Getting Started Guide

Installation & First Launch

Get from Steam:

• Find "Arbiter Intelligence" in the Steam store
• Add to your Steam library
• Install through Steam (automatic)

First Launch:

• Launch from Steam Library or Desktop shortcut
• Click "Yes" when prompted for administrator privileges (required for ETW capture)
• The GUI will open—you're ready to analyze!

Your First Performance Capture

Quick Start (5 minutes):

1. Launch Arbiter Intelligence as Administrator
2. Click "Start Analysis" in the center of the GUI
3. Launch your game and play normally for 5 minutes
4. Return to Arbiter and click "Stop Analysis"
5. Wait 30-60 seconds while the report generates
6. View your interactive HTML report (opens automatically)

What to capture:

• Minimum: 3-5 minutes of gameplay
• Recommended: 5-10 minutes covering different areas/scenarios
• Maximum: 60 minutes (longer captures use more disk space)

Understanding Your Report

The performance report opens automatically in your browser. Here's what to look for:

📊 Performance Summary (Top Section):

• Average FPS: Your overall frame rate
• 1% Low / 0.1% Low: How bad your worst frame drops are (more important than average!)
• Bottleneck: GPU-Bound or CPU-Bound detection

🧠 AI Insights (Middle Section):

• Natural language explanations of your performance
• Root cause analysis (e.g., "Thermal throttling detected at 15:32")
• Specific recommendations for your system

📈 Charts & Graphs (Bottom Section):

• FPS Over Time: See where stutters occur
• CPU/GPU Utilization: Identify bottlenecks visually
• Frame Delivery Timeline: Microsecond-level frame timing

Applying One-Click Fixes

Arbiter Intelligence provides guided Quick Fix buttons for common Windows gaming optimizations:

How to use Quick Fixes:

1. Go to the "Quick Fixes" panel in the main GUI
2. Review the recommended fixes (green checkmarks)
3. Click "Apply Fix" on the specific items you want
4. Confirm the prompt, then retest your game to measure impact

Available Fixes:

• High-Performance Power Plan: Prevents CPU throttling
• Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling: Reduces latency (Windows 10 20H1+)
• Game Mode: Prioritizes game processes
• Disable Fullscreen Optimizations: Reduces input lag
• Timer Resolution Optimization: Improves frame pacing
• Page File Configuration: Prevents memory stutters
• Windows Update Service: Prevents updates during gaming
• Superfetch/Prefetch: Disables disk thrashing
• NVIDIA/AMD Driver Settings: Optimize GPU control panel
• Process Priority: Recommends higher priority where appropriate

Game-Specific Analysis

Arbiter Intelligence recognizes 50+ popular games and provides tailored insights:

Recognized Games (Examples):

• Cyberpunk 2077, Valorant, CS2, Fortnite
• Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Overwatch 2
• Elden Ring, Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3
• Minecraft, GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2

Game Focus Panel:

• Automatically detects your game when launched
• Shows expected FPS range for your hardware
• Compares your performance to community baselines
• Provides game-specific optimization tips

Unrecognized Games:

Don't worry! Unrecognized games still get full performance analysis—they just won't have tailored baseline comparisons. All features (FPS tracking, bottleneck detection, AI insights) work identically.

Sharing Your Results

Export your performance data to share with communities or for troubleshooting:

Export Formats:

• Discord/Reddit Export: Copy formatted text box perfect for posting
• HTML Report: Share the interactive report file
• JSON Data: Raw performance metrics for advanced analysis
• CSV Export: Frame-by-frame data for Excel/Python

How to export:

1. Open any report from the "Recent Captures" panel
2. Click the "Export" button in the report
3. Choose your format (Discord, JSON, CSV)
4. Copy to clipboard or save to file