After sourcing the components best for your PC and building the machine of your dreams, your next question should really be: ‘How do I maintain the life and performance of my gaming PC?’ The answer requires dedication and future investment but if you are passionate about your machine then it should be an easy decision.
Step One: Upgrade Your PC When Needed
The powers of technology are growing day by day. With new available software and hardware coming online on a daily basis, upgrading your machine will keep it performing to its fullest potential. All PCs are made of different components and are therefore able to be swapped out for newer, higher specs that can improve performance. When your machine starts to perform slower or isn’t capable of handling the latest data or games that is when you should be looking into upgrading your machine.
One way to gauge if an upgrade is worthwhile is to look at the latest component to be released and compare it to the component you have. For graphics cards especially it is always worth knowing the maximum capabilities of what you could have compared to what you do have. This makes the decision of upgrading much simpler. Another way to understand if an upgrade is worthwhile is by looking at the newest released game and seeing if your spec meets the required minimum. If it doesn’t, then that could be cause to upgrade.
Step Two: Disk Defragging
When data is stored in a PC it is stored in blocks on the hard drive and over time, as new data is written to the hard drive, some of the information that used to be close to each other spreads apart… meaning your drive will take longer to access the data you need. Disk defragging will put the blocks back in sequential order so your hard drive doesn’t have to work overtime to get to the data, so it processes information quicker and performs to a higher standard.
Disk defragging is a default action that comes on all Windows operated machines and can be found by simply searching for ‘defragmenter’ upon the task bar. It is recommended you defrag your machine about once a year so that all the data is rearranged to remain within the same block of the hard drive. Although defragging can be a lengthy process it is still useful to reroute your data.
Step Three: Regular Security Checks and Clean-Ups
As with all PCs, you want to make sure your gaming PC is constantly protected and has as little junk and temporary files as possible. A stable antivirus programme would help aid this as it protects the PC from unwanted files and potential threats AV software, such as BullGuard, covers machines for security measures such as Firewall, Spam Filtering, Parental Controls and more whilst performing regular checks to monitor the safety and health of your machine. Should BullGuard or any AV software flag any threats or unneeded files it would be in your best interest to immediately issue an action to resolve the issue, putting your machine back into a protected status. Clean-ups will help with the build-up of temporary or junk files as it will assess each document and delete those that are unused or cause of harm.
These are just our top 3 steps to maintaining your PC but do not be fooled as there are hundreds of nifty tips and tricks available to keep your machine up and running, just ask our team! Call us on 01737 247090 or visit in store to not only guarantee your machine stays protected but to also find new methods to ensure you’re never at risk or under performing again!