How to Optimise Your PC for Gaming Performance

Getting the best gaming performance out of your PC does not always mean buying new hardware. Here are the most effective software and hardware optimisations to boost your frame rates.

Category: Performance Tips | Read time: 3 min | By Midland Computers

Get More Performance Without Spending More Money

Before upgrading your hardware, there are several software and settings changes that can noticeably improve your gaming performance. Many Perth gamers are surprised by how much headroom they had left untapped.

Software Optimisations

1. Set Windows Power Plan to High Performance

Go to **Control Panel → Power Options** and select **High performance** (or **Ultimate performance** if available). This prevents Windows from throttling your CPU and GPU during gaming.

2. Update Your Graphics Drivers

NVIDIA and AMD regularly release driver updates that improve performance in specific games. Keep your GPU drivers current through NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Radeon Software.

3. Enable Game Mode in Windows

Go to **Settings → Gaming → Game Mode** and turn it on. This tells Windows to prioritise resources for your game and reduce background activity.

4. Close Background Applications

Close everything not needed while gaming — browser tabs, Discord (unless needed), streaming software, and background utilities. Check Task Manager to see what is consuming resources.

5. Adjust In-Game Settings Intelligently

Not all graphics settings impact performance equally. Shadows, ambient occlusion, anti-aliasing, and ray tracing have the largest performance cost. Resolution has the biggest single impact. Start by dropping these settings before reducing others.

6. Check Your Storage

If your game is installed on a traditional HDD rather than an SSD, moving it to an SSD will dramatically reduce load times and in-game stuttering caused by streaming assets.

Hardware Upgrades for Gaming

If software optimisations are not enough, these hardware upgrades have the biggest impact:

  • **More RAM:** 16GB is the gaming standard. Less than this causes stuttering in modern titles.
  • **Faster storage (NVMe SSD):** Reduces load times and open-world stuttering significantly.
  • **GPU upgrade:** The biggest single performance upgrade for gaming, but also the most expensive.

    • At Midland Computers, our [hardware upgrade service in Midland](/services/hardware-upgrades) covers RAM, SSD, and component upgrades for both laptops and desktops. We also offer a complete [custom gaming PC build service](/services/custom-pc-builds) if you are ready to build something purpose-designed for the games you play.

    Ready to Level Up Your Setup?

    Whether you need a quick RAM upgrade or a full custom gaming build, our team in Midland is ready to help. We have built gaming rigs for Perth customers at every budget level and are known for our honest advice and quality builds.

    [Contact us](/contact) or [book a consultation](/book-repair) to discuss your gaming setup.