Nothing is worse than when your PC starts slowing down and now your favorite game is a choppy, laggy mess. Thankfully, there are things you can do to speed up your PC and fix a slow gaming PC.

A variety of things can cause a PC to begin slowing down. Your PC’s performance is driven of a combination of several components, their drivers, software, and the settings of the applications you are using (in this case games), so pinpointing the cause can be tough. However, the problem almost always boils down these resources being used inefficiently.

Thus to use all of your PCs resources efficiently, follow these five tips on how you can fix a slow gaming PC plus some tips on what you can do to prevent your computer from slowing down even more in the long term.

How to make your gaming PC run faster

1 – Clean your Drive.

When your drive storage is near capacity or full, it can cause your PC to slow down as your operating system doesn’t have enough space to work efficiently. Your operating system will need an adequate amount of space to run efficiently – so make sure you do not overfill the drive that you have Windows installed on to maximize performance.

To check how much storage you have left on a drive, go to “This PC” in your file explorer and check the memory space of the main drive, which is usually named Local Disk (C:). If you see that the memory space on this drive is full, you should clean up this drive.

Here are several ways you can clean up your storage device:

Uninstall and remove unwanted programs, like games you are not actively playing
Clean and delete any unwanted files in your Downloads folder.
Empty the Recycle Bin to prevent file build-up.
Find and delete the temporary files in your system.
Clear the cache on your internet browser, you’d be surprised how much space is eaten up by this

2 – Scan your PC for malware and viruses.

Another reason that may be causing your gaming PC to slow down is when it is infected with malware and viruses. Nowadays this is fairly uncommon, unless you are downloading sketchy files or visiting shady websites. This is why you want to keep Windows Defender updated regularly, or another Antivirus program of your choice. Regularly run scans to find any malware or viruses that may cause your gaming PC to slow down.

Here are the best antivirus programs you can check:

Windows Defender
Avast Antivirus
Norton Antivirus
Avira Security
Bitdefender Antivirus
McAfee Antivirus
G Data Antivirus
Malwarebytes Premium
Trend Micro Security

3 – Defrag your Hard Drive.

An easy fix you can do to optimize your hard drive is through defragmenting or defragging. This process helps your PC organize bits of hard drive data into ordered blocks to maximize its performance.

If you experience your PC slowing down, defragging your hard drive can help speed up its performance. Programs with large file sizes, such as video-editing software and AAA game titles, will cause your hard drive to fragment. Defragging your hard drive will thus improve its performance.

This is not necessary, nor recommended, if the drive is an SSD. Only do this if you are still using a physical hard drive for storage.

4 – Upgrade your RAM.

RAM or memory is responsible for storing information about your operating system and the programs that are currently running. To explain it simply, the higher amount of RAM in your PC, the more programs or apps you can run simultaneously. Thus, a memory upgrade is one of the best ways to increase your gaming PC’s performance and speed, especially if you like running many things at once or in the background while you are gaming.

Most modern gaming PCs will have 16GB RAM installed. However, to improve its performance, you might want to upgrade your RAM up to 32GB or 64GB. This amount of RAM works best for demanding programs and software users. It is also perfect for users who use their unit to stream their games online. Learn more about the ideal amount of RAM for gaming in 2025 here.

5 – Disable start-up and background programs.

Running too many programs simultaneously can take up most of your system’s processing power. This can reduce your PC’s performance and slow down its system.

Nothing is more annoying than turning on your PC and then waiting for several programs to update and start up the second you boot into Windows.

To reduce the programs running in your system, consider disabling startup and background programs you are not using. Background programs are apps that continue running in the background even after you have closed them. Start-up programs, on the other hand, are apps that start as soon as your operating system boots up.

Here is how disable background programs:

Open Task Manager on your PC, or press CTRL+ALT+DELETE all at the same time.
Click the CPU, Memory, and Disk headers to sort the programs currently running in your system. This will show you which programs use most of your computer’s resources.
Sort out which programs you aren’t using and close them from the Task Manager. Select the program and click “End Task.”

And how to disable start-up programs:

Go to Task Manager or press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
Click the Start-Up tab on Task Manager. This will show which start-up programs are running when your system boots up.
Select the programs you don’t need on start-up, and click “Disable” in the bottom right corner of the interface.
Make sure that you only disable unnecessary programs that you don’t need running in the system. Also, never disable important programs such as your antivirus or driver programs.

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By following these 5 easy steps you should see a difference in your gaming PCs performance and fix a slow gaming pc. Happy gaming!