useful enough, and you can activate it by following these steps: 

1. Open the Steam client.
2. Open the Steam/Settings in the upper left corner.
3. Find the ‘In-Game’ tab. 
4. Tick the In-Game FPS Counter. You can also select where on the screen you want it to appear.

You should now see your FPS indicated in any game launched through Steam, CSGO included. It’s an excellent tool that doesn’t hamper performance and gives exactly what it says: a simple FPS indicator. 

Third-party Applications 

You can always use external applications to show FPS and other information in CSGO and other games. You might not even have to download them: GeForce Experience (NVIDIA) or Adrenalin Software (AMD).

GeForce Experience

With the driver package, this program should come pre-installed on your PC. However, if you don’t have it on your machine, you can download it from the official website. 

Once you do, proceed to install it by following these step:

1. Open CSGO, and press ‘Alt+Z.’ 
2. Next to your avatar, click the gear icon, enable the ‘In-Game Overlay’, and go into ‘Settings.’ 
3. Click on HUD Layout and choose where you want the Frames to be displayed. 

Adrenaline Software – AMD 

You’ll need an AMD card on your computer to use the Adrenaline Software. The driver package and the software go together in a bundle. Of course, if you don’t have it on your PC due to outdated drivers, you can find it here. 

After you’ve installed the AMD driver software, you can enable the FPS Counter by using the ‘Alt+Shift+O’ combination of keys. It will open up a whole suite of overlay information, including an FPS counter, computer load, network stuff, etc. You can tweak these by opening the AMD Adrenaline in-game with ‘Alt+R’ or through the Adrenaline app in your Windows Start Menu. 

Be aware that third-party applications might impact your performance, and sticking to Steam’s and CSGO’s own Settings is recommended. 

Related articles:

• Best cases in CS:GO
• Cheap cases in CS:GO
• How to end warmup in CS:GO

How Many Frames Do You Need?

Counter-Strike needs as much FPS as possible as a highly competitive shooter. Usually, we can break down FPS ranges like this:

• <60 FPS is unplayable, and you should consider upgrading your computer or finding a different venture. 
• 60-100 FPS is not competitive but is playable, don’t start ranked matches if this is your maximum FPS 
• 100-250 is the competitive range, and you could play ranked but not at the highest level
• 250-400 is the recommended range for high-level competitive games and will give you the lowest input latency and best game/server performance. 

How to Increase FPS in CSGO 

You can increase your CSGO FPS in various ways. It would be best if you utilized all tools at your disposal to get the game to perform in the best possible manner. Here are several ways of improving FPS in CSGO: 

Changing the Settings 

1. Go to the Main Menu screen and open up the Settings tab. 
2. In the ‘Video’ section, change all the available Graphics Settings to ‘Low.’ 
3. Enable ‘Multi-threaded Rendering’ 
4. Lower the resolution. 

Lower resolutions are usually what pro players play at (especially the ones coming from older CS titles). Lower resolutions also increase FPS substantially as the rendering goes down significantly. They also help stretch the screen so you can see more and land shots more easily. 

Lowering your visual effects and graphics settings to the minimum possible will greatly improve your FPS. Consider this a litmus test: if your FPS is still bad after lowering the Settings, the other options won’t help you much. 

Using the developer console 

Several console commands might alleviate the load CSGO puts on your PC. The game renders a ton of things that are unnecessary and unchangeable in the Settings tab. For example: 

1. r_drawparticles 0 – disables the particle rendering in-game. 
2. Func_break_max_pieces 0 – reduces the number of minuscule objects. 
3. r_dynamic 0 – disables dynamic lighting, which can significantly improve FPS. 
4. fps_max 0 – disables any FPS cap. 

And that’s about it regarding console commands and improving FPS. Remember that these commands and Settings can help your FPS only slightly, with the real deal being inside your PC. Purchasing a better graphics card, and especially a CPU (since CSGO is a very CPU-intensive title), will give you actual improvement. 

Counter-Strike Global Offensive is a highly competitive shooter that needs a top performance. Without it, you will be disadvantaged against players who have it. High FPS in CSGO lowers input lag, gives you a peek advantage, and much more. Knowing how high or low it is can help you tweak many things and improve your performance. Thus, the above should drive you towards knowing and increasing your CSGO FPS.