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While the GPU shortfall has largely disappeared, there is still a level of scarcity surrounding the most recent graphics cards, and they are not cheap, so it's no surprise that many gamers are attempting to extract as much performance as they can out of their older equipment.

While even little hardware upgrades can have a significant impact on your setup, there are several tiny software modifications you can make to optimize your PC for the most enjoyable gaming possible. Remember that changing settings will only get you so far if your hardware is outdated. Nevertheless, here are a few easy steps to get a few more frames out of your Windows computer.

Update Drivers

Your first priority should always be to make sure that your drivers are up to date. While your graphics drivers are vital and will most likely have the most immediate impact, do not overlook the rest of your system, especially your processor.

Certain games, particularly strategy and simulator games, strain your CPU almost as much as your GPU. The performance of your system may be severely hampered if your drivers are completely outdated. You can update a lot of your computer's drivers from the Device Manager, including the processor's. Additionally, a Free Driver Updater Tool can simplify the process and ensure that no critical updates are missed.

Adjust the In-Game Settings

One of the best methods for improving frame rate in games is to tinker with in-game settings to find the best performance window for your machine. If your game is actually chugging, your initial step should be to reduce the resolution of the game to the lowest acceptable level, then incrementally raise it to see what works well with your hardware. Most PC games offer a high number of advanced settings that can be tweaked.

Turn on High Performance Mode

For most desktop systems, power settings have a very small impact on performance; however, for laptops, turning on high-performance mode can have a big impact. Go to Settings > System > Power & Sleep, select Additional power settings, and then select Control Panel to activate high performance mode.

You should then be able to pick High performance from the Choose or modify a power plan screen, allowing your computer to emphasize performance above energy savings. If you do not see this option, you may need to extend the Show additional plans drop-down menu to find high-performance mode.

If Windows hides these options and you are still unable to access high-performance mode, you have to create a new power plan. On the left sidebar, click Create a power plan. Select High performance, then proceed to complete your new plan.

Enable Performance Enhancements

Both AMD and Nvidia now provide a variety of system-level options for enhancing or adjusting game performance and visual quality. With supersampling, you can play games at a greater resolution without experiencing the same performance lag as when you run them at native resolution.

AMD also offers an equivalent technique named Radeon Image Sharpening that is designed to achieve the highest image sharpness without reducing frame rate. It accomplishes the same objective as Nvidia's DLSS, only it does it by increasing contrast rather than inserting pixels like DLSS does.

You can also perform some simple actions to ensure you are getting the best out of your existing hardware, including ensuring the monitor refresh rate is at its highest setting. To do this, go to Settings > System > Display, then choose Advanced Display Settings, and alter the Refresh Rate drop-down to ensure Windows is configured to the highest frame rate that your screen supports

Shut Down Unnecessary Processes

While most background apps are lightweight, some might have a significant impact on game speed. To see which programs are consuming the most system resources, quickly choose Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete.

You may then manually close the worst violators (or anything that isn't useful) by right-clicking on them and selecting End Task. Additionally, you can disable any apps you don't want to run when Windows boots up by selecting the Startup tab.

The Startup window will also indicate to you which applications contribute most to boot time, so turning them off will not only optimize performance the next time you boot your machine but also reduce startup time.

Conclusion

By doing these easy steps, you can wring out more performance from your existing system without having to shell out for costly upgrades. From driver updates to in-game settings and power plan tweaks, every little adjustment counts. With a little effort, you can improve your gaming experience and maximize your hardware.