Looking for ways to increase your PC speed?
With almost every American household possessing a computer, doing improvements became easier. A lot of manufacturers offer simple solutions to keep PCs fast. It’s what allows gamers to get the most out of their experience for a long time.
However, without a lot of technical expertise, you’ll find it difficult to start. Worry not because our guide will show you some techniques to boost your speed. Read on and learn how:
1. Change Your PC’s Power Settings
The “Power Saver” plan in Windows 10 will make your PC slow. It aims to reduce your PC’s performance while saving more energy. It’s not useful since the average PC setup will have a power saver plan already in place.
If your PC isn’t performing well, look at the power plan. Change it into either “Balanced” or “High-performance.” Doing so will give an instantaneous boost in performance.
Not sure how to do it? Go to your Control Panel app and pick the “Hardware and Sound” option. Select “Power Options.”
Here, you’ll see the abovementioned options. Depending on your model, you’ll see more plans. To access the “High-performance” setting, press the down arrow beside the “Show additional plans” section.
Pick the option you desire before exiting the Control Panel. With High-performance, you’ll use more power but enjoy the best performance. You have no reason to pick any other option since you’re connected to a power source anyway, even with a Lenovo gaming laptop.
2. Disable Startup Programs
A reason your PC feels sluggish is because of the number of programs running in the background. It’s often applications you never use. If you stop them from becoming active, your PC gaming experience improves.
The first thing you need to do is run the Task Manager. If it launches as its compact version, click on “More Details”. It’s located at the bottom of the window.
Doing this makes the Task Manager more detailed. You can do a lot of tasks with it. However, our focus is to get rid of unneeded startup applications.
Go to the Startup tab and look at the programs and services list. It shows their names and publishers. It also shows whether they run on startup and their impact on your system.
To stop these applications from launching, right-click and pick “Disable.” Doing so prevents it from launching when you start your PC. After that, you can run the application whenever necessary.
3. Use ReadyBoost for Faster Disk Caching
Windows 10 will store cached data within your hard disk. It retrieves these data whenever necessary. The retrieval process’s duration will depend on your hard disk speed.
If your computer has a traditional hard disk instead of an SSD, no need to despair. You can use the ReadyBoost feature. It allows you to store cached data to a USB flash drive.
USB flash drives are faster compared to hard disks. With a faster method of fetching data, Windows will have faster performance.
Plug a USB flash drive into your PC’s USB ports. At the minimum, your flash drive must support USB 2.0, but USB 3 or faster is better. You’ll see bigger speed boosts if you use the best flash drive.
For maximum performance, get a flash drive with at least double your PC RAM size. After plugging the drive, go to your File Explorer. Click “This PC” and look for the flash drive.
Right-click on it and pick the “Properties” option. Select the ReadyBoost tab. The screen allows you to set the flash drive as a cache.
It also recommends a cache size. Once done, pick the “Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost” before clicking Apply. Click OK to close the window.
4. Disable Windows Tips and Tricks
Windows tracks your tasks to offer tips on dealing with your operating system. Most users agree that these aren’t helpful. It also comes with privacy issues since the operating system looks at what you’re doing.
The greatest inconvenience of these tips is slowing your PC. To boost your speed, make Windows stop giving unsolicited advice. Go to your Start button and pick the Settings icon.
From here, go to System and select “Notifications & Actions.” Go to the Notifications section and uncheck the box. It’s beside the option that says “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.”
5. Stop OneDrive Syncs
Microsoft OneDrive is cloud-based file storage built into the Windows 10 OS. It’s what keeps your files synced and updated for all your computers. It’s useful as a backup tool, keeping your files intact even when your hard drive malfunctions.
It does the job by syncing your files between the cloud storage and your computer. It’s a process that can make your PC experience sluggish. To get better speeds, stop the syncing process.
However, before turning it off, see whether it contributes to your slow PC experience. Right-click the OneDrive icon in your notification area. It’s on the right side of your taskbar.
Click the More button. From the pop-up screen, click “Pause syncing.” Pick your desired duration and gauge whether the speed improves.
If it does, go to Settings on the popup screen. Pick Account and look for the “Unlink this PC” option. From the ensuing screen, click “Unlink account.”
After doing it, you can save your files to your local OneDrive folder. However, it won’t sync itself with your cloud.
6. Disable Search Indexing
In the background, Windows 10 will index your hard disk. It allows for quick PC searching in theory. If your PC is older, your performance will take a hit when using this feature.
If you want to boost your computer speed, it’s better to disable this feature. It applies even when your PC uses an SSD. Otherwise, the constant disk writing indexing causes will slow it down eventually.
Type services.msc in the search box and hit Enter. The Services application will run. Scroll down until you find Indexing Service or Windows Search in the list. Double-click and click the Stop option on the succeeding screen.
Reboot your PC after. Searches may appear a little slower, but it’s not that noticeable. However, the performance boost can be palpable.
You can also disable file indexing in certain locations. Type “index” in the search box and click Indexing Options from the results. The appropriate page will appear.
Click the “Modify” button. You’ll see a list of indexed locations, like Microsoft Outlook and other files. Uncheck the box next to your desired locations to disable indexing.
7. Clean Your Hard Disk
A bloated hard disk filled to the brim with unnecessary files will make your PC slow. Clean it to boost speed. Windows 10’s Storage Sense tool is useful if you want to accomplish this task.
Go to your Settings, select System, and pick Storage. At the top of the screen, toggle Storage Sense from Off to On. Windows will track your PC and delete old junk files like temporary files, unmodified files in the Download folders, and old Recycle Bin files.
You can customize Storage Sense to free more space than normal. Underneath the Storage Sense heading, click “Configure Storage Sense or run it now.” Pick how often the feature deletes files and adjust it to your needs.
8. Clean Your Registry
Your Registry will track and control everything about Windows. It includes file storage information, used and shared DLLs, and the right application for each file. However, it’s messy since it often won’t get cleaned after uninstalling an application.
It’s impossible to clean it without the help of a Registry Cleaner. Lots of free applications are available for download online. Before using it, back up your Registry in case anything goes awry.
9. Disable Visual Effects
Shadows, animations, and other visual effects are nice eye candies. It won’t affect your performance if your PC is newer. Otherwise, expect slower speeds, which can be frustrating as a PC gamer.
It’s easy to get rid of them. Go to the search box and type sysdm.cpl before pressing enter. On the ensuing dialog box, click the Advanced tab and then Settings in the Performance section.
Select the “Adjust for best performance” radio button at the top. Click OK to finish the task.
10. Disable Transparency
Windows 10 uses transparency effects for the Taskbar, Action Center, and Start menu. Disabling them will save you lots of processing power. It increases speed and allows you to play games without worrying about freezes.
Go to your Settings and look for Personalization. Click Colors and scroll down until you see “Transparency effects.” Move the slider to Off and close the window to complete the task.
Boost PC Speed Now!
These are some of the easiest tips to follow when boosting PC speed. You deserve a better gaming experience, so use them as soon as possible. It will open more game options for your computer.
Want more tips to improve your PC gaming experience? Read our other posts and learn more today!