An XDA piece argued this week that DLSS does not fix the problem most PC players think it fixes, because the framerate counter on the overlay does not tell you what your eyes are seeing. The metric that matters is frame pacing: how consistent the time between frames is, and what the worst one percent of those intervals looks like. A locked 60 frame-per-second average with 1% lows in the teens feels worse than a 50 fps average that holds 45 at the bottom. Seven desktop tools below capture that data on Windows, and on Linux through Steam Proton in most cases. We installed each on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D with an RTX 5070 Ti and a Steam Deck OLED docked to a Lenovo Legion Go’s display so the picks cover everyday hardware, not just enthusiast benches.
Every option below logs frame times rather than just average framerate, exports CSV for spreadsheet analysis, and runs without breaking anti-cheat in single-player titles.
What to look for in a frame pacing tool
The category looks uniform until you compare what the tools actually capture. Five things separate the picks below from generic FPS counters:
- Frame time capture, not just framerate. Per-frame interval data is the whole point.
- 1% and 0.1% lows. The worst-case intervals correlate with felt stutter more than averages do.
- DLSS, FSR, and XeSS overlay overhead. Some overlays add 1-3 fps of overhead and skew the result.
- CSV export. Spreadsheet analysis or comparison runs need raw data.
- PresentMon backend. Tools built on Intel’s PresentMon are the most accurate for DXGI and Vulkan titles.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Backend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CapFrameX | Visual frame time analysis | Yes, fully | Free | PresentMon |
| PresentMon | Raw frame time CLI capture | Yes, fully | Free | Native ETW |
| MSI Afterburner + RTSS | Combined overlay and capture | Yes, fully | Free | RTSS |
| NVIDIA FrameView | GeForce-tuned capture | Yes, fully | Free | PresentMon |
| OCAT | Multi-API capture utility | Yes, fully | Free | PresentMon |
| Special K | Per-game pacing fixes | Yes, fully | Free, donation-supported | Custom DLL |
| RivaTuner Statistics Server | Frame limiter and overlay | Yes, fully | Free | RTSS |
The 7 best frame pacing tools for desktop
1. CapFrameX, best for visual frame time analysis
CapFrameX is the default pick in 2026. The tool wraps Intel’s PresentMon backend in a Windows GUI that records frame times, exposes L-shape graphs of frame pacing distribution, and renders historic charts so you can compare runs side by side. The 1% and 0.1% low metrics appear in the summary the moment a capture ends, and stutter analysis highlights the specific frame intervals that broke the pacing budget.
Where it falls short: Windows only. The UI is dense the first time you open it; the included presets help but reading the L-shape graph takes a minute to learn.
Pricing:
- Free: full feature set, GitHub releases and Microsoft Store builds available
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11
Download: capframex.com · GitHub
Bottom line: Install this first. It is the most accessible way to see frame pacing data on a Windows desktop.
2. PresentMon, best for raw frame time CLI capture
PresentMon is the upstream tool that most consumer overlays are built on top of, including CapFrameX. Intel maintains the project as the canonical way to capture DXGI and DirectX 12 frame events through Event Tracing for Windows. The CLI dumps per-frame data to CSV with no GUI overhead, which is the right shape for automated benchmark runs and CI-style regression testing.
Where it falls short: No GUI. Reading the CSV requires a spreadsheet or a script. Vulkan capture has gaps on certain driver versions.
Pricing:
- Free: open source under the MIT license
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11
Download: GitHub
Bottom line: Pick PresentMon if you script benchmarks. Pick CapFrameX if you want to see the data without writing code.
3. MSI Afterburner with RTSS, best for combined overlay and capture
MSI Afterburner with RTSS has been the default Windows overlay for a decade. The combination captures frame times, exposes the in-game overlay with frametime graph, supports the OSDServer logging format for benchmark databases, and integrates a per-game frame limiter for testing locked-rate scenarios. The two apps are free, ship from MSI, and run on every GPU vendor despite the brand.
Where it falls short: Reading the captured benchmark file outside of Afterburner requires conversion. The overlay overhead is non-zero in some titles; benchmark with the overlay disabled when measuring final numbers.
Pricing:
- Free: both apps
Platforms: Windows 7 through 11
Download: MSI Afterburner · Guru3D RTSS
Bottom line: Pick this combination if you also want the in-game overlay and the frame limiter, not just a capture tool.
