One size does not fit all. Below are the top five RivaTuner overlay configurations, ranked by use case.
When playing single-player eye-candy titles, you want a sleek, modern overlay that looks like it belongs in Deus Ex.
To get the most out of your hardware, your RTSS overlay should display these key metrics:
Most users stop at checking boxes in Afterburner. To claim you have the best RivaTuner overlay, you need to use advanced formatting. rivatuner overlays best
Modern versions of RTSS can integrate with (a tool from NVIDIA/Intel that captures frame‑timing data) to display advanced metrics such as GPU busy time and a “Limited by CPU/GPU” indicator. This indicator calculates the ratio of GPU busy time to total frametime; a ratio of 0.75 or higher suggests a GPU bottleneck. Such insight is invaluable for pinpointing why a game stutters or why framerates are inconsistent.
You can move past the blocky "Raster 3D" look by importing fonts like Open Sans from Google Fonts to give your HUD a modern, clean aesthetic.
In Afterburner’s tab, click the “...” button next to each enabled stat. One size does not fit all
Here’s a concise, practical guide to getting the best out of overlays—primarily used with MSI Afterburner for in-game hardware monitoring.
Exceeding your graphics card memory causes severe stuttering. Monitor allocation to tweak your texture settings.
RTSS can sometimes conflict with other overlay software, such as Overwolf, Discord, or GeForce Experience. Common symptoms include low FPS, mouse lag, freezes, or the overlay failing to appear. To resolve conflicts: To get the most out of your hardware,
If you tell me what you are using (NVIDIA/AMD, Intel/AMD CPU) or which game is acting up, I can recommend the exact metrics you should track.
Always map a hotkey to toggle the overlay on and off. Inside MSI Afterburner, go to the On-Screen Display tab and assign a key combination (such as Ctrl + Shift + O ) to Toggle On-Screen Display so you can quickly clear your screen during cinematic gameplay moments. If you want to customize your setup further, let me know: What resolution you play at (1080p, 1440p, or 4K)? Which specific games you are optimizing for?
For power users, the standard text lines might feel too basic. You can take your overlay to the next level by enabling visual graphs and custom formatting. 1. Frame Time Graphs