In this modern era of gaming, it’s hard to keep up with the latest trends and developments in tech and innovation. Each passing year seemingly brings with it a wealth of new games that require cutting-edge hardware to get the best out of them. Or at least, that’s what PC manufacturers would have us believe!
Although there are plenty of budget models available, getting hold of the latest gaming-specific PC can take quite a significant investment — even pre-built rigs can cost thousands of dollars. Luckily, despite what the market tells us, we don’t need to run out and purchase a top-of-the-range machine with each new wave of games.
The gaming industry is hugely diverse, encompassing everything from action platformers right the way through to real money casino games like online slots and GameFi titles. If you want to enjoy the whole spectrum of gaming experiences, keep reading to find out how to optimize your existing PC to play any type of digital game.
An Introduction to PC Optimization
Unlike gaming consoles and laptops, PCs often have a much longer shelf life when it comes to being able to play multiple generations of digital and video games. That’s because the components that ensure immersive gaming experiences — RAM, CPUs, and graphics cards — can all be replaced and upgraded in PCs, thereby extending their utility. Even the smallest hardware upgrade can have a noticeable impact on your experience playing A+++ games.
Although the GPU shortage that plagued the gaming industry during the pandemic years has thankfully eased off, brand-new graphics cards have still been quite difficult to get hold of here in 2023. This scarcity and the increasingly high costs of components have left many a PC user unable to update their setups, but it’s still possible to get more performance out of older hardware by making changes to software and settings.
Know What Games to Target
This is an important point, as top-notch hardware is only sometimes required to indulge in certain games. For instance, when it comes to most casino games to play online, such as online slots, live dealer poker, or baccarat, mid-level processors with just 4 gigs of RAM will facilitate a smooth gaming experience. These casino games do not require serious pixel power or system requirements, as they’re even optimized for smartphones and do not have any high graphics requirements.
So, regarding casino games, know that there’s no need for attachments when they’re run on mobile devices, which is a great sign that these games will run well on low-performance devices as well. That is to say, when you indulge in gambling, you can utilize any operating system—be it Windows, Mac, or Linux—and dive into web-based platforms, which only require a stable internet connection.
However, if you are a high-level gamer, you need to get at least a dual or quad-core CPU, with 8GB of RAM at minimum, to keep things moving with high-performance video games. As a general tip, you should free up 35GB+ hard drive space for games that need to be installed on your PC.
Tweaking Software to Improve Gaming Performance
To the uninitiated, knowing which of your PC’s settings are worth tweaking to maximize its performance can be tricky. While some are a waste of time, you can make several adjustments to your Windows PC that will optimize it for a range of gaming experiences and keep it going for another year or two of regular play.
We’ll get to share our best tips shortly, but first, let’s address the question of updating to Windows 11 and whether it makes a difference for gamers. If you haven’t made the switch yet and don’t need to for any other reason, it’s really not worth moving from Windows 10 to 11. The actual difference in performance between the two operating systems is minimal at best, so save your cash and focus on making the following changes instead.
Background Apps
First, one of the easiest ways to boost your PC’s performance is to close down unnecessary background applications and processes. Although most background processes are lightweight and don’t use too much juice, some can surprisingly affect performance while gaming.
If you’re not sure which apps you should close, hit the Startup tab on your Windows PC and look at which programs have the most impact on your machine’s boot time. Turning them off will not only improve your gaming experience but also speed up the time it takes for your PC to start up.
Game Mode
Did you know your Windows 10 machine already has a built-in Game Mode? If the answer’s no, keep reading! When switched on Game Mode, it effectively tweaks all your settings for fully optimized gaming performance. Provided your computer supports it, Windows will automatically manage resources to provide the perfect frame rate (and suspend any pending Updates to boot).
Here’s how to switch on Game Mode on your PC:
- Launch Settings by hitting Windows Key & I
- Search ‘game mode’
- Click Turn on Game Mode, ensuring the box labeled ‘When playing a game’ is ticked
Use High-Performance Mode
While we wouldn’t recommend adjusting the power settings on gaming laptops, switching to High-performance mode on your desktop PC won’t have much of an effect—except where you want it.
Turning this mode on tells your machine to prioritize performance over energy efficiency, which is something you need if you want to enjoy top-notch gaming experiences.
To turn this mode on:
- Open Settings as described above
- Search ‘Power & Sleep’
- Choose Additional Power Settings
- Select ‘ High performance ‘ in the Choose or customize a power plan screen.
Change In-Game Settings
Finally, you can increase the frame rate of your favorite gaming titles by adjusting their in-game settings. Most games you can play on your PC have advanced settings that you should be able to adjust to get the perfect combination. Some things that can affect a game’s performance include its resolution and advanced GPU features like Ray Tracing, which can place big demands on your hardware.
The best way to figure out which settings you need to focus on is to begin lowering them and seeing whether you notice any changes in visual fidelity and performance. If you aren’t noticing any major differences when you’ve reduced a setting to its lowest level, then you can go ahead and start fine-tuning.
