How to Optimize CPU for Gaming Performance

Understanding the CPU’s Role in Gaming

Most of the beginners think that CPU is just a component for running the games. This thing is true, but beyond just a component, it is totally responsible for running the game smoothly as well. It handles all the logics, physics, and AI calculations in games, and actually it handles the background running apps and all other activities too.

If it is not performing efficiently, games stutters, input lag, and frame drop occurs, rough gameplay is observed, then you must go for the solutions as I’m telling down.

Checking CPU Utilization During Gameplay

Before going to change or optimize anything, First of all make a test. Calculate how your system’s CPU behave while gaming and other heavy tasks. The basic software for doing this is Task Manager, MSI, Afterburner, or HW Monitor to check CPU load.

If it is hurting 100% and my device GPU isn’t maxed out, then I know that there is an issue. So identify that issue and make adequate solutions to get rid of it. Further details are as follows you can follow for more.

Closing Background Apps That Drain CPU Power

The easy and the simple way to boost your system’s performance is to close the unnecessary apps or softwares running in the background. These basically hunt your computer’s power, make it slow, stuttering, input lag, and lowers FPS.

Browsers, background music players, and screen recorders are mostly responsible for your system’s worst performance. They eat valuable CPU cycles. So make sure to close everything before you go for the gaming.

Enabling High Performance Power Plan

One more thing I discovered is that Windows default power plan sometimes throttles CPU performance to save energy and to prioritize other tasks. So, it is a tip that you should switch to the high performance or ultimate performance mode.

It will give very awesome results and will ensure that your CPU runs well with full speed, and even with full clocking too. Do not “ON” any kind of unnecessary power saving interruptions after enabling this option.

Main Points

• Monitor CPU usage

• Monitor temperature.

• Close unnecessary apps.

• Enable High Performance mode.

• Keep Drivers updated.

• Manage CPU cooling.

• Overclock carefully.

• Disable background services.

• Use Game Mode.

• Check FPS regularly.

Keeping CPU Drivers and BIOS Updated

When I was a beginner in this field, I usually ignore the updates. I mostly do not update. I was like of a mindset that MBs will be wasted. So, with this my mistake, I lost my one PC. I haven’t updated for so many years that after a time it crashed digitally, it totally shut down, and after that it never started again.

So for that reason, this updation is very much important. These are basically for the stable performances. When there are driver updates, apps updates, software updates, or new versions of your system or GPU, CPU, each and everything, do update. Please do update, Because I have learned this thing from my mistake and by loss.

So I would suggest you to update your motherboard, BIOS, and chipset drivers, and each and everything on timely basis. Now these updates often include the optimizations that improve gaming performance, lowers lag, fastens up system, highs FPS, temperature controls. Make it a habit to regularly update the drivers and other kind of things to have a stable performance.

Tool Name	Function	Ideal Use Case	Benefit
Task Manager	Process monitoring & control	Closing background apps	Frees up CPU usage
MSI Afterburner	Performance monitoring overlay	FPS & temperature tracking	Real-time optimization
Intel XTU / Ryzen Master	CPU tuning & overclocking	Safe performance boosts	Higher stable FPS
HWMonitor	Hardware temperature monitoring	Preventing overheating	Maintains CPU health
CCleaner	System cleanup & startup control	Removing junk files	Lighter, faster system
Windows Game Mode	Gaming prioritization setting	Reducing background tasks	Smoother gameplay

Managing CPU Temperature and Cooling

If you are going to join the gaming field, then the very important thing to learn is “The Temperature Control”. High Temperature is the lighter problem for the gamers because it can be controlled by different kind of attempts. For example, you can use air conditions, you can use liquid cooling systems.

The fans you are using for cooling have different problems, Like sometimes they are giving so much noise that your game is disturbed and your attention is diverted. And when a system overheats, CPU automatically reduces performance and uses the power to cool down the system, which causes the FPS drop. I have a lot of investments in CPU cooling fans and this helps me to do a wonderful and smooth gaming.

Overclocking the CPU Safely

After learning the basis, a beginner should step into the overclocking. Overclocking is a very good thing. This one feature allows us to run the games more than our system’s capabilities. But most of the people do many mistakes when they are trying for overclocking their systems.

They suddenly overclock their systems at very high performance, which crashes their ICs, heats up their system and causes a lot of problems. The correct way for overclocking your system is to increase the capabilities slowly and gradually by 10-15% daily.

And it will be very good if you prefer alternative day for doing so. Using BIOS or tools like Intel XTU, Ryzen Master, you can overclock your system. While overclocking, do remember two things to check. One is your temperature and the second one is the FPS. This will help you a lot to maintain a good gaming system.

Conclusions

At last, I would say that if you are a beginner, focus on 3 to 4 main things. It will give you wonderful results. First of all, go to our tools page which is added in the header. Calculate your FPS.

After calculating, trace out which are the main problems. Is it hardware problem/ software problem, or any other kind of a problem. Then do off your background games, use a good cooling system, overclock your systems slowly and gradually, and here you can go for your systems.

If you are an intermediate, a moderate or a next level gamer, then these tips are for you. First of all, notice the main causes and problems of your system. Do calculate your FPS, then check your system’s temperature, and continuously running apps in the task manager. This would help you a lot to trigger the problems which are coming from the software end.

Then after catching these problems, find out the solution one by one. And do remember that the enhancement you will make in software don’t do it at once, just increase them slowly and gradually. It will help you a lot.