(BPT) – You’ve just defeated the final boss in a game you’ve spent hours on. You’re happy and ecstatic that your battle has been won and right before the game saves, your console shuts off. It’s all gone! If you love gaming, chances are there are plenty of things you don’t love when they happen – like freezing, glitches and crashing altogether. In order to have the best gaming experience possible, and to avoid some of the worst problems that can pop up, there are some things you can do – from low-tech to high-tech solutions – to ensure your hardware is up to whatever game you want to throw at it.
1. Prevent overheating
This may seem like a no-brainer, but when your computer overheats, it’s really bad for your system, potentially causing harm to your video card and other parts of your equipment. Make sure your PC has adequate ventilation – and that nothing is blocking it.
In addition, you should clean your PC regularly to keep it from building up too much dust, which can also cause your system to overheat.
2. Update drivers
If your graphics card driver isn’t up-to-date, you could start seeing artifacts and other visual glitches. And if you haven’t done so already, upgrading to a dedicated graphics card can also improve your gaming experience.
Upgrading your CPU (processor) can make a big difference, too – especially in fast-moving games that need a lot of processor speed.
3. Upgrade your hard drive and memory
If you’re playing on an older computer with an HDD hard drive, consider upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD). This will help amp up your load times.
Likewise, installing more RAM will make everything run more smoothly. Without enough RAM, your games may stutter or not even run at all. Making sure you’re not running any other programs – and shutting down background programs running on your computer – can also help free up RAM and boost CPU power.
4. Invest in a cutting-edge monitor
Having a top-of-the-line monitor not only enhances the entire visual gaming experience, but it also prevents issues like tearing, which happens when the feed the video card sends to the monitor doesn’t sync up with the refresh rate of its display.
LG Electronic’s UltraGear Nano IPS NVIDIA G-SYNC gaming monitor is the world’s first 1 millisecond (ms) IPS display. It can utilize Nano IPS technology to achieve phenomenal color reproduction, an ultra-fast 1ms response time and a refresh rate of 144Hz, overclockable to 175Hz. It supports both the NVIDIA G-SYNC processor and VESA DisplayHDR 400 and is certified by NVIDIA through over 300 tests for performance and image quality to provide a great gaming experience. As a result, it can deliver smooth motion without tearing or stuttering, providing blazing speed and stunning picture quality for the most immersive gaming experience yet. The new gaming monitor is available in 38- and 27-inch screen sizes (models 38GL950G and 27GL850, respectively) and is the first IPS display capable of achieving 1ms Gray-to-Gray response time.
5. Check your network connection
For online gaming, ensure you have a good internet connection to prevent lag. If you’re using Wi-Fi, try switching to using an Ethernet connection instead. Stop or close any tasks sucking up bandwidth on your connection, like video streams or downloads, during your game play. You should also shut off any automatic updates that could slow down or interrupt your gaming.
If you’re using Windows 10, an easy fix is to activate Game Mode, and adjust the visual effects for ‘best performance.’ Keeping your Windows system updated and getting rid of unnecessary programs will also help your machine run at top efficiency.
Maximizing your gaming experience, so you can immerse yourself in the visuals and enjoy fast action free from glitches and stutters that mess up your game, requires at the very least a little maintenance, and at most, getting the best hardware available. To check out the latest gaming monitors, visit LG.com.
