CSGO

How to show your FPS in CS:GO: Best FPS, how to fix FPS, Steam & Console commands

Matt Porter
Player firing a shotgun in CS:GO

For any Counter-Strike, keeping an eye on your frames-per-second (FPS) is incredibly important, as it helps you keep track of your PC performance. If you’re not sure how to see it, here’s how you can show your FPS in CS:GO.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular shooter titles in the world, regularly dominating Steam’s most-played charts. Built with competition in mind, CS:GO is the ultimate test of skill and decision-making for FPS gamers.

The good news is that CS:GO isn’t particularly resource-heavy, meaning you don’t need a top-of-the-line machine to run it successfully. For those running older hardware, keeping an eye on your FPS is especially important.

Keeping track of this can be difficult, as CSGO doesn’t include an FPS counter in the settings for players to switch on. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to keep an eye on this number during games.

CS:GO player firing a weapon on Mirage

How to show FPS in CS:GO using Console Commands

Using CS:GO’s built-in console is by far the most popular way to display your FPS in-game, but it’s also the most difficult. To show a small FPS counter on the top-left hand side of your screen, use the following steps:

  1. Open Counter-Strike Global Offensive and go to Game Settings.
  2. From the options, select Game, then select ‘Yes’ beside Enable Developer Console.
  3. Return to CS:GO’s Dashboard, and press the Tilde Key (button above tab).
  4. When Console opens, type ‘cl_showfps 1’ and press enter.

Your FPS counter will appear in green at the top of your screen, and you’ll be able to watch it change throughout games to see if you’re suffering from major drops.

For a more detailed look at your FPS, along with information about your ping, packet loss, and server tickrate, you can use the following steps:

  1. Open Counter-Strike Global Offensive and go to Game Settings.
  2. From the options, select Game, then select ‘Yes’ beside Enable Developer Console.
  3. Return to CS:GO’s Dashboard, and press the Tilde Key (button above tab).
  4. When Console opens, type ‘net_graph 1’ and press enter.

If you no longer want to see your FPS, turning it off is just as easy. Simply follow the steps above, but instead of typing ‘1’ at the end of your code, type ‘0’. This will remove the FPS counter from your screen.

FPS counters in CS:GO client

How to show FPS in CS:GO using Steam

Players can also use the FPS counter built into Steam to see how their PC is performing. Keep in mind though, turning this on will show your FPS in every Steam game you play, not just CS:GO.

To turn this option on:

  • Open Steam, and select Settings.
  • Choose the In-Game tab, then look for In-Game FPS counter.
  • Set its position to where you want it to appear on your screen.
  • Select high contrast color to ensure you can see it clearly.
  • Press ok, then boot up a game to make sure it worked.
Steam FPS counter settings screen

What is good FPS in CS:GO

The answer to this question is dependent on the PC that you’re playing on. For most players, you’ll want to see your CS:GO FPS sitting between 60 – 120 FPS, as this will give you good performance.

If you have a powerful computer with the latest graphics card, you’ll easily see your FPS go above 100. If your FPS is below 30, you’ll suffer from lag which will affect performance, so you may want to look at fixing any issues which could be causing frame drops, or upgrading your hardware.

How to fix low FPS issues in CS:GO

While Counter-Strike: Global Offensive isn’t extremely resource-heavy, some players may still suffer from stuttering or framerate drops in-game.

If this is happening to you, try these commands in your Console to see if they can help:

  • r_drawparticles 0, func_break_max_pieces 0: This command will stop the game from loading in tiny objects, lessening the strain on your PC.
  • muzzleflash_light 0, r_drawtracers_firstperson 0, r_dynamic 0, mat_disable_bloom 1: This command is all about lessening the visual effects that happen when you fire a weapon.
  • fps_max 60: This locks your FPS to 60, meaning your PC won’t attempt to go above that number and end up making performance worse.

CS:GO is one of the most popular games of all time, and with this information, you’ll now be able to see your FPS at all times.

If you’re looking to optimize other games, check out our guides on the best Vanguard PC settings, or the best way to fix FPS issues in Warzone.

Image Credits: Valve

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