The Radeon performance overlay is a feature in AMD’s Radeon graphics cards and software that allows you to monitor your system’s performance in real-time while gaming. It can display useful metrics like GPU usage, GPU temperatures, FPS (frames per second), and more.
Table of Contents
What is the Radeon Performance Overlay
The Radeon performance overlay provides an on-screen display (OSD) that shows various performance metrics for your GPU and system. This allows you to monitor aspects like:
- GPU usage percentage
- GPU temperatures
- GPU fan speeds
- FPS (frames per second)
- Frame times
- CPU usage
- RAM usage
- VRAM usage
The overlay displays this information in real-time, letting you see how your system is performing while you game. This can help identify performance bottlenecks or issues.
How to Open the Radeon Overlay
The Radeon overlay can be opened using a keyboard shortcut. The default shortcut is:
Alt + R
Pressing Alt + R while in-game will bring up the performance overlay, allowing you to view the metrics described above.
The overlay appears in a graph-style format in one of the screen corners, avoiding blocking your game visuals. You can customize its position and appearance in Radeon Software.
Reasons to Disable the Overlay
While the Radeon overlay can be useful for monitoring performance, there are some reasons you may want to disable it:
- It can interfere with other keyboard shortcuts in games
- You may find the overlay distracting while gaming
- It may slightly reduce game performance (1-2 FPS)
- You don’t need the performance metrics it provides
Disabling the overlay prevents it from appearing when the hotkey is pressed accidentally. It also eliminates the minor performance impact it can have.
How to Disable the Radeon Overlay
Method 1: Disable Via Radeon Software
You can disable the Radeon overlay entirely in the Radeon Software application:
- Open Radeon Software
- Go to the Preferences section
- Under General, toggle the switch for In-Game Overlay to the OFF/Disabled position
This will disable the overlay so it won’t appear when you press Alt + R.
Method 2: Unset the Keyboard Shortcut
If you want to keep the overlay enabled but stop it from being triggered accidentally:
- In Radeon Software, go to Preferences
- Under General, click on Toggle Radeon Overlay Hotkey
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard
- The hotkey should now show as None
Now pressing Alt + R won’t trigger the overlay. You can still access it manually through Radeon Software if needed.
Tips for Using the Overlay
If you find the Radeon overlay useful, here are some tips:
- Customize the overlay position so it doesn’t block important parts of the screen
- Try enabling/disabling metrics to avoid cluttering the overlay
- Check the overlay doesn’t affect keyboard shortcuts in the games you play
- Close the overlay when you don’t need it for maximum performance
The overlay can be a great troubleshooting tool. But disable it if you find it distracting or interfering with your games.
Conclusion
The Radeon performance overlay provides real-time system monitoring while gaming. If enabled, it can be opened using the Alt + R keyboard shortcut.
There are a few reasons you may want to disable this overlay:
- To eliminate interference with other game shortcuts
- To remove on-screen distractions while gaming
- To gain back 1-2 FPS of performance
You can fully disable the overlay in Radeon Software. Or unset the keyboard shortcut if you want to keep it accessible manually.
Use the overlay judiciously to monitor performance when needed. Disable it the rest of the time so it doesn’t intrude.
