Why Is My Gaming PC Slow?

It hurts to see that our PC can suddenly lag when having an excellent game time. This feeling could be frustrating, mainly when it repeatedly occurs during gaming. As a game enthusiast, you should take the necessary measures and fix them if you witness that your gaming PC is slow.

This content will expose you to why your gaming is slow. You will also learn ways to make your gaming faster without any lags. Finally, after reading this article, you will know the gaming PC most suitable for you.

Why Is Your Gaming PC Slow?

Insufficient or corrupted RAM, an old graphics card, and a slow processor are the many reasons your gaming is slow. Other reasons are graphic card and processor incompatibility and a slow processor.

Below are the explanations of the reasons your game keeps pausing unexpectedly.

Reason #1: Insufficient or Corrupted RAM

It is widely known that RAM size is essential for ease of gaming. The bigger the RAM, the fewer or no lags you will experience while gaming. It could take forever for your game to load when you have minimal RAM.

Another reason your computer may also load slowly is the transfer of a corrupted RAM into another PC. Hence, you should get a more significant and brand-new RAM storage for your gaming PC.

Reason #2: Old Graphics Card

A graphic card helps you picture images on your screen. With highly visual content gaming, you should expect graphic cards to be critical.

However, the problem is that old graphic cards are outdated and can’t meet new gaming features’ requirements. These features include FPS (frames per second), gaming speed, image PPI (pixel per inch), and many more.

You should fix this by upgrading your graphic card if it is out of date.

Reason #3: Too Many Background Programs Running

When you are playing heavy games, you don’t need many background programs to run simultaneously. Background programs take up RAM space and will compete with space for gaming simultaneously. Hence, you should close any background program that may currently be running when you are gaming on your PC.

A notable background program that usually runs when gaming is the antivirus program. Other programs such as your internet browsers run as well. It would help if you closed these windows to give gaming more RAM and processing space.

To delete a program on your PC, press Alt + Ctrl + Delete.

Reason #4: You Are Using an HDD Instead of an SSD

HDD or hard disk drive was the external storage device during the initial computer development. But over the years, as computers are now needed to perform many tasks at a time with heavy applications, higher storage devices became necessary. This better storage is called the SSD or solid-state drive.

SSD retrieves data faster, is compact, and consumes less energy. Hence, your computer functions without many constraints, improving gaming speed.

For gaming, you should create more than 500GB of free space available for your PC. An external storage device of 1TB or more is appropriate for gaming.

Reason #5: Poor CPU Functioning

The CPU processes everything in your computer, and when it is not 100% efficient, the computer will tend to run slow. You will notice that your CPU is weak when your laptop overheats.

An aging CPU can also cause it not to function well. To slow down the aging of the processor, ensure adequate fan cooling around your computer.

Reason #6: Graphic Card and Processor Incompatibility

If you have a laptop whose GPU (graphic processing unit) far outweighs the CPU (central processing unit), incompatibility will occur. This incompatibility is called bottlenecking of the CPU.

Your CPU should be capable of meeting the demands of your GPU. As a result, you should always keep in mind your processor power when upgrading your GPU. If the GPU power far exceeds that of the CPU, you should also upgrade the CPU.

Reason #7: Slow Internet Speed

A weak internet connection can slow down your computer if you are gaming online. A weak internet connection can occur from different sources, for example, a poor Wi-Fi connection or an overloaded web browser.

You should clear unused tabs and remove unnecessary web extensions. When gaming as a team online, ensure that your team members and the opposing team have a strong internet connection.

Reason #8: Computer Virus Attack

Your gaming PC may be attacked with a computer virus that could make it slow. Some computer viruses will not only corrupt the computer system but will also corrupt the gaming software itself.

You should make sure to install your gaming software from safe sources. Downloading antivirus software can also help you prevent virus attacks on your PC.

Reason #9: Outdated Gaming Software

If you downloaded and installed the game on your PC, the software will become outdated when due. Game developers regularly update their gaming apps and game PC programs. This updated version has improved user experience and fewer bugs.

To check if your game program files are outdated, go to softonic.com and search for the game’s name. If you see that the program version is higher than the existing one, download and install it.

You can uninstall and delete the former game once downloaded. Go to C: > “Program Files” > “Windows Apps”. Under “Windows Apps”, find your installed games. Click the game file you want to delete and delete it. Another way is to directly search the game’s name in your File Manager‘s search box.

Reason #10: Overheated Laptop or Computer

If you have been on your PC playing a game for so long, that could make it run slow.

Video games take up a large RAM and VGA space, requiring the processor to do more work. This long-duration game ultimately leads to overheating of the PC components. When PC components are overheated above a certain level, their performances drop. As a result, your PC began to slow or temporarily halt during gaming.

You should ensure that you have a gaming PC with a good functioning fan radiator that takes processor heat away. Also, avoid gaming in a place that isn’t well ventilated to prevent overheating and improve gaming speed.

Conclusion

We enjoy gaming the most when it goes smoothly and fast without lagging. However, a slow gaming PC is tiring, and we soon lose interest in it. This article has given ten reasons your gaming PC is slow. Be sure to follow the tips for fixing your slow PC to have a new and better gaming experience.

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