Nothing is more annoying when your PC starts slowing down while playing your favorite video game. Good thing that there are things you can do to speed up your gaming PC other than just turning it on and off repeatedly.

Several factors can cause a PC to slow down. As your unit is made of several hardware components, drivers, software, and apps, it is hard to pinpoint which is causing its sluggish performance. However, it boils down that your PC’s resources are being used inefficiently.

Follow these five tips on how you can fix a slow gaming PC and what you can do to prevent your unit from slowing down in the long term.

How to make your gaming PC run faster

1 – Clean your hard drive.

When your hard drive storage is full, it can cause your PC to slow down as your operating system doesn’t have enough space to work efficiently. Your operating system will need an adequate amount of space to run efficiently.

So check how much free space you have in your hard drive. Go to “This PC” and check the memory space of the main drive, which is usually named Local Disk (C:). If you see that the memory space in your hard drive is almost full, you must clean your hard drive.

Here are several ways you can clean your hard drive:

Uninstall and remove unwanted programs.
Clean and delete any unwanted files in your Downloads folder.
Empty the Recycle Bin to prevent file build-up.
Find and delete the temporary files in your system.
Clear the cache on your internet browser.

2 – Scan your PC for malware and viruses.

Another reason that may be causing your gaming PC to slow down is when it is infected with malware and viruses. This is why you need to use an up-to-date antivirus program. Regularly run scans to find any malware or viruses that may cause your gaming PC to slow down.

Here are the best antivirus programs you can check:

Avast Antivirus
Norton Antivirus
Avira Security
Bitdefender Antivirus
McAfee Antivirus
G Data Antivirus
Malwarebytes Premium
Trend Micro Security

3 – Defrag your hard drive.

An easy fix you can do to optimize your hard drive is through defragmenting or defragging. This process helps your PC organize bits of hard drive data into ordered blocks to maximize its performance.

If you experience your PC slowing down, defragging your hard drive can help speed up its performance. Programs with large file sizes, such as video-editing software and AAA game titles, will cause your hard drive to fragment. Defragging your hard drive will thus improve its performance.

4 – Upgrade your RAM.

While the hard drive in your PC is used to store programs and files. The RAM or System Memory is responsible for storing information about your operating system and the programs that are currently running. To explain it simply, the higher the number of RAM in your PC, the more programs or apps you can run simultaneously. Thus, a memory upgrade is one of the best ways to increase your gaming PC’s performance and speed.

Most gaming PCs have 16GB RAM initially installed. However, to improve its performance, you might want to upgrade your RAM to 24GB or 32GB. This amount of RAM works best for demanding programs and software users. It is also perfect for users who use their unit to stream their games online.

5 – Disable start-up and background programs.

Running too many programs simultaneously can take up most of your system’s processing power. This can reduce your PC’s performance and slow down its system.

To reduce the programs running in your system, you may want to disable start-up and background programs you are not using. Background programs are apps that continue running in the background even after you have closed them. Start-up programs, on the other hand, are apps that start as soon as your operating system boots up.

To disable background programs, follow the steps below:

Open Task Manager on your PC, or press CTRL+ALT+DELETE all at the same time.
Click the CPU, Memory, and Disk headers to sort the programs currently running in your system. This will show you which programs use most of your computer’s resources.
Sort out which programs you aren’t using and close them from the Task Manager. Select the program and click “End Task.”

To disable start-up programs, follow the steps below:

Go to Task Manager or press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
Click the Start-Up tab on Task Manager. This will show which start-up programs are running when your system boots up.
Select the programs you don’t need on start-up, and click “Disable” in the bottom right corner of the interface.
Make sure that you only disable unnecessary programs that you don’t need running in the system. Also, never disable important programs such as your antivirus or driver programs.

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