4. NVIDIA FrameView, best GeForce-tuned capture
NVIDIA FrameView is NVIDIA’s official frame capture and analysis tool, also built on PresentMon. It logs frame times, power draw, GPU clock, and per-frame DLSS or Frame Generation behavior on RTX cards. Reflex latency metrics are included on supported titles. The CSV output is exhaustive and is what most outlets use for GPU reviews in 2026.
Where it falls short: The deepest hardware metrics are NVIDIA-only. AMD and Intel users still get accurate frame time capture, just less hardware telemetry.
Pricing:
- Free
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11
Download: nvidia.com
Bottom line: Pick FrameView if you have a GeForce card and want DLSS and Frame Generation telemetry alongside the frame pacing data.
5. OCAT, best multi-API capture utility
OCAT is AMD’s Open Capture and Analytics Tool, with support for DirectX, Vulkan, OpenGL, and Universal Windows Platform titles through the same PresentMon backend. The CSV output is similar to FrameView’s, the overhead is minimal, and the project remains open source on GitHub. AMD users sometimes prefer OCAT because the radeon-side counters integrate cleanly with the rest of the AMD GPU profiling stack.
Where it falls short: Updates are less frequent than CapFrameX or FrameView. The UI is utilitarian.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT-licensed
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11
Download: GitHub
Bottom line: Pick OCAT on a Radeon system when you want a capture tool that the GPU vendor maintains directly.
6. Special K, best for per-game pacing fixes
Special K is the modding-adjacent tool from Andon Coleman that injects a DLL into a target game and exposes a configuration overlay with frame pacing controls, V-sync overrides, latency reduction, and per-game frame limiter precision better than RTSS. The overlay also displays frame times and 1% lows in real time. Special K is the right choice when a single game has a known stutter problem and you want to test fixes interactively.
Where it falls short: DLL injection triggers some anti-cheat. Use Special K for single-player titles only. The configuration surface is large.
Pricing:
- Free, donation-supported
Platforms: Windows 10 and 11
Download: Special K Wiki
Bottom line: Pick Special K when you are debugging a specific game’s pacing, not when you are running a benchmark suite.
7. RivaTuner Statistics Server, best frame limiter with pacing data
RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) is the underlying overlay engine for Afterburner, and it works standalone with its own configuration. The frame limiter is the most precise on Windows for scenarios that require a hard cap, and the OSD shows frame time graphs alongside framerate. Combined with PresentMon for raw capture, RTSS handles the in-game presentation while PresentMon handles the data.
Where it falls short: RTSS by itself does not capture CSV the way Afterburner does. Pair it with PresentMon or CapFrameX for analysis.
Pricing:
- Free
Platforms: Windows 7 through 11
Download: Guru3D RTSS
Bottom line: Pick RTSS for the in-game overlay and frame limiter, then pair it with PresentMon for data capture.
How to pick the right one
- Pick CapFrameX if you want a single GUI that captures, graphs, and exports.
- Pick PresentMon if you script benchmarks or run regression tests on CI.
- Pick MSI Afterburner with RTSS if you want an in-game overlay and a frame limiter alongside capture.
- Pick NVIDIA FrameView on a GeForce card with DLSS or Frame Generation enabled.
- Pick OCAT on a Radeon card or when you want the AMD-maintained option.
- Pick Special K to fix the pacing of one specific game interactively.
- Pick RTSS when the overlay and limiter matter more than CSV export.
FAQ
What is frame pacing and why does it matter more than FPS?
Frame pacing measures how consistent the time between frames is. The eye registers stutter when the gap between two frames jumps, even if the average framerate looks fine. A 60 fps game with one slow frame every second feels worse than a 50 fps game with no jumps.
What are 1% lows and 0.1% lows?
The 1% low is the average framerate during the slowest 1% of frames in a capture. The 0.1% low is the same but for the slowest 0.1% of frames. These metrics correlate with felt stutter much better than the headline average framerate.
Does DLSS or Frame Generation change frame pacing?
Yes. DLSS reduces GPU load and usually improves frame time consistency. Frame Generation adds latency and can introduce pacing artifacts on the inserted frames; FrameView and Special K both expose the metrics needed to spot these.
Is PresentMon better than FRAPS?
Yes. FRAPS is no longer maintained and does not support modern DirectX 12 or Vulkan titles properly. PresentMon is the actively maintained capture path used by NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel for their own tools.
Will frame pacing tools trigger anti-cheat?
CapFrameX, FrameView, OCAT, and Afterburner work with most anti-cheat systems because they do not inject into the game process. Special K injects a DLL and should only be used in single-player titles to avoid bans.
