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Whether you are playing World of Warcraft, Rocket League, or Far Cry 4, you want to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your technology. You want to do it without putting your expensive parts in any danger. You are also always on the lookout for upgrades or improvements wherever you can make them, hoping to stay up to date with the latest and most taxing games out there.
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Here are five ways that you can boost the performance of your gaming computer:
Clean It Up
Unnecessary programs and files should be removed for maximum performance. Try to ask yourself if you need every large game installed on your computer all of the time. Go through your photos and music collection and keep only the files you like. You will be surprised at how quickly all of these things add up, and you will be even more surprised at the increase in performance.
You should also physically clean your computer as well to remove dust and small hairs that accumulate. Too much grime and dust will cause a computer to overheat, reducing performance or even causing damage. Cans of compressed air are great for taking care of the sensitive parts, and make sure to not use vacuums as they tend to damage your computer from either strength or electricity. Do your cleaning outside so the dust doesn’t get recirculated into the computer. You may also want to use a small paint brush or a cleaning cloth to get rid of dust when it looks like those tools will be effective.
Upgrade the Graphics Card
To play games at a decent quality, you probably have a serious graphics card. It also could be time to upgrade depending on the age of your computer. Check to see what kind of graphics card setup you have before looking to upgrade. This way you can explore your two main options properly.
The first is to simply replace the setup you have with a significantly better singular graphics card. While this can be rather costly, if you get one of a high enough quality you can use it in your next gaming computer and get more mileage out of it. That being said, you should only do this is you are considering a serious upgrade that will make a huge difference.
Your other option is to find the same graphics card you have now and install another one, pairing it up via SLI or Crossfire. While you get diminishing returns with each graphics card you add in this way, you get to keep using your old one without wondering what to do with it. This is the best option for those who already have a pretty powerful machine.
Use a VPN
While you may want to focus on performance and graphics, you also need to worry about data security and privacy. Imagine a hacker getting into your files and stealing some of your personal information or the details to your Steam account. Even if you could get it back, there would likely be days of wasted time and stress.
This is why you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect you and your gaming computer. What the VPN will do is connect your gaming computer to an offsite secure server which uses an encrypted connection that acts as a tunnel. This means that no one can take a look at what you are doing online. For those who don’t want to deal with a sore loser in Call of Duty who threatens you personally, the VPN will also mask your IP address and hide your information to keep your identity and location a secret.
A very important note for anyone with a gaming computer is that not all VPNs are alike when it comes to gaming. The cheaper services out there can offer poor protection and lead to a throttled or slowed internet connection, which is unacceptable to gamers. For this reason you will want to look at some reviews of VPNs that are tailored for gaming to find one perfect for your PC.
Get a Second Monitor
While it won’t improve the actual performance of a computer, getting a second monitor for your computer is one of the best investments you can make to improve productivity when you are working and your experience when you are gaming. Instead of having to manage tabs all day you can just have two screens open. If you have the right setup, you can effectively merge the two screens while gaming to have an amazing view of your games.
It is also good idea to find two of the same monitor to use; otherwise the different screens can become disorienting, with your game looking terrible on the larger or better screen. Unless you only plan to use the second monitor on the side for giving you statistics and checking email when necessary, uniformity is key. If you are worried about cost, note that a good monitor will last you for quite a few years and is worth the investment.
Use a SSD
If you want to improve performance on your gaming computer in ways other than graphics and presentation, then using an SDD, if you don’t already have one, is an amazing investment. Not only are they more stable than the average HDD, due to the lack of moving parts, they are faster than even the fastest HDD out on the market today.
If you’re worried about the cost of an SSD and don’t know whether to upgrade, try to consider the value of your saved time. Think of how many loading screens you encounter in every game you play. It depends on the game, but on average, a SSD will cut loading times of many games by at least half. While this may seem marginal, these seconds add up into hours or even days of saved time pretty quickly, and this isn’t even counting the more immersive gaming experience you receive.
While is can be expensive and time consuming to improving your computer, it is a rewarding and educational experience that you will enjoy for your computer’s increased performance and for the act itself. Thank you for reading, and I hope that this information has been helpful to you.
