Can the Steam Machine run Marvel Rivals at a high framerate?

Estimated: yes, at 1080p with a lower/medium preset and FSR it should hold a comfortably high, competitive-feeling framerate, since the game runs on SteamOS via Proton and the Machine sits in the RX 7600 class. We don't have measured Steam Machine numbers yet, so treat that as directional — confirmed figures will follow once we bench it.

Should I use FSR or run at native resolution?

For competitive play, use FSR . The small drop in image sharpness at Quality or Balanced buys a meaningful frame increase and eases the 8 GB VRAM pressure, which matters more for aim consistency than pixel-perfect edges. Native 1080p is fine if you already have frames to spare.

Why turn off Frame Generation if it raises my FPS?

Frame Generation inflates the displayed FPS number but adds input latency, because generated frames don't reflect fresh input. In a hero shooter where you're tracking and flicking, that extra latency works against you — a real, capped framerate feels more responsive than a higher generated one.

Is 1440p worth trying on the Steam Machine?

You can try it, but on an 8 GB / RX 7600 -class machine, native 1440p in a UE5 shooter pushes both VRAM and GPU harder than is ideal for competitive frames. 1440p with FSR is a reasonable middle ground if your display is 1440p , but 1080p remains the honest competitive target here.

Best Marvel Rivals Settings on the Steam Machine

Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play, Unreal Engine 5 hero shooter, and on the Steam Machine you should tune it for one thing: a high, stable framerate that keeps your aim responsive. That means dropping to a lower or medium preset, turning on FSR, killing motion blur, and cutting the expensive UE5 lighting effects before you worry about how pretty it looks. In a competitive shooter, frames and latency beat eye candy every time.

Worth being upfront: SteamFPS does not yet have a measured or curated Steam Machine verdict for Marvel Rivals. What we have is its SteamOS/Proton compatibility, so everything below is estimated from the game's known demands plus the Machine's RX 7600-class GPU, 8 GB VRAM ceiling, and Zen 4 CPU. Treat the framerate talk as directional, not promised — measured numbers will follow once we bench it. For how we test, see methodology.

Why competitive settings, not pretty settings

Marvel Rivals leans on UE5 features — Lumen-style global illumination, screen-space reflections, heavy post-processing — that look great in a screenshot and quietly eat your frame budget. On an 8 GB / RX 7600-class machine those are exactly the costs you want to shed first.

The goal is a framerate that's both high and flat: a steady 90+ feels far better in a duel than a spiky number that swings from 120 down to 70 in a teamfight. Smoothness and input latency win gunfights; ultra shadows do not.

Start here: the fast competitive baseline

Do these in order from the in-game graphics menu. This is the configuration to beat before you start fine-tuning.

Graphics Quality preset: Low or Medium. Start at Low to see your headroom, then raise individual settings back up if you have frames to spare.
Resolution: 1080p. This is the Steam Machine's honest target. Native 1080p high keeps text and enemy outlines crisp; save 1440p for less demanding games.
Super Resolution (upscaling): FSR, Quality or Balanced. FSR renders internally lower and upscales, buying you a big frame jump for a small clarity cost. Quality first; drop to Balanced if you need more.
Motion Blur: Off. Always off in a competitive shooter — it smears fast-moving enemies and adds perceived latency.
Frame Generation: Off for competitive play. It raises the displayed number but adds input latency, which is the opposite of what you want when aiming.

Cut the expensive UE5 effects

These are the settings that cost the most for the least competitive benefit on 8 GB of VRAM. Turn them down hard.

Global Illumination / Lumen: Low or Off. This is usually the single biggest frame saver in UE5 titles. Lower it aggressively.
Reflection Quality: Low. Screen-space and ray-traced reflections are expensive and barely matter in a firefight.
Shadow Detail: Low or Medium. Medium keeps enemy shadows readable as a positional tell without the ultra cost.
Model/Character Detail: Medium or High. Keep enemy models clear — this is information you act on, so don't starve it.
Post-Processing / Bloom: Low. Reduces glare and visual noise, which also helps you spot enemies.
Anti-Aliasing: TAA or the FSR-integrated AA. You need edge stability; avoid the heaviest AA modes.

Mind the 8 GB VRAM ceiling

The Steam Machine tops out at 8 GB of VRAM, and UE5 hero shooters can push past that at high textures plus high resolution. When VRAM fills, you get stutter and frame-time spikes — exactly the inconsistency that loses duels.

Keep Texture Quality at Medium or High, not Ultra. Textures are the first thing to overflow VRAM at 8 GB.
If you see periodic hitching rather than a low-but-steady framerate, that's a VRAM/streaming symptom — drop textures and resolution scale a notch.
FSR helps here too: a lower internal render resolution eases VRAM pressure as well as GPU load.

Lock it in: latency and frame pacing

Once the visuals are tuned, spend your remaining effort on responsiveness.

Cap your framerate a few frames below what your panel and hardware sustain (e.g. a 138 cap on a 144 Hz screen). A cap you actually hold feels smoother and more consistent than an uncapped, spiky number.
V-Sync: Off in-game; use the display/framerate cap to control tearing instead, to avoid V-Sync's added latency.
Prefer a wired or low-latency connection and a 120 Hz+ HDMI 2.1 display so your high framerate actually reaches your eyes.
Use the SteamOS in-game performance overlay to watch the frame-time graph, not just the FPS counter — flat frame-times are the real target.

Where this fits

If you're deciding whether the Steam Machine is your competitive box at all, see which device and our broader /games coverage. For titles we've already benched and ranked, check the best Steam Machine games. We'll update this page with measured Marvel Rivals figures once it's been through our test bench.