Are you the sort of person who really, really likes to know what your PC is doing at all times? Good, we can be friends. Ordinarily, I rely on a host of third-party apps to see exactly what my machine is up to while gaming—but according to Valve, the latest beta update to its in-game overlay is now so accurate at computing GPU utilisation, it puts Task Manager to shame.
According to the patch notes for the latest Steam client beta release, Valve has changed its GPU monitoring methodology for very much the better:
"This should now be more accurate when processes launched after the game process use GPU outside of the primary game proc, and should have less sampling rate error in general.
"Net effect should be that in most games it's nearly the same as before, but in certain situations we previously under reported overall GPU utilization and the utilization number will now be higher and should closer match third-party tools like MSI Afterburner."
"Our number may now sometimes be higher than Task Managers, which we previously closely matched. Task Manager appears to also under report in similar situations to our prior implementation."
Oof, check out the shade on Valve. A nice dig at Task Manager's sometimes blunt reporting of your PC's resource allocation (like the whole debacle with its borked CPU utilisation stats), and a bit of a nod to MSI Afterburner for leading the way in the GPU monitoring stakes.
And, much like Afterburner, you can see this monitoring in the in-game overlay, so you can keep an eye on whether your games are really making the most of your graphics card if you're part of the Steam Client Beta program. Integrating this level of accurate monitoring into the most popular PC game launcher should make for a simpler life, especially as it's now capable of monitoring your CPU temperatures in-game, too.
I appreciate accuracy, and I appreciate this update. Now I have even more ways to take my eyes off the action on-screen and pay attention to what's going on under the hood.
No, I'm not sure when this happened to me either. I don't even really play games anymore; I monitor them instead. Come join me in the land of ultimate nerdery, my friends. The water's warm down here, and I've brought snacks.
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