Why are games slowing down? Why games slow down on your computer and what to do about it? Why games don't start on Windows Why the game slows down

To understand why this or that computer game slows down, it is necessary, first of all, to know what resources of a personal computer or laptop it uses. If the game was purchased on a disc, the minimum system requirements for that game are always listed on the back of the disc. To compare these settings with those of your computer, look at the system properties in the operating system's control panel.

The main parameters that affect the performance of a computer are the clock frequency of the processor, the amount of RAM, as well as the parameters of the video card, which include its model and amount of memory. As a rule, if the game slows down, then by comparing the minimum requirements of the game with the properties of your computer, you can immediately understand what exactly is missing. If this is not immediately evident, then the algorithm is as follows. If the game is about good image quality and detail, you can reduce the quality of the graphics and check how the game speed changes. In the event that nothing has changed, it can be assumed that the reason for the slowdown of the game is not in the video card.

It remains to be assumed that either the RAM is not enough, or the frequency of the processor. Since you will not be able to “twist” the processor frequency, the only possible way out is to purchase another RAM module if there are slots free for it on the motherboard of your computer. It is important to note the case when the processor has multiple cores, each of which contains some clock speed. In this case, the minimum system requirements of the game in terms of processor frequency must match the clock frequency of one processor core, that is, you should not sum up the frequencies of all cores when determining the processor frequency.

Problems in the video card

So, if you still notice that the game has stopped slowing down when the detail in the game is reduced, then the problem lies in the low performance of the video card. Compare the video card requirements of the game with your video card: memory size and model. If there is enough memory, then perhaps the video card model itself is already outdated.

OS incompatibility issues

Another problem of slowing down a computer game may be its incompatibility with the bitness of the operating system. This reason becomes noticeable if you have a 64-bit operating system installed. The fact is that not all games are optimized to work in an OS of this bit depth, so you should pay attention to this as well.

Even with a powerful computer, you are not at all immune from the fact that your games will not slow down. Very often, in order to speed up the game, it is enough to do a little optimization of the OS - and the games start to "fly"!

In this article I would like to dwell on the simplest and most effective ways to speed up. It is worth noting that the article will not include the topic of "overclocking" and the purchase of new components for the PC. Because the first is a rather dangerous thing for the performance of a computer, and the second requires money ...

1. System requirements and settings in the game

Well, firstly, system requirements are indicated for any game. Many users believe that if the game satisfies what they read on the disc box, then everything is fine. Meanwhile, on the disks, the minimum requirements are most often written. Therefore, it is worth focusing on a small variety of requirements:

- minimum- the requirements of the game to run it at the lowest performance settings;

So, if your PC meets only the minimum system requirements, then set the game settings to the minimum values: low resolution, graphics quality to a minimum, etc. It is practically impossible to replace the performance of a piece of iron with a program!

2. Removing programs that load the computer

It often happens that the game slows down not because there are not enough system requirements for its normal operation, but because at the same time another program is running with it, which heavily loads your system. For example, the anti-virus program of the hard drive is being scanned (by the way, sometimes such a scan runs automatically according to a schedule, if you configured it). Naturally, the computer can not cope with the tasks and starts to slow down.

If this happened during the game, press the "Win" button (or Cntrl + Tab) - in general, minimize the game and get to the desktop. Then launch Task Manager (Cntrl+Alt+Del or Cntrl+Shift+Esc) and see what process or program is loading your PC.

If there is an extraneous program (in addition to the running game), then disable and close it. If it is for you at all insofar as it is better to remove it altogether.

Also check the programs that you have in startup. If there are unfamiliar applications, then disable them.

By the way, many users also install dozens of different icons, gadgets on the desktop, set up blinking cursors, etc. All this "creation", as a rule, can load your PC very much, moreover, many users do not need it, because to. they spend most of their time in various programs, games, where the interface is made in their own style. The question is, why then decorate the OS, losing performance, which never happens too much...

3. Cleaning the registry, OS, deleting temporary files

The registry is a large database that your OS uses. Over time, a lot of "garbage" accumulates in this database: erroneous entries, entries of programs that you have long deleted, etc. This can cause your computer to run slower, so it is recommended to clean and optimize it.

The same applies to the hard drive, which can accumulate a large number of temporary files.

4. Defragment your hard drive

All files that you copy to your hard drive are written in "chunks" randomly* (the concept is simplified). So, over time, there are more and more such scattered pieces, and in order to put them together, the computer needs more time. Because of what you can see performance degradation.

The easiest way is to use the standard Windows feature. Go to "my computer", right-click on the desired drive, and select "properties".

It will not be superfluous to look into the "special settings".

Move all available sliders towards the speed of work. Then save and exit. The computer screen may flicker a couple of times...

After that, try to launch the game. In this way, it is possible to speed up the game due to the quality of graphics: it will become a little worse, but the game will run faster. It is possible to achieve optimal quality by adjusting the settings.

