Disable hardware acceleration in Steam or launch it with the -cef-disable-gpu flag to fix the issue.

why this happens

The Steam overlay (and new Steam UI) are based on Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), which uses hardware acceleration through your GPU — same as Chrome or Discord.

Normally, systems with both an iGPU and a discrete GPU can offload this lightweight 2D rendering to the iGPU while keeping the dGPU (like your 3060 Ti) focused on the game.

On Intel F-series CPUs (no iGPU), all rendering must be done by the 3060 Ti. When Steam’s overlay hardware acceleration is on, both the game and the overlay fight for GPU time in the same process space → frame drops, hitching, or slow overlay.

When you disable hardware acceleration, the overlay uses CPU rendering instead — smoother overlay, but now the main Steam client (which also uses that same CEF engine) becomes laggy because your CPU is doing UI rendering that’s meant for GPU.


Why your main client lags

Steam’s new UI is GPU-accelerated by default. Disabling hardware acceleration forces it to render in software — slower and stuttery on complex pages (Library, Store, etc.). So you’ve basically shifted the problem:

> Overlay smooth → client laggy, or client smooth → overlay laggy.




---

Fixes / Workarounds

1. Use the -no-cef-sandbox or -cef-disable-gpu launch options selectively

You can apply these only to the overlay or client (see below).

For the overlay: add

STEAM_DISABLE_GPU_ACCEL=1

as a Windows environment variable — this disables GPU accel for overlay only (not for the full client).



2. Force Steam Overlay to run on a separate GPU context

If you’re on NVIDIA, open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings

Add steamwebhelper.exe and set “Power management mode” to Prefer maximum performance and “Vertical sync” to Off

This sometimes prevents the overlay from throttling itself alongside the game.



3. Disable hardware acceleration only for Steam WebView

Go to: Steam → Settings → Interface → Disable GPU acceleration for WebView

Keep the main client acceleration ON (there’s a separate toggle for it).

That reduces overlay lag without slowing the full UI much.



4. Use beta client / update drivers

Steam has been actively patching overlay and WebView performance.

Join Steam Beta Client under Settings → Interface → Client Beta Participation.

Make sure your NVIDIA drivers are the newest Game Ready or Studio version.





---

TL;DR Recommendation

Since you have a 3060 Ti and no iGPU:

Enable GPU acceleration in Steam normally

Disable WebView GPU acceleration only (separate toggle)

Optional: set steamwebhelper.exe to Prefer maximum performance in NVIDIA Control Panel


That’s the sweet spot: overlay smooth, client fast.

Originally posted by DanHoodie:

why this happens

The Steam overlay (and new Steam UI) are based on Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), which uses hardware acceleration through your GPU — same as Chrome or Discord.

Normally, systems with both an iGPU and a discrete GPU can offload this lightweight 2D rendering to the iGPU while keeping the dGPU (like your 3060 Ti) focused on the game.

On Intel F-series CPUs (no iGPU), all rendering must be done by the 3060 Ti. When Steam’s overlay hardware acceleration is on, both the game and the overlay fight for GPU time in the same process space → frame drops, hitching, or slow overlay.

When you disable hardware acceleration, the overlay uses CPU rendering instead — smoother overlay, but now the main Steam client (which also uses that same CEF engine) becomes laggy because your CPU is doing UI rendering that’s meant for GPU.


Why your main client lags

Steam’s new UI is GPU-accelerated by default. Disabling hardware acceleration forces it to render in software — slower and stuttery on complex pages (Library, Store, etc.). So you’ve basically shifted the problem:

> Overlay smooth → client laggy, or client smooth → overlay laggy.




---

Fixes / Workarounds

1. Use the -no-cef-sandbox or -cef-disable-gpu launch options selectively

You can apply these only to the overlay or client (see below).

For the overlay: add

STEAM_DISABLE_GPU_ACCEL=1

as a Windows environment variable — this disables GPU accel for overlay only (not for the full client).



