Steam Tweaks That Actually Improve Your PC Experience (2025)

For many people, finding the Steam settings It's not as obvious as it should be. Between interface changes, translations, and different routes between the client and the browser, it's easy to get lost. If you're wondering where that menu is to configure everything from the library to the performance overlay, here's a clear guide with the latest relevant updates.

In addition to telling you how to access the options, we review recent changes that have improved the daily experience: the new way to tidy up the library, CPU temperature monitoring in the overlay, and interface settings and reviews. All explained in detail and in user-friendly language, so you can fine-tune Steam settings without going over the top.

Where are the Steam settings?

Although you can log in from the browser, the options you are looking for live in the desktop program de SteamThat is, open the official client on your PC and forget about the website if you just want to tweak the software's settings.

Within the client, look at the top bar and locate the menu in the left corner. In many installations, an entry called "View" appears; when you expand it, you'll find the access to "View" at the bottom of the list. «Parameters» (the section where the main settings are grouped). Depending on the language or version, the name may vary slightly, but the location in the top menu remains the same.

There is another quick way to access Steam settings that is often overlooked: if you have Steam minimized, right-click on the tray icon system (next to the clock in Windows) and select the settings option. This is the express route to opening the same settings window without navigating through menus.

If you ended up here after reading a very old thread on some forum, remember a basic rule of etiquette: avoid necropost (Please reply to threads from 2017 or older.) It's best to create a new thread with your current question, as the Steam interface evolves and answers from years ago may be outdated.

In modern systems, the pattern is the same: enter the client, open the top menu, and access settings. If you use a different language or visual theme, the exact wording may change, but the position of the settings access in the top of the window remains as a reference.

 

More personal library: alternative order and covers

One of the most celebrated news of recent times has been the renewed control over the library organizationFor years, the alphabetical listing prevented simple things like grouping a series in narrative order or placing titles with subtitles where they logically belonged. For those who accumulate hundreds of games, this was a daily nuisance.

It is now possible to assign a alternative order per game from the Properties -> Personalization path. This option allows you to define how you want each title to appear in your library, without relying on the actual executable name or strict alphabetical sorting. It's like renaming the "anchor" Steam uses for sorting.

This change is accompanied by the possibility of changing the cover and other visual elements. It may seem like an aesthetic detail, but for many users, it's the way to give coherence and personality to a large collection, especially in grid views or custom shelves.

Steam already had labels, automatic collections and custom lists, but all of that fell short when you wanted to sort, for example, the games in a series according to their chronology or separate "GOTY" editions from originals without them being scattered. With the new approach, control is practically total and finally adapts to how players think when viewing their library.

The real impact of these "small" Steam tweaks is felt daily: opening your library and seeing things in the order you choose reduces friction, makes it easier to find the next thing you want to play, and gives a sense of carefully curated collection which was previously difficult to achieve without external tools.

 

Performance Overlay: Now with CPU Temperature

Another notable new feature is the performance overlay, a layer you can place on top of your games to view data like FPS or GPU usage. Steam now allows you to display the performance overlay. processor temperature directly into that overlay, which is very useful with demanding titles that push the hardware.

Knowing the temperature in real time helps detect cooling issues, thermal spikes, or throttling that cause performance drops and instability. For those who fine-tune or have compact towers, seeing this data without leaving the game is a practical advantage. One of the most useful Steam settings.

On Windows, there is one important consideration: to access CPU temperature, Steam needs to install a driver with kernel-level access that allows you to read those system parameters. Installation is optional and you can disable it whenever you want, but the mere mention of such a driver raises eyebrows in some parts of the community.

The doubts are not new: we've already seen skepticism with low-level solutions like aggressive anti-cheat systems, and the memory of cases like Riot's Vanguard makes some users think twice before granting such deep permissions. In Steam's case, the feature exists, is optional, and is explicitly communicated, so the final say is yours as a user. user.

A point in favor is that, by integrating this reading into the overlay itself, some consumption is saved compared to third-party tools such as Riva Tuner or HWMonitorHowever, Steam's built-in solution is intentionally lighter and therefore less comprehensive than specialized utilities. It's intended for a quick and stable overview, not for exhaustive diagnostics.

If you decide to enable it, remember to check the overlay settings to adjust which metrics you want to see and in which corner it appears. Keeping the overlay unobtrusive and only with relevant data prevents distractions and gives you the key information without saturating the screen.

 

Other improvements: reviews, interface and fixes

Along with the major new features, there have been adjustments that, without being revolutionary, improve the everyday experience. One of them is the new review system, designed to mitigate so-called “review bombing,” those massive spikes in ratings that distort the real opinion of a game.

The idea is to protect the usefulness of reviews as a buying guide, preventing one-off events or coordinated campaigns from destroying the ratings. It doesn't eliminate the community's voice, but introduces mechanisms to ensure the aggregate better reflects the community's sustained quality of the game in time.

 

There are also interface improvements that you'll notice even if you're not looking for them: better DPI scaling for sharper fonts, tweaks to readability, and fixes to the FPS counter Integrated. If you have high-density displays, text and elements appear sharper and more consistent across different resolutions.

In the stability section, bugs affecting new account libraries and the filter have been closed. screenshotsThese are tweaks that might not make headlines, but they help everything flow better and reduce surprises when you configure or explore your content.

It's fair to say that we're not facing a complete revolution of the interface or services, but rather a collection of practical improvements which, combined, enhance the sense of control and everyday comfort. Steam tweaks for a better user experience.

Legal notices, privacy and cookies: what you will always see

As with most platforms, Steam displays standard notices in its footer: an indication that all rights reserved, that the brands mentioned belong to their respective owners, and that prices include taxes where applicable. It also links to its Privacy Policy, Legal Information, and Subscriber Agreement, documents you should read if you're concerned about the terms of use.

On Steam, all of these privacy and terms aspects are clearly linked from their pages, so you can review the small letter when you need it. It's not the most exciting thing in the world of PC gaming, but it's good to know where it is in case you ever want to adjust your privacy settings or review terms.

When you combine better library sorting options, an on-demand CPU temperature overlay, a more noise-resistant review system, and minor visual tweaks, the result is a platform that feels more tailored to you. Steam settings They not only fix historical shortcomings: they also reduce dependence on external tools and make them more pleasant to use.