Performance

Settings › Performance sets the machine’s own controls, such as the brightness and the power limit. It shows only when the machine has a control Universe can set, and never under Steam’s Game Mode. Each row shows only where its control exists:

• Brightness: the screen’s backlight, on any machine that has one, such as a laptop.
• Refresh rate: a Steam Deck’s panel, in the Universe session. A lower rate saves battery.
• Power limit: the most the chip may draw, on AMD graphics.
• GPU clock, on AMD graphics: Auto lets the driver choose, and a fixed clock trades power for steady frame times.
• SteamOS fan curve: on SteamOS. Off leaves the fan to the firmware.

A change applies at once, and stays after a restart. Over a game, the dock’s System button has the same rows for that game alone.

X (Refresh) reads the controls again.