2. Force Steam Overlay to run on a separate GPU context

If you’re on NVIDIA, open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings

Add steamwebhelper.exe and set “Power management mode” to Prefer maximum performance and “Vertical sync” to Off

This sometimes prevents the overlay from throttling itself alongside the game.



3. Disable hardware acceleration only for Steam WebView

Go to: Steam → Settings → Interface → Disable GPU acceleration for WebView

Keep the main client acceleration ON (there’s a separate toggle for it).

That reduces overlay lag without slowing the full UI much.



4. Use beta client / update drivers

Steam has been actively patching overlay and WebView performance.

Join Steam Beta Client under Settings → Interface → Client Beta Participation.

Make sure your NVIDIA drivers are the newest Game Ready or Studio version.





---

TL;DR Recommendation

Since you have a 3060 Ti and no iGPU:

Enable GPU acceleration in Steam normally

Disable WebView GPU acceleration only (separate toggle)

Optional: set steamwebhelper.exe to Prefer maximum performance in NVIDIA Control Panel


That’s the sweet spot: overlay smooth, client fast.

ai

Originally posted by DanHoodie:

why this happens

The Steam overlay (and new Steam UI) are based on Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF), which uses hardware acceleration through your GPU — same as Chrome or Discord.

Normally, systems with both an iGPU and a discrete GPU can offload this lightweight 2D rendering to the iGPU while keeping the dGPU (like your 3060 Ti) focused on the game.

On Intel F-series CPUs (no iGPU), all rendering must be done by the 3060 Ti. When Steam’s overlay hardware acceleration is on, both the game and the overlay fight for GPU time in the same process space → frame drops, hitching, or slow overlay.

When you disable hardware acceleration, the overlay uses CPU rendering instead — smoother overlay, but now the main Steam client (which also uses that same CEF engine) becomes laggy because your CPU is doing UI rendering that’s meant for GPU.


Why your main client lags

Steam’s new UI is GPU-accelerated by default. Disabling hardware acceleration forces it to render in software — slower and stuttery on complex pages (Library, Store, etc.). So you’ve basically shifted the problem:

> Overlay smooth → client laggy, or client smooth → overlay laggy.




---

Fixes / Workarounds

1. Use the -no-cef-sandbox or -cef-disable-gpu launch options selectively

You can apply these only to the overlay or client (see below).

For the overlay: add

STEAM_DISABLE_GPU_ACCEL=1

as a Windows environment variable — this disables GPU accel for overlay only (not for the full client).



2. Force Steam Overlay to run on a separate GPU context

If you’re on NVIDIA, open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings

Add steamwebhelper.exe and set “Power management mode” to Prefer maximum performance and “Vertical sync” to Off

This sometimes prevents the overlay from throttling itself alongside the game.



3. Disable hardware acceleration only for Steam WebView

Go to: Steam → Settings → Interface → Disable GPU acceleration for WebView

Keep the main client acceleration ON (there’s a separate toggle for it).

That reduces overlay lag without slowing the full UI much.



4. Use beta client / update drivers

Steam has been actively patching overlay and WebView performance.

Join Steam Beta Client under Settings → Interface → Client Beta Participation.

Make sure your NVIDIA drivers are the newest Game Ready or Studio version.





---

TL;DR Recommendation

Since you have a 3060 Ti and no iGPU:

Enable GPU acceleration in Steam normally

Disable WebView GPU acceleration only (separate toggle)

Optional: set steamwebhelper.exe to Prefer maximum performance in NVIDIA Control Panel


That’s the sweet spot: overlay smooth, client fast.

So how do I do this?
There is definetly no sepperate toggle for the overlay, its just the "web view" thing but that also affects the normal steam client (like the library) as I already said.
I dont know where to add launch options for Steam as a whole.
And also why would the Steam Overlay lag when the main client runs smoothly.
Also driver are up to date and I already use the beta (also tested the main branch)

rly