PC gaming is just as fun as playing with the console, and sometimes even better. You have no annoying wires to deal with, everything that you need for fun is located within a range of a couple of clicks.
But no matter how much you enjoy your gaming nights, there are always ways to make them even better. We made a list of the best 13 hacks that will boost your experience in no time. Good news is, all of them are either cheap or free. We collected tips that work both for professional gamers and beginners – so you don’t feel over your head.
13 Best Hacks For PC Gaming
Our hacks target both hardware and software. The first thing you need to boost your gaming experience is to improve your gaming computer – and we’ll tell you what areas to target.
- Install more RAM
Great games require a lot of memory with all their realistic designs and cool action elements. This is exactly why you should stock with enough RAM before the system alerts you about its lack.
When your PC starts running out of memory, the system is forced to split the data and store it a drive memory instead of system memory, the type of memory with much faster performance. If you play on a regular Windows 8 laptop, you’ll be fine with 3-4 GB but if you aim for a high-end computer, you need at least 16 GB.
- Prohibit automatic start-ups
A portion of tools has a built-in automatic start-up function, the tools stat functioning as soon as you turn on the PC and work during the entire session in the background mode. These are typically antiviruses, torrent managers, and messengers. Tools with a start-up mode will be active even if you don’t use them and take up a lot of power, slowing down your gameplay.
With Windows’ Task Manager, you can close those instruments with one click and identify how much RAM they are using. An even better alternative is a CCleaner – a free tool with detailed analytics on all used RAM and running software – only you can also use it for deletion of temporary files (these also tend to slow gaming down).
- Hard drive defragmentation
As you use your hard drive and use more memory, the system no longer can store files as whole pieces and has to cut them into pieces, storing those parts in different locations. This way, a single file can be fragmented and stored all over the system.
The moment you need to access the object, your PC has to scour all over the storage, looking for these pieces. As a result, the system works much slower.
To solve this issue, perform defragmentation – a process of collecting those file bits into a united object. You can use a built-in Windows tool or download a professional defragmentation tool with more elaborate settings.
No matter what tool you choose to do it, the result should be the same: the system’s speed will significantly increase, as well as your game. A note: if you use a solid-state drive, you don’t need to perform fragmentation – it can damage the drive.
- Buy a solid-state drive
If you compared the prices of hard drives and solid state drives, you perhaps noticed that SSDs are much more expensive. What’s the reason? Solid state drives have no moving parts, and therefore, are more durable and work faster.
A hard drive uses spinning details to access data – and those details get old or break. These issues do not benefit the overall performance of the system Ultimately, you’ll end up in a situation where you’d need to acquire several new hard drives which will be more expensive than one SSD.
- Overclock
Overclocking is one of the simplest methods of speeding up your PC. All you need to do is adjust your processors and memory to speeds, higher than official level. Sounds dangerous but actually, it’s a common practice. Pulling your graphics cards and processes a couple of grades above the official limit will not damage the details but the increase in speed will be fairly obvious.
What if the speed is simply too high? In that case, your CPUs and GPUs will not undergo any damage but simply crash or reset. However, you don’t want to pull the bar too high – it could be too much for your voltage capacity, in which case the hardware can indeed be damaged.
- Fix hard drive errors
Naturally, a problematic hard drive can’t run at its full capacity. To detect damage in time, you have to control read and write speeds -when these increase, it indicates the extra efforts on the part of your hardware. Of course, you won’t do that manually. Instead, use tools for hard drive monitoring (our favorite picks are ChkDsk or PC Decrapifier). You can pick your own software but make sure it monitors the entire hard drive and provides you with tangible numeric evidence.
Also, free the space from all old EXE files, unless downloads, and outdated files. For one thing, some of them might contain viruses. Even if an antivirus does not indicate a threat, it never hurts to clean your gaming space. Be sure to pay attention to your main drive – usually, it’s a C disk.
- Use Skype to talk to other players
The easiest way to improve your gaming experience is to share it with others. If you have never tried talking to gamers before, it’s time to explore this pleasure. For starters, you need a popular tool, available on any PC and anywhere. Considering that starting from Windows 10, Skype has become a built-in Windows tool, its popularity is unquestionable.
With Skype, you can communicate via texts, call each other, and even do conference video calls to get to know your gaming team even better. You can even send super-large attachments – Skype provides users with a possibility to send up to 300 MB.
- Look into built-in Windows services
We already talk about the importance of monitoring third-party software. However, the same approach should be adopted to Windows built-in tools as well. A lot of them run in a background mode, slowing down the system and consuming a lot of RAM. You can turn those off in a built-in Settings panel. Start with disabling printer sharing.
- Manage your graphics cards with professional software
The most popular graphics cards for gamers are AMD and Nvidia – both of them have official control software. Standard Windows controls will only get you through simple games while professional tools will provide advanced customization options. You will be able to update drivers in time, personalize the functionality according to the game, and repair errors in time.
- Keep your games up to date
Your PC can be boosted to the fullest extent but none of it will matter one bit if the games themselves will be outdated. Keep an eye on the latest updates. Even if the gaming experience itself is unchanged, these new versions can contain security patches, increased speeds, and better design.
If you use console emulators like Xpadder Windows 10, keep those up to date as well. Emulators are frequently updates considering that they always have to catch up to the functionality of the original console. To use the same benefits as console players, tend to your emulator changes regularly.
If you forget to install these updates manually, good news for you: you don’t have to monitor them yourself. Instead, use download services and gaming managers that look for the latest updates and automatically upload new versions. The most popular ones are Steam and Origin, and they are also perfectly suited for beginners.
- Keep track of system information
Regularly check the state of your processors and graphics card. Control voltage levels and clock speed. If the speed of system performance will decrease, take it for an alert. Perhaps, you should monitor your CPU’s errors, get it fixed, or even substituted. If the voltage level is higher than average, you can take a clue and stop overclocking.
- Disable automatic indexing
Windows has a built-in indexing feature which allows it to remember files and folders, should you ever use a Windows search. In a way, Windows here works similar to Google, only on a micro level. The files are indexed, and this indexed code is used to analyze whether the searched query fits the description of the file or not.
However, if you don’t use Windows Search, it’s best to disable indexing. To look through each file, your PC has to waste a lot of energy, and it negatively influences your gaming experience.
Conclusions
To get the most out of your gaming experience, keep your PC healthy from inside and out. Be sure to regularly tend to the needs of your hardware keep track of system records and statistics, and detect errors before the situation gets too complicated.
The same approach should be adopted with the software. To help PC run faster, disable useless Windows built-in tools and analyze third-party programs. If some have a default background mode, turn it off. Also, Windows has a lot of additional features that you might not even know about – but they use RAM and power nevertheless. Explore built-in Windows functionality and decide which services are truly important.
Seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Actually, good news: at least half of these tips can be applied in an hour. If you execute at least 5-6 methods from the list, you will already notice significant improvements.