7. Special utility GameGain

GameGain(http://www.pgware.com/products/gamegain/) - a utility for game lovers. It can choose the optimal settings for Windows OS, which will allow you to speed up the performance of games. Moreover, the increase in speed can be significant, especially when combined with all the other tips from this article.

After launching the utility, you will see a simple window in which you will be prompted to select your OS and your processor. By default, usually, the utility itself correctly determines the OS and processor. After selecting, you need to click the "Optimize now" button (optimize now), and then restart your computer.

By the way, the utility supports all modern Windows operating systems: 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7, 8.

Conclusion

In the article, we looked at the easiest and fastest ways to optimize your computer to speed up games. Of course, no settings and programs can replace the new hardware. If you have the opportunity, then, of course, it is worth updating the computer components.

A huge number of users love to play computer games, but unfortunately, some of them are faced with such a situation that their favorite entertainment does not want to run on a PC. Let's find out what this phenomenon can be connected with and how this problem is solved.

There are many reasons why games on the computer do not start. But all of them can be divided into two main groups: the inability to launch individual games and the refusal to launch absolutely all gaming applications. In the latter case, most often, no programs are activated at all. Let's look at the individual causes of the problem under study and try to find algorithms for their elimination.

Reason 1: Weak hardware

If you have a problem with running not all games, but only resource-intensive applications, then it is more likely that the cause of the problem is a lack of hardware power. The weak link can be the processor, graphics card, RAM, or another important PC component. As a rule, the minimum system requirements for the normal operation of the game application are indicated on the disc box if you purchased the game on physical media, or they can be found on the Internet.

Now let's find out how you can view the main characteristics of your computer.

1. click "Start" and in the menu that opens, right-click ( PKM) by name "A computer". In the list that appears, select "Properties".



2. A window with the main characteristics of the system will open. Here you can find out the size of the PC's RAM, the frequency and model of the processor, the OS bit depth, as well as such an interesting indicator as the performance index. It is a comprehensive assessment of the main elements of the system, which is set according to the weakest link. Initially, this indicator was planned to be introduced, just to evaluate the computer for compatibility with specific games and programs. But unfortunately, this innovation did not find mass support from software manufacturers. However, some of them still indicate this index. If it is lower on your PC than indicated on the game, then most likely it will not start for you or will function with problems.



3. To find out the weakest link in the system, you need to click on the name "Windows Experience Index".



4. A window will open in which the following OS components are rated:
   • Random access memory;
   • Processor
   • Graphics;
   • Graphics for games;
   • Winchester.

   The component with the lowest score will be the weakest link, on the basis of which the overall index is set. Now you will know what needs to be improved in order to run more game programs.

   

   If the information that is presented in the properties window of the Windows system is not enough for you, and you, for example, want to know the power of the video card, then in this case you can use specialized third-party system monitoring programs, for example, Everest or AIDA64.

What to do if some component or several elements do not meet the system requirements of the game? The answer to this question is simple, but its solution will require financial costs: it is necessary to purchase and install more powerful analogues of those devices that are not suitable for running a gaming application in terms of their performance.

Reason 2: Broken EXE file association

One of the reasons why games do not start may be a violation of the EXE file association. In this case, the system simply does not understand what to do with the objects. with the specified extension. The main sign that the named factor is the cause of the problem is that not only individual gaming applications, but absolutely all objects with the EXE extension are not activated. Fortunately, there is a way to fix this problem.

1. Need to go to "Registry Editor". To do this, open the window "Run", applying Win+R. In the area that opens, enter:

   After entering, press OK.



2. A tool called "Windows Registry Editor". Go to the section called "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT".



3. In the list of folders that opens, look for a directory named ".exe". In the right part of the window, click on the parameter name "Default".



4. The edit value window will open. In its only field, you need to enter the following expression, if there is other data there or if it is not filled at all:

   After that click OK.



5. Next, return to the section navigation and move to the directory named "exefile". It is located in the same directory "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT". Go to the right side of the window again and click on the parameter name "Default".



6. This time, in the properties window that opens, type in the following expression, if it has not already been entered in the field:

   To save the entered data, press OK.



7. Finally, change to the directory shell, which is located inside the folder "exefile". Here again in the right area, look for the parameter "Default" and go to its properties, as you did in previous cases.



8. And this time in the field "Meaning" type in the expression:

   Click OK.



9. After that, you can close the window "Registry Editor" and restart your computer. After the system is restarted, the standard EXE file associations will be restored, which means that you will be able to run your favorite games and other programs again.

Reason 3: Insufficient launch rights

Some games may not run due to the fact that in order to activate them, you must have elevated rights, that is, administrator rights. But even if you log in under an administrative account, you will still need to perform additional manipulations to launch the game application.

