Ways to Improve Gaming Performance of Your PC (Without Investments)

I am a gamer. I was a hardcore gamer long before I became a student. I used to ask professionals to do my math homework for cheap just to have more time to play the newly released Witcher 3 back in May 2015. And here is one thing I understood throughout my “career” as a gamer: even the most powerful PC does not guarantee you smooth and lag-free gameplay. I know what I’m talking about: back then, I had the i7-4770K CPU with the GTX 970 in my rig.

However, good news comes next. Much frequently, slight software optimization is enough to make your favorite game “fly”.

So, in this article, I would like to mention the simplest and most effective performance boost ways. I should admit that topics of overclocking and PC hardware upgrades. The first thing is quite dangerous for an average user to try, and the latter requires significant money investments that not everyone can afford right away.

1. System Requirements and Game Settings

This is the starting point. Any game has its system requirements. Many users think that it’s enough to check what’s written on the official game’s website or Steam page, to make sure that the system specs are better than minimum requirements, and that’s it.

However, most frequently, this information provides minimum requirements to play. So, you should pay attention to some kinds of these specs:

• Minimum requirements are those needed to launch the game with the lowest performance settings;
• Recommended specs are parameters providing good performance with medium or mid-to-high graphics;
• Optimal requirements show the hardware you need to max the graphics out and still get the desired 60 frames per second.

You got it, didn’t you? If your PC correlates only with minimum specs, set the game’s graphics parameters to the lowest levels possible in resolution, texture quality, shadows, etc. It is practically impossible to replace the insufficient hardware performance with software and its optimization.

Further, in the article, we’ll review some tips that will most probably help you improve your gaming experience regardless of your PC hardware capabilities. So, if you are a student, you might want to find a reliable assignment writing help service before going on reading. Don’t let gaming ruin your academic success, take care of future tasks beforehand.

2. Delete Programs Slowing Your PC Down

The game frequently lags not because your hardware is too weak to run it, but due to the other app working simultaneously and taking a lot of system resources. For instance, the antivirus app launches the hard drive check while you are playing some game. Of course, even a powerful PC may not be capable of dealing with two such serious tasks at a time.

If that is your case, press the “Win” button or Ctrl+Tab to switch to the desktop window. Then, launch the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and see which process or program causes your PC load. 

In case there is any other app but your game, turn it off and shut it down completely. If you are using it rarely, maybe you might want to delete it from your PC at all. Also, try checking autorun apps. If there are any programs you don’t know, switch them off or delete them as well.

3. Sweep Registry, OS, Temporary Files, etc.

The registry is a large database used by your OS. With time, a lot of “trash” appear there: false signatures, files for applications you deleted long ago, and so on. This may cause PC performance reduction, so it is recommended to clean and optimize your registry. Try using apps like CCleaner, for example.

The same thing works for the hard drive where many temporary files may appear and stay for long. For instance, removing that trash from your Recycle Bin folder can add performance to your hard drive, and consequently lower frame time spikes

4. Hard Drive Defragmentation

• All the files you copy to your drive are being recorded “in pieces” (to say simply, the system may record your essay gotten from https://papercoach.net professionals to different memory cells). So, such pieces grow in numbers with time, and the PC needs more time to assemble them as a result. That is why you experience performance drops.

So, it is recommended to defragment your hard drive from time to time.

The simplest way to do that is to use the standard Windows utility. Enter “This Computer”, make the right click on the required drive and pick “Properties”.

Then, there is the “Service” tab with the defragmentation button. Press it, and keep up with the guide that appears.

To Conclude

In the text above, we reviewed the quickest and easiest ways to optimize your PC for better gaming. Of course, no settings and apps can replace new hardware components, especially if your computer consists of some mid-class five-plus-years-old components. So, if you have enough money in your pocket and want to play newly released games without lags, you probably would be happy to upgrade your system partially or entirely.