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Performance Diagnostics
GameAtlas includes performance diagnostics designed to help identify common causes of stuttering, poor frame pacing, unexpectedly low performance, and other PC gaming issues.
Rather than focusing on a single metric, GameAtlas combines system information, game context, runtime conditions, and platform-specific data to highlight likely problem areas.
Performance diagnostics are intended to help narrow down the cause of an issue and guide troubleshooting. They do not replace in-game benchmarks or dedicated profiling tools.
GameAtlas 2.4 also provides timed frame-presentation recording with PresentMon on Windows and MangoHud on Linux. See Performance Capture for setup, finalization, and comparison guidance.
Depending on the operating system, hardware, and selected game, GameAtlas may consider information such as:
- CPU
- GPU
- VRAM
- System memory
- Storage
- Display resolution
- Refresh rate
- Active graphics adapter
- Background applications
- Shader behavior
- Runtime environment
- Launcher
- Proton or Wine context
- Graphics driver information
- Connected displays
The available diagnostics can vary by platform.
GameAtlas is designed to help identify likely causes of issues such as:
- Stuttering
- Poor frame pacing
- Low FPS
- Sudden FPS drops
- Incorrect refresh rate
- Wrong GPU usage
- VRAM pressure
- CPU bottlenecks
- Slow storage
- Shader compilation
- Background overlay conflicts
- Driver-related problems
- V-Sync mismatches
Stuttering is one of the most difficult PC gaming issues to diagnose because many different problems can produce similar symptoms.
GameAtlas can help distinguish between common sources such as:
- Shader compilation
- Asset streaming
- CPU bottlenecks
- VRAM pressure
- Slow storage
- Background processes
- Overlay conflicts
- Display synchronization problems
- Incorrect GPU selection
A stutter does not automatically mean the GPU is too slow.
Modern games often compile shaders during gameplay or when a new effect appears.
Typical signs include:
- Brief hitches when entering a new area
- Stutter the first time an effect is shown
- Stutter that becomes less frequent over time
- Increased hitching after a driver update
- Increased hitching after clearing shader caches
If the problem improves during subsequent play, shader compilation may be involved.
Some games load textures, geometry, and other assets dynamically while the player moves through the world.
Asset streaming problems can appear as:
- Short pauses while moving quickly
- Stutter when entering a new area
- Hitching while turning the camera
- Delayed texture loading
Potential contributing factors include:
- Slow storage
- High storage activity
- VRAM limitations
- CPU decompression workload
- Game engine behavior
A game can be limited by the CPU even when GPU utilization is not at 100%.
Possible indicators include:
- Low GPU utilization
- One or more CPU threads heavily loaded
- Poor performance that does not improve much when graphics settings are reduced
- Large frame-time spikes
- Performance drops in crowded or simulation-heavy areas
CPU bottlenecks are often more visible at:
- High frame rates
- Lower resolutions
- Large open-world areas
- Games with heavy simulation
- Games with many NPCs
A GPU bottleneck occurs when the graphics card is the primary performance limit.
Typical signs include:
- Very high GPU utilization
- Performance improving when resolution is reduced
- Performance improving when graphics settings are lowered
- High ray-tracing cost
- High rendering workload
A GPU bottleneck is not necessarily a problem. In many games, high GPU utilization is expected.
Modern games can consume large amounts of video memory.
If VRAM usage approaches or exceeds available capacity, users may experience:
- Stuttering
- Texture pop-in
- Large frame-time spikes
- Sudden performance drops
- Increased system memory usage
- Increased storage activity
Potential causes include:
- Very high texture settings
- Ray tracing
- High-resolution texture packs
- High display resolution
- Mods
- Large shader or asset workloads
Reducing texture quality is often one of the first settings to test when VRAM pressure is suspected.
Insufficient system memory can also affect gaming performance.
Potential symptoms include:
- Heavy paging
- Long pauses
- Slow application switching
- Stuttering when new areas load
- High storage activity
GameAtlas can use detected system memory information to provide context for these issues.
Modern games increasingly rely on fast storage.
Performance can be affected by:
- Mechanical hard drives
- Slow external drives
- Nearly full drives
- Heavy background disk activity
- Slow filesystem performance
- Network-mounted game libraries
Storage-related stutter can resemble CPU or shader problems.
GameAtlas can use detected storage information as part of the diagnostic context.
Systems with multiple graphics adapters can sometimes launch a game on the wrong GPU.
This is particularly common on:
- Gaming laptops
- Systems with integrated graphics
- Multi-GPU desktops
- Systems with unusual display connections
Possible symptoms include:
- Extremely low performance
- Low dedicated GPU utilization
- High integrated GPU utilization
- Missing graphics features
- Unexpected power usage
GameAtlas can compare available graphics adapters with detected runtime context to help flag suspicious GPU selection.
A game may perform correctly while still feeling less smooth if the display is running at the wrong refresh rate.
For example, a 165 Hz display accidentally running at 60 Hz can make high frame rates feel much less responsive.
GameAtlas can use display information to surface potential refresh-rate mismatches.
Display configuration can affect both performance and perceived smoothness.
Relevant information includes:
- Desktop resolution
- Game resolution
- Display refresh rate
- Fullscreen mode
- Borderless mode
- Multiple monitors
Unexpected display settings can sometimes explain performance behavior that initially appears to be a GPU issue.
V-Sync synchronizes frame presentation with the display refresh cycle.
Incorrect V-Sync configuration can contribute to:
- Input latency
- Tearing
- Judder
- Frame-rate caps
- Uneven frame pacing
The effect depends on:
- Display refresh rate
- Game frame rate
- VRR support
- Driver configuration
- In-game settings
GameAtlas can surface display and system context that helps users identify likely mismatches.
VRR technologies can improve smoothness when the frame rate varies.
Examples include:
- G-SYNC
- FreeSync
- Adaptive-Sync
Poor VRR configuration can sometimes produce:
- Tearing
- Flicker
- Judder
- Uneven presentation
- Unexpected frame-rate behavior
GameAtlas may use display and refresh-rate information as part of performance troubleshooting.
An FPS limiter can sometimes improve frame pacing and reduce unnecessary GPU load.
Potential benefits include:
- More stable frame times
- Reduced power consumption
- Lower temperatures
- Reduced fan noise
- Improved VRR behavior
- Reduced GPU saturation
On Linux, GameAtlas can surface FPS limiting as part of its gaming performance controls.
See Linux.
Background software can affect performance in several ways.
Examples include:
- Overlays
- Recording software
- Monitoring tools
- Communication software
- Browser windows
- Game launcher overlays
- RGB utilities
- Background downloads
GameAtlas's Clean Launch feature can help identify software worth temporarily disabling during troubleshooting.
See Clean Launch.
Multiple overlays may hook into the same game.
Examples can include:
Steam Overlay
Discord Overlay
NVIDIA Overlay
Xbox Game Bar
Performance monitoring overlay
Recording overlay