Your computer’s speed and performance play a key role in a smooth and efficient gaming experience. By tweaking specific deep hidden settings and tools, you can get the most out of your system and take your gaming experience to the next level. Here are the settings that every PC gamer should adjust right away.
Further reading: Absurd bargain! Get this $650 RTX-powered HP gaming laptop before it’s gone
Windows settings
Set actual mouse speed: As soon as you install Windows, the mouse speed is automatically artificially accelerated. You can change this by opening Mouse Settings, navigating to Advanced Mouse Settings, and selecting Pointer Options. Remove the check mark next to it Increase pointer precision to achieve consistent mouse movement.
The Increase pointer precision feature adjusts mouse movement speed based on your movement speed. This can cause the mouse pointer to become unpredictable and difficult to control. By turning this option off, you’ll get consistent mouse movement, regardless of movement speed, resulting in more precise and predictable control.
Further reading: The best PC gaming mice
This is especially important for tasks that require a high level of accuracy, such as graphic design, image editing or gaming. By turning this feature off, you can ensure that the mouse pointer lands exactly where you want it without unexpectedly speeding up or slowing down.
Enable game mode: Make sure Game Mode is enabled so Windows can respond optimally to games. You can find the game mode below settings > Games > Game mode.
Game mode in Windows prioritizes your computer’s resources for gaming. It automatically recognizes when you launch the game and allocates the necessary CPU and GPU resources to the game to ensure optimal performance. This reduces background processes that could affect game performance and makes games run smoother in general.
While playing, it can get in the way if other programs are updating, your antivirus is scanning, or other system activities are running in the background. Windows Game Mode automatically suppresses these background activities.
Adjust your power settings: To activate high performance mode, open Power options pod, below Control panel > Hardware and sound. There you can choose between different energy saving plans. In order to achieve optimal performance for your computer, you must activate Top performance (High performance as an alternative). If you have a Ryzen processor, the so-called AMD Ryzen high performance may also be available, which you should preferably use.
Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft
High performance mode is essential for players. Games benefit from faster data processing and improved graphics performance. By activating this mode, you can enjoy higher frames per second (FPS) and a generally smoother gaming experience.
The mode optimizes your computer’s performance by ensuring that hardware such as the processor and graphics card can operate at their full capacity. Unlike other power options that aim to save energy, High Performance Mode prioritizes maximum performance. This is especially important if you perform computer-intensive tasks such as gaming, video editing, or programming.
Activating high-performance mode reduces lag and lag. Your system responds faster to your commands and applications launch faster. This is especially useful if you use several applications at the same time or if you rely on complex programs that require fast data processing.
Optimize refresh rate: Windows does not automatically select the maximum refresh rate for your monitor. This can be very frustrating if, for example, you have a 144Hz monitor that only runs at 60Hz. To adjust the refresh rate you must open Advanced display settings pod, below System > Display.
A higher refresh rate means the screen can display more images per second. This results in smoother movements, especially during fast actions such as mouse movements or video games. This makes the overall user experience more pleasant and less tiring on the eyes.
A screen with a higher refresh rate responds to inputs more quickly. This means that the delay between mouse or keyboard input and the actual response on the screen is minimized. Improved response time is essential to ensure a seamless interaction with the computer and increase productivity.
Further reading: The best gaming monitors: 4K, HDR, Ultrawide and more
In most cases, you can still overclock the monitor for a better refresh rate. If you are using an Nvidia graphics card, you must right-click on the desktop and open Nvidia control panel. There, navigate to Display > Change resolution > Customize. Mark it Enable resolution and open Create a user-specific resolution. In a new window, increase the refresh rate in small increments and test each setting. As soon as the monitor remains black for about 15 seconds, set the refresh rate to the previously stable value and save the settings. Then select the saved settings under Resolution > Adjusted in Nvidia Control Panel and click apply.
If you have an AMD graphics card, you must download and run the Custom Resolution Utility (CRU). Select the desired monitor and click on To add under “Detailed Resolution” to adjust the refresh rate in small increments. Save the settings and run the restart64 application in the software folder to apply the changes. As soon as the monitor displays the image again, adjust the refresh rate directly in Windows as before until the monitor no longer displays the image for a long time to maintain the last stable refresh rate.
BIOS settings
Adjusting memory speed: By default, the memory may not perform at the promised speeds and latency times. To do this, you need to select the XMP or DOCP profile (Intel or Amd) in the BIOS settings.
XMP and DOCP profiles offer predefined RAM settings that have been tested and validated by manufacturers. By activating these profiles, you ensure that your RAM is running at the optimal clock and time. This leads to improved memory performance, faster application load times and smoother overall system operation.
Automatically overclock the processor: Many motherboards offer the ability to overclock the processor via one-click BIOS settings, for example with functions such as Precision Boost Overdrive (Amd) or Turbo Power Limits (Intel). This allows you to achieve a stable increase in the performance of your computer.
Activate the resizing bar: Option to enable Resize BAR (or smart access memory) can be found either on the home page of your BIOS settings or under something similar PCI Advanced Settings. Enable 4G decoding be able to edit Resize the STRAP.
Resize BAR allows the processor to more efficiently access the graphics memory (VRAM) of the graphics card by transferring larger amounts of data in one step. This leads to improved graphics performance, especially in demanding games or applications that require high bandwidth for graphics operations. By enabling Resize BAR, you can achieve higher frames per second (FPS) and an overall smoother gaming experience.
Further reading: Best Gaming Laptops and Gaming Laptops Under $1000
Useful software
FanControl for fan speed control: FanControl software (download) allows you to individually control each fan in your system, including graphics card fans, unless they are already being affected by another program.
Revo Uninstaller for complete program uninstallation: Revo Uninstaller can uninstall any program and then delete all unwanted folders and files that would not be removed by normal uninstallation. You can also remove Windows software that cannot otherwise be uninstalled.
MSI Afterburner: With MSI Afterburner you can overclock, reduce voltage and control the fan speed of your graphics card. In addition, it is possible to display various data during gameplay — for example, FPS, utilization and power consumption.
This article has been translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.