For those passionate about gaming, a high-powered system featuring powerful components, able to cope with the demand of AAA titles, is essential. That said, a gaming PC is a significant purchase. With starting prices around £500 to £700 for a solid 1080p-oriented gaming PC build, you naturally want to run your system at its full potential. Here is how you can make the most of your gaming PC.
Turn On Gaming Mode
If you have Microsoft Windows 10 or 11 as your operating system, you have the option of turning on gaming mode. Windows understands the significant gamer portion of their target audience, so Windows Game Mode is designed to improve gaming performance, focusing system resources on games when enabled. While this isn’t a substitute for high-quality components, it can optimise an otherwise outdated system.
Use It For Other Things
Your gaming PC is just that, a PC, so there is no reason you can’t use it for other purposes. You may wish to use your system for office work, streaming, video editing and even graphic design. Photo editing programmes such as Photoshop require a moderately powerful computer with at least 8GB of RAM and a high-clocking CPU.
Maintain Your PC Well
To make the most of your gaming PC, you’ll want it to last as long as possible. Maintaining your system well will contribute to its durability and lifespan. Dust management is a key factor - a build-up of dust can significantly impact your PC’s performance, making it retain heat, and potentially damaging its components.
Install More RAM
Installing more RAM (random access memory) can improve your gaming experience by boosting system responsiveness and improving frame rates. More RAM can also improve your system’s speed if you frequently use multiple programs at once, for example, if you live-stream your gameplay on platforms such as Twitch. To broadcast gameplay, your system needs to run your game, your streaming software and other communication functions such as Discord.
Review Your Graphics Card
When it comes to system upgrades, your graphics card (GPU) may be first on your list. Your PC’s GPU is responsible for providing a high-quality visual display. High-end AAA titles require a robust state-of-the-art graphics card that can keep up with demand. Many game developers recommend a GTX 960 or GTX 1060 and their AMD equivalents.
Upgrade Your CPU
If you use CPU-intensive applications, such as video editing software and games with large amounts of AI, you may need to upgrade your CPU regularly. To avoid incompatibility, you can purchase a motherboard and CPU bundle which may even save you money. Your CPU’s performance capabilities are determined by its clock speed and core count; therefore, the higher the clock speed per core, the better the performance.
Check Your In-Game Options
The less-than-desirable performance of your game, which may include freezing and excess lag, is often due to low-end components; however, it may be worth checking your in-game options until you can procure updated parts. While some gamers prefer not to tamper with settings, others find that dropping graphical options to a lower setting makes for smoother gameplay.
Upgrade Your Optimisation Software
Upon purchase, your PC may have come with its own optimisation software; however, alternative options are available. Optimisation software is often cheap (sometimes even free to use) and is effective in allocating system resources to your games when needed, so you get as much as possible out of your hardware setup.
Free Up Disk Space
Freeing up disk space means deleting unnecessary files and folders that may have accumulated on your system. Although a lack of disk space won’t affect your FPS unless you have insufficient RAM to hold all the files the game needs, freeing up your PC’s disk space on a regular basis may improve its performance.
Turn Off Notifications and Shut Down Background Processes
Generally speaking, the fewer notifications you enable, the less your PC’s performance will be impacted - not only that, but you can enjoy uninterrupted gaming sessions. Furthermore, having multiple background processes running occupies physical memory space, slowing down your PC. Shutting down background processes is also effective in prolonging the lifespan of your components.