Gaming Performance

Improve FPS – the most important levers

FPS (Frames per Second) is the number of images your graphics card delivers per second. More FPS means smoother graphics and faster reaction. What helps the most?

Measure FPS – how much do you really have?

Before you can tune, you should know where you stand:

• In-game FPS display — many games have this in the settings
• Steam FPS counter — Steam → Settings → In-Game → Enable FPS Counter
• NVIDIA GeForce Overlay — Alt+R with current driver software
• MSI Afterburner — popular for detailed monitoring (FPS, GPU Temp, RAM usage)

Keep Gaming Drivers Up to Date

Probably the most important tip, often overlooked: Current graphics drivers. NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel often release special drivers for new games on release day that can deliver 10–30% more FPS.

The Right Driver Sources

• NVIDIA GeForce Experience — automatic updates for GeForce cards
• AMD Adrenalin Software — analogous for Radeon cards
• Intel Driver & Support Assistant — for Intel Arc and integrated graphics
• Manufacturer Website — manual, most current version

What else needs updates

• Chipset drivers — important for CPU performance, often forgotten
• Audio drivers — affects audio latency in gaming
• Network drivers — important for online gaming, ping reduction
• BIOS/UEFI updates — for RAM speed, CPU stability (Caution: only if necessary!)

Activate Gaming Mode

Windows has had a built-in Gaming Mode for several versions. When it detects that you are playing, it reduces background activities, optimizes resource allocation, and prioritizes the game.

Activate Windows Gaming Mode

1. Settings → Gaming → Game Mode
2. Turn the "Game Mode" switch to On
3. Optional: Activate "Game Bar" (Win+G opens overlay)

What Gaming Mode Does

• Prevents Windows updates from installing during gameplay
• Reduces background synchronizations
• Prioritizes game processes for resource allocation
• Automatically disables some notifications

Manual Optimizations for Gaming Sessions

1. Activate Dark Mode — saves power & heat on OLED monitors
2. Close Discord/Browser/Spotify — no RAM hogs in the background
3. Pause Cloud Sync — OneDrive, Dropbox pause while you play
4. Antivirus to "Game Profile" — if available, reduces real-time scans
5. Power plan to "High Performance" — Windows otherwise throttles CPU/GPU

Find Hardware Bottlenecks

If your game is stuttering: Where is the problem? Before blindly buying a new graphics card, you should know what the real bottleneck is. Sometimes it's not the GPU, but the CPU, RAM, or hard drive.

Bottleneck Diagnosis with Task Manager

While a game is running (in windowed mode or with Alt+Tab):

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
2. Look at the "Performance" tab
3. While playing, switch briefly and observe values

What the values mean

Hardware Tuning Without New Hardware

Software isn't everything. With a few hardware measures, you can squeeze out extra performance – without buying new components.

Check RAM Speed (XMP/EXPO)

Many PCs run with RAM performing far below its specified speed. In the BIOS/UEFI, there's a function called XMP (Intel) or EXPO (AMD) that activates the correct profile.

• Start BIOS/UEFI (usually F2, F11, or Del during boot)
• Activate XMP or EXPO profile
• Save, restart
• Check in Task Manager: Is RAM now running at the specified speed?

Often brings 5–15% more CPU performance, costs nothing.

Adjust Fan Curves

If your GPU is running at 80°C, it automatically throttles (Thermal Throttling). With adjusted fan curves (e.g., via MSI Afterburner), you can lower the temperature and prevent throttling.

Cleaning and Thermal Paste

• Remove dust: Clean the inside of your PC at least annually. Clogged fans = more heat = less performance.
• Replace thermal paste: In older PCs (3+ years), the old paste can dry out. Replacing it often lowers temperatures by 5–15°C.

SSD Instead of HDD

If your PC still has a traditional hard drive: an SSD upgrade is by far the biggest performance leap you can give it. Games load 5–10× faster, Windows starts in seconds.