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PC Gaming

Performance, storage, networking and troubleshooting.

Planning a graphics-driver update

Record the working version, use the hardware maker’s download and leave enough time to test afterwards.

Recognising shader-compilation stutter

A sudden pause on first encountering an effect can have a different cause from consistently low performance.

CPU cooling fan mounted above an aluminium heatsink

Investigating a hot or noisy gaming PC

Compare temperatures, workload and the kind of noise before changing fan settings or buying a cooler.

Photo: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0

Desktop PC interior with case fans and a liquid-cooling radiator

Planning airflow in a PC case

Follow the route air can actually take through the case, including filters, radiators and the space outside it.

Photo: Jacek Halicki · CC BY-SA 4.0

A desktop gaming computer beside its monitor and peripherals

Questions to ask before buying a prebuilt gaming PC

Ask for the complete specification and support terms, not just the processor and graphics-card names.

Photo: Brian Wong · CC BY-SA 2.0

Setting up a gaming laptop at a desk

Treat power, cooling and the display connection as parts of one setup before adding a dock or monitor.

Backing up PC game saves

Keep a recoverable copy of progress before moving computers, reinstalling Windows or experimenting with mods.

When verifying game files can help

Verification checks installed game data. It is useful for certain faults, but it does not diagnose the whole computer.

Checking background apps during gaming

Look for a process competing for a resource at the moment the game slows down, rather than closing everything blindly.