How the FPS counter works (and why it says "No game")

BRUTAL Optimizer shows a real frame rate on the dashboard, the overlay and the Hardware Monitor — but only while a game or emulator is actually running. The rest of the time it shows a dash and No game. That's intentional, and it's part of the product's honesty: there is no truthful "system FPS" on an idle desktop, so the app refuses to invent one.

How the number is measured

On Windows 11, the counter counts the game's own frames. Every time a game hands a frame to Windows to show, Windows' graphics kernel records a present event for that game, and BRUTAL counts those events for the game Guardian detected, from outside the game. It does this without injecting into the game and without a kernel driver of its own, so nothing of ours runs inside the game. Because it counts the game's own presents, the number is the game's frame rate in windowed, borderless and full-screen mode alike.

It shows a number only while the game's frames can reach the screen. If the game is minimised, hidden or covered by another full-screen window, you see a dash and the reason instead, so frames nobody can see never count. The Hardware Monitor uses the same source to compute average frametime and 1% / 0.1% low frame rates.

When it shows "Display rate" instead

Where it can't count the game's own frames, it shows the display's rate — how often your primary monitor's picture is updated — and labels it Display rate (on the overlay, DISPLAY), never "FPS":

• On Windows 10, where the per-game counter stays off.
• For emulators it doesn't measure yet. GameLoop is measured; BlueStacks, LDPlayer, MuMu, Nox and MEmu show the display's rate for now.
• When a game's frames don't take the path BRUTAL measures while the game is in front.

In windowed or borderless mode the display's rate sits near your monitor's refresh rate (e.g. ~60 or ~144), not the game's own frame rate, which is why it is labelled differently and never graded Smooth / Acceptable / Low. At your monitor's limit it says so ("Display rate · at 60 Hz cap").

Why it says "No game"

The FPS reading is gated on game detection. The background Guardian service watches for running games and emulators; when it spots one (a PC game first, then an emulator), the counter follows that game. With no game detected, or with Guardian off, the UI shows a dash plus No game / no game detected.

So if FPS is blank, the first question is: has a game actually launched, and has Guardian detected it? Quick games, very new titles, or a stopped Guardian can all leave it on No game.

Where you'll see FPS

• Home dashboard — the FPS gauge, labelled Smooth / Acceptable / Low for the game's own frames. While the counter primes its first samples it briefly shows Measuring….
• FPS Overlay — the in-game overlay (toggle with Ctrl+Shift+F), which auto-appears for emulators.
• Hardware Monitor — FPS plus frametime and 1%/0.1% lows.

All three read the same source and gate on the same Guardian detection, so they agree: if one shows No game, they all do.

A note on validation

On our test PC the per-game counter was checked against Intel's PresentMon over the same minute of GameLoop running a mobile battle royale: it read within 0.3% windowed and 0.1% full screen. You can sanity-check it yourself: cap a game at 60 or 144 fps and confirm the counter matches.

Common issues / troubleshooting

• FPS stuck on "No game". Make sure the game/emulator is actually running and that Guardian is on — the reading is gated on detection.
• It says "Display rate", or the number equals my refresh rate. You're on Windows 10 or using an emulator BRUTAL doesn't measure yet, so you're seeing the display's rate. On Windows 11 with a PC game or GameLoop it counts the game's own frames.
• A dash and a reason while the game runs. The game is minimised, hidden or covered, so its frames aren't reaching the screen; bring it to the front.
• Shows "Measuring…" then a number. Normal — the counter needs a moment of samples first.
• Why not just show desktop FPS? Because there isn't an honest one. The app shows a dash instead of a fake render rate, and it's why FPS is never part of the Performance Score.