6. Overclocking

A very popular method to get 5-10 extra FPS without many expenses. Overclocking basically pushes your graphics card or processor to work just a little bit harder. This sounds dangerous, and it CAN BE! As long as you don’t go overboard, you should be fine though. It’s not that difficult, but I suggest you check out these full articles about overclocking your graphics card and processor, so you don’t end up killing your PC.

7. Adjust in-game settings

This tip is the most obvious one, but also probably the most effective so I just have to include it. Tweaking your in-game graphics settings until you get a smooth experience is a must. Lowering screen resolution, shadow quality, texture quality, view distance, etc.. will all increase the game performance immensely, so do it.

 

 8. Defrag your hard drive

This will help your entire PC’s performance, it’s a maintenance task required by your hard drives. So how can you do it?

• Windows XP: open My Computer and right-click on the C: drive. Select Properties, then click on the Tools tab and select Defragment Now
• Windows 7: open up the Start menu and type “defrag.” In windows 7, defragmentation should go automatically, but it’s always best to check if everything is running as intended.
• Windows 8: don’t worry about it, it happens automatically (Windows 8 isn’t all bad, guys!)

9. Patch your game

Sometimes it actually isn’t you, it’s him. Patching a game might resolve performance issues of the game itself, but also the way it interacts with your PC. It happens that patches come out that optimize the game with your super duper gaming rig, so be sure to check out the official game website and see if there’s nothing you can download.

10. Remember: bottlenecks

Tip 10 isn’t really something you can actually do, but rather something you have to keep in mind while tweaking your PC (and 10 tips always sound nicer than 9, right?). It’s bottlenecks, and what I mean by that is, your PC is only as strong as it’s weakest part. If you have a top-notch processor and 16 GB of RAM, but your graphics card is an INTEL 2000, you should try and optimize the latter (by overclocking it for example). It might also be better to play games that require more speed, rather than a great GPU (eg. Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, CIV 5, Battlefield 3, GTA 4, Flight Simulators, Bad Company 2. Don’t ask me why, just accept it).

Conclusion

There are many things you can do to squeeze every last bit of gaming performance out of your PC until it’s as dry as the eczema on my forehead. Not all tips will help everyone in the same way, but they are all free and relatively easy, so nothing is stopping you from trying! So take these tips to heart, and start tweaking!