How to optimise your PC for gaming

Why Optimisation Matters in 2026

There is a common misconception that optimising is only for budget builds, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In 2026, even high-end rigs can be optimised better to avoid bottlenecks caused by unoptimised software, or just general bloatware.

Most modern games rely on every component being perfectly synced. If the CPU, GPU, and RAM aren’t working together, your whole system will stutter or lag. Optimising your system isn’t just about upping the frame rate, it reduces latency and extends the lifespan of your system, too.

Step 1: Update Everything (Drivers, BIOS, Windows)

Before you look at changing your settings, you need to make sure that the foundation is stable.

• GPU Drivers: Checking GPU drivers is the number one rule for keeping your gaming PC running smoothly. NVIDIA and AMD release “game-ready” drivers already pre-optimised for major launches Battlefield 6 or Black Ops 7.

• Windows 11 Gaming Features: Make sure that you are running the latest version of Windows 11, as it can include more specific features for gamers to utilise.

• Game Mode: Turn this ON. It prioritises game processors and suspends background activities.

• Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS): Found in Graphics Settings. Turn this ON to reduce latency and improve performance in supported titles.

• BIOS Updates: Make sure that you also run a BIOS Update periodically. While you don’t need to update your motherboard BIOS as often as your GPU drivers, doing so is essential for keeping your system stable. Newer BIOS versions normally improve memory compatibility and the power CPU delivery.

Step 2: Clean up Windows for Better FPS

Your PC can’t run smoothly if it’s fighting with 10 other browser tabs and applications.

• Startup Apps & Background Processors: Open up Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and go to the “startup” tab. Disable anything you don’t need to use straight away when the PC boots up - this could be a cloud drive, Spotify, or any launchers that you don’t need.

• Overlays and Bloat: Make sure your PC isn’t covered in bloatware. Every launcher under the sun wants to put an overlay on your screen, Steam, Discord, or Windows, but this can cause a lot of conflict and input lag. For best results, disable every overlay apart from the ones you actively use.

• Storage Optimisation: Modern open-world titles stream textures instantly from your drive. When your SSD is full, its performance degrades over time. You need to aim to keep at least 15-20% of your drive space free at all times. If you are running games on a HHD, moving them over to an SSD is the biggest upgrade you can make.

Step 3: Hardware Checks - Cooling, Power and Performance Limits

You could have updated all your drivers, but if your PC is overheating, then no matter what you do, it will throttle the performance of your games. This is a sign you need to clean and maintain your PC.

Thermals & Airflow

• Dust: Make sure you clean your dust filter, fans and heatsinks as these can increase temperatures if they aren’t maintained properly.

• Airflow: Ensure your case has a clear intake and exhaust path. If you are getting a prebuilt PC, this will already be done for you.

• Thermal Paste: If your PC is over three years old, the thermal paste on your CPU may have dried out. Reapplying it can drop temperatures significantly.

Power Profiles

To get the best performance out of your system, go to your Windows Power Settings and make sure that it is enabled and isn’t on Power Saver mode. This is especially important if you want to maintain a high minimum FPS.

Step 4: In-Game Settings - The Biggest FPS Gains

Optimising your PC gets your halfway there. The rest comes from finding the right balance within the game menus. Here is how to configure the most popular titles.

Best Fortnite Settings:

When playing Fortnite, competitive players care more about the visibility and response time.

• Rendering Mode: Performance Mode (Low Graphical Fidelity)

• Shadows: Off

• Textures: Medium (for clear visibility without blur).

• View Distance: Medium or High

• Effects: Low

Best Warzone Settings:

Warzone is incredibly CPU-intensive. You need to offload work to the GPU where possible.

• Upscaling: Use DLSS (NVIDIA) or FSR (AMD) on ‘Quality’ mode

• Texture Resolution: Set up Normal (High only if you have 12GB+ VRAM)

• On-Demand Texture Streaming: Off (to save bandwidth and reduce stutter)

• Shadow Map Resolution: Low

• Anti-Aliasing: Filmic SMAA T2X

Best Battlefield 6 Settings:

Battlefield 6 is visually stunning but heavy on volumetric effects.

• Ray Tracing: OFF - this is the biggest performance killer

• Mesh Quality: Low or Medium (removes unnecessary debris)

• Terrain Quality: Medium

• Ambient Occlusion: Low

• Post-Processing: Low (improves visibility by reducing blur)

Best Rainbow Six Siege Settings:

In Rainbow Six Siege, framing rate and clarity win matches.

• Shadows: Medium (you need to see player shadows, but not complex environment shadows)

• LOD Quality: Ultra or High (prevents pop-in of operator heads at distance)

• Lens Effects: OFF

• Texture Filtering: Anisotropic 16x (low performance cost, high clarity)

Best Black Ops 7 Settings:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 pushes GPU’s hard.

• Upscaling: DLSS or FSR is practically mandatory for high refresh rates.

• Texture Quality: Normal

• Volumetric Quality: Low

• Water Physics: OFF

Best Marvel Rivals Settings:

As a newer hero shooter, full optimisation is still ongoing but this is best practice.

• Render Scale: 100% (avoid dynamic scaling if it causes stutter)

• Shadows: Low

• Effects Quality: Medium (visual clutter makes it hard to track targets)

• Reflex/Anti-Lag: On + Boost

Step 5: Advanced Optimisation Techniques

If you are comfortable in making tweaks to your system yourself, these are some tips you could use to gain some extra performance.

• RAM Profiles (XMP/EXPO): Many gamers buy high-speed RAM but forget to enable it in the BIOS. Without XMP (Intel) or EXPO (AMD) enabled your RAM runs at default JEDEC speeds (often half its rated speed). This is massive for CPU-bound games.

• Latency Reduction: Enable NVIDIA Reflex or AMD Anti-Lag in your driver software or in-game menus. This reduces the delay between your mouse click and the action on screen.

• Undervolting: This involves slightly reducing the voltage to your GPU. Surprisingly, this often increases performance because the card runs cooler and can sustain higher boost clocks for longer.

Monitor Settings & Peripherals

If you have a PC producing high FPS but you don’t feel like you can see it, change the Hz of your monitor.

• Check Windows Display Settings: Ensure your Refresh Rate is set to the maximum supported by your monitor (144Hz, 165Hz, or 240Hz).

• Adaptive Sync: Enable G-Sync or FreeSync to eliminate screen tearing without the input lag penalty of V-Sync.

Network Optimisation

Low FPS and network lag feel similar, but the causes are different.

• Use Ethernet: Wi-Fi is convenient, but packet loss causes “rubber-banding”. A wired connection is non-negotiable for serious competitive play.

• Background Downloads: Ensure Steam or Xbox aren’t downloading updates whilst you are gaming.

Step 6: Consider Upgrading Instead of Optimising

Optimising your PC often works wonders but hardware normally has physical limitations. If you end up dropping all of your settings to low and updating all your drivers, then it’s time to upgrade.

• GPU: The most impactful upgrade for visual fidelity.

• RAM: 16GB is the new minimum, however 32GB is recommended for 2026 titles.

• CPU: Vital for high FPS in battle royale and strategy games.

Sometimes, the most cost-effective solution is a fresh start. A modern gaming PC is built to handle the architecture of modern games like Marvel Rivals and Black Op 7 straight out of the box.

READY TO TAKE YOUR GAMING PC TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Contact Us at Poulton PC and we will help you optimise your current system or build you a brand new one that’s ready for anything 2026 has to throw at it.