Windows 10 is a great working platform either for office applications and for playing computer games. With a few simple steps, you can configure the operating system to give it a boost and optimize gaming performance. The following are some simple hints on how to optimize windows 10 for gaming without spending too much money on software or hardware.
Windows is heavily loaded with features that assist the user and keep the system running stable and safe. But those features draw on the hardware resources to work properly, this is not always what you want as a gamer.
How to optimize Windows 10 for gaming?
Update your GPU Drivers
The performance of any game depends on the GPU and the performance of the GPU depends on its drivers. So if you are facing issues in gaming then the first thing to ensure is to have the latest drivers are installed so that Windows and your GPU could effectively communicate. You can either download the GPU drivers from the manufacturer’s website or you can check the availability of the latest Drivers in the Device Manager.
Disable Automatic Updates
Windows updates are the headache of almost every windows user. We know that updates are for our own betterment but most of the time, updates are just to fix minor bugs. The main problem with the windows updates is the update during a gaming session which can be disastrous for your gaming profile. So you might as well disable automatic window updates and update your windows manually when you have free time. You can disable the updates with the following steps:
- Press Windows button + Q
- Type “Updates”
- Click “Windows Update Settings”
- Click “Advanced Option”
- Enable “Pause updates”
This will disable the updates for up to 35 days and you can follow the same steps after 35 days to pause the updates. However, you should still manually update Windows regularly as this will protect your computer from viruses, malware, and other bugs.
You can also go for the “Active hours” option if you don’t want to pause your Windows Update. In Active hours, you can set the hours where you normally don’t game and windows will automatically restart your computer to update. However, if you don’t have any specific timing then we would suggest you go with Disabling Windows update.
Power Plans
Battery life is the real issue with laptops these days so Windows comes with multiple Power plans which help you to save your battery life. However, if you are a PC user then there is no need for power management and you can pick the High-Performance Plan in the power settings to take the full benefit of your computer. You can find “Power Plan” setting by following steps:
- Press Windows button + Q
- Type “Power Plans”
- Click “Choose a Power Plan”
- Click “Show additional plans”
- Enable “High-Performance Plan”
Manage Steam Auto-updates
If you play your games on Steam then make sure to manage your steam updates settings. Steam also use a lot of your resources for downloading and working properly but steam often starts updating the game or itself when you want to play the game. You can disable update with the following steps:
- Open Steam
- Go to Settings
- Click “Downloads”
- Find “Allow downloads during gameplay” and uncheck it.
Disable Visual Effects
Windows 10 comes with some pretty UI Effects which increase the user experience but the system also requires some resources to run these UI effects and if you are facing performance issues then disable these visual effects. Now you have two options, either to disable all visual effects or disable some unnecessary effects. We would recommend you to disable every other effect except the following effects:
- Show Thumbnails instead of icons
- Show Window content while dragging
- Smooth edges of screen fonts
You can disable the visual effects by following steps
- Press Windows button + Q
- Type “Advanced Settings”
- Click “View Advanced system settings”
- Click “Settings”
- Choose “Custom”
- Uncheck everything except the items mentioned in the list above.
Disable Nagle’s Algorithm
Windows feature many algorithms to run properly and one of them is Nagle’s Algorithm. It is responsible for the smooth transfer of data for which it needs some resources which can compromise your gaming experience. You can disable the Nagle’s Algorithm with following steps
- Press “Windows + R”
- Type “Regedit”
- Find “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces”
- Locate your IP Address
- Click on the file and right-click to create two new DWORD. Named them TcpNoDelay and TcpAackFrequency and assign “1” to both of them.
A Fast System Is More Fun
Windows is a powerful OS and it works perfectly well. But If you are facing performance issues even after applying the above tips then the issue lies in the hardware. If you are facing overheating issues then make sure to clean your computer case or laptop and make sure that Air vents aren’t blocked when you are gaming.
Make sure to check the minimum system requirement of the game you are playing. Adding a faster storage medium to your system will improve the overall performance notably. Let us know what you think about these tips in the comment section below. Browse our website for more recommendations and for other useful guides.
