1. “GAME DOESN’T WORK!”
When it comes to playing PC games, this is probably the biggest and most frustrating problem someone can come across. I’ve bought games before that weren’t working properly and I had no idea why. When I have this problem, there are a few things I do to help me figure out what the problem is and how to fix it.
A. The first thing I do is go to systemrequirementslab.com, which has a very useful computer application that tells you if you can run the game or not. This will do a hardware scan of your computer and compare it to the minimum and recommended specs of the game you want to play. This can be extremely helpful because it’s hard to remember exactly what specs your computer has, and it can help you identify what to upgrade if you need to.
B. Check the drivers on your computer or graphics card. Sometimes computer peripherals will need a driver update, if you don’t have the proper drivers installed it can cause problems with running certain games.
C. Check the game settings. Some games are very good at optimizing settings to work best on your computer, but they don’t always get it right. If a game doesn’t run properly on most games, you can lower the graphics settings to see if it will run properly.
D. Reinstall the game. Sometimes it is possible for a file to get corrupted while installing the game or over time. If this is a problem, it can be resolved by uninstalling and reinstalling the game. Most games can be installed through your computer’s Control Panel, but if not, you can sometimes uninstall the game from the game launcher.
E. Sometimes, unfortunately, there are random problems with games that are very difficult to identify. If you encounter this problem, you can contact the game company. Many companies have help lines or forums dedicated to helping people who are having trouble running their games. They are usually quick to respond and will do whatever they can to help resolve your issue.
2. “The game is choppy online!”
This is another common issue when it comes to gaming, and it’s not just reserved for PC gaming. Sometimes your PC or gaming system will work just fine but you are having a lot of issues when it comes to online gaming, luckily there are a few ways to try and fix this.
A. The first thing you should do is verify that your Internet provider is providing you with the correct speeds. You can run an online speed test at speedtest.net that will help you identify your upload and download speeds. If speeds are slow or not what you expect, there are a couple of things you can do to try to fix the problem before calling your Internet provider.
B. If you have speed problems, the first thing I recommend you do is check your router. Sometimes speed issues are due to an old or faulty router. I recently had some problems with the Internet dropping and decided to check my router. I was using an old router with old wireless, but I didn’t think it was causing any problems. I ended up buying a new AC router and it doubled the internet speed I was getting beforehand with my N router. N routers have been around for a while and AC is a newer technology that provides more bandwidth and better signal strength than the N routers. With so many devices connected to home WiFi, I think it’s worth upgrading to an AC router as everything will work better.
C. If you find that the problem is not the router and only your computer has speed issues, you can check for obstructions that may block the wireless signal. Sometimes it’s completely random as to what causes the interference and I’ve heard of people who had terrible speeds, moved their computer a little bit in a different direction and it all worked fine. You can also run a malware scan on your computer to make sure a virus isn’t eating up your bandwidth.
D. There is also the possibility of a faulty wireless card in your computer. I had a desktop that had a wireless card that randomly stopped working, it took me a long time to identify what the problem was, but when I did, it was fixed by simply buying a USB WiFi adapter. They are not very expensive and my computer was back online quickly and easily.
E. If none of these solutions resolve your problem, you may need to contact your Internet Service Provider. Unfortunately, sometimes there are just problems with the input line and it requires a technician to come and fix it. Sometimes the IP can identify a problem over the phone and find out if the problem is on their end or if they need to send a technician.
3. Other quick tips to help PC performance
A. I highly recommend that everyone install an SSD in their computer. An SSD is a solid state drive that can replace your existing hard drive. The traditional hard drive is a hard drive with moving parts that spins, reads and writes data, while an SSD has no moving parts and everything is stored on flash memory chips. Due to the way data is stored it is accessed much faster and more reliably than standard HDD, they are more expensive at the moment but in my opinion the speed increase is well worth it. I recently switched my computer to an SSD and it changed my boot time from minutes to seconds. Everything seems to load so much faster and I can’t imagine going back to a normal hard drive.
B. RAM upgrade
A. Sometimes upgrading the amount of RAM in your computer can improve performance. However, you need to find out what type of RAM you can use first. To do this, you can look at your computer’s system information, which gives you a system summary. In the summary there will be a system model, I used it to look up online how much RAM my computer could support and what type I should use.