In addition, the issue under study sometimes occurs when, when installing a game, it was necessary to run the installer as an administrator, but the user activated it in normal mode. In this case, the application may be installed but restricted to system folders, preventing the executable from running correctly, even with administrative privileges. In this case, you need to completely uninstall the game application, and then install it by running the installer with administrator rights.

Reason 4: Compatibility issues

If you cannot run some old game, then it is likely that it is simply not compatible with Windows 7. In this case, you need to activate it in XP compatibility mode.

Reason 5: Outdated or incorrect video card drivers

The reason that you cannot start the game may well be outdated graphics adapter drivers. It also often happens that standard Windows drivers are installed on the computer instead of the analogue from the video card developer. This can also negatively affect the activation of applications that require a lot of graphic resources. To correct the situation, you need to replace the existing video drivers with the latest versions or update them.

Of course, it is best to install the drivers on the PC from the installation disk that came with the video card. If this is not possible, then you can download updated drivers from the official website of the manufacturer. But if you do not have a physical medium or you do not know the corresponding web resource, then there is still a way out of this situation.

1. click "Start" and go to "Control Panel".



2. Open section "System and safety".



3. In the settings group "System" find a position "Device Manager" and click on it.



4. window starts "Device Manager". Click on the title of the section "Video adapters".



5. A list of video cards connected to the computer will open. There may be several, but there may be one. In any case, click on the name of the active device, that is, the one through which graphic information is currently displayed on the PC.



6. The video card properties window opens. Move to section "Intelligence".



7. In the window that opens, in the drop-down list "Property" choose an option "Hardware ID". Information about the ID of the video card will open. You must write or copy the longest value.



8. Now launch your browser. You will need to go to a site to search for drivers by video card ID, which is called DevID DriverPack. A link to it is given in a separate lesson below.



9. On the web resource page that opens, enter the pre-copied video card ID in the field. In the block "Windows Version" select a cell with a number "7". This means that you are looking for components for Windows 7. To the right of this block, indicate the bitness of your OS by checking the checkbox "x64"(for 64-bit OS) or "x86"(for 32-bit OS). Next click "Find drivers".



10. The search results will open. Look for the latest version by date. As a rule, it is in the first place in the list, but the required information can be specified in the column "Driver version". Once you find the item you want, click the button. "Download" opposite him.



11. The driver will be downloaded to the computer. Once the download is complete, you need to click on its executable file to begin installation on your PC.



12. After installation is complete, restart your computer. If the problem of not being able to start the game was due to an incorrect or outdated driver, then it will be resolved.

If you do not want to bother with manual installation, then in this case you can resort to the services of special programs that scan the PC, look for the latest driver updates themselves and install them. The most popular application of this class is DriverPack Solution.

Reason 6: Missing required system components

One of the reasons why games do not start may be the absence of certain system components or the presence of an outdated version of them. The fact is that not all the necessary elements from Microsoft are included in the installation assembly. Therefore, they have to be additionally downloaded and installed in order to be able to perform tasks of increased complexity. But even if the component is present in the initial assembly, then it must be regularly updated. The most important such elements for running game applications are NET Framework , Visual C++ , DirectX .

Some games are especially demanding and run in the presence of various "exotic" components that are not available on every computer. In this case, you need to carefully reread the requirement for installing this game application and install all the necessary objects. Therefore, specific recommendations cannot be given here, since different applications require different elements.

Reason 7: Missing required OS updates

Some modern games may not run simply because the operating system has not been updated on the computer for a long time. To solve this problem, you need to activate automatic OS updates or install all the necessary updates manually.

Reason 8: Cyrillic characters in the folder path

The game may not start for the reason that its executable file is located in a folder that contains Cyrillic characters in its name, or the path to this directory contains Cyrillic letters. Some applications only allow Latin characters in the file location directory address.

In this case, simply renaming will not help. You need to completely uninstall the game and install it again in that folder, the path to which contains only Latin characters.

Reason 9: Viruses

You should not discount such a cause of many computer problems as a virus infection. Viruses can block EXE files from running or even rename them. If a PC infection is suspected, it should be checked immediately with an antivirus utility. For example, one of the best such applications is Dr.Web CureIt.

Ideally, it is recommended to check from another PC or by starting the computer from a LiveCD/USB. But if you do not have such capabilities, then you can run this utility simply from a flash drive. If viruses are detected, follow the recommendations that are displayed in the antivirus window. But sometimes the malware manages to damage the system. In this case, after removing it, check the computer for the integrity of system files and restore them if damage is found.

There are many reasons why games or a certain game application does not want to run on a computer running Windows 7. We did not dwell on such banal situations as a poor build of the game itself, but described the main problems that may arise when it is activated, related to the operation systems. Determining the specific cause and eliminating it is the main task that falls on the user, and this guide will help in solving this problem.

Every gamer at least once wondered why games “slow down” and how to increase the performance of a Windows 7 PC. It is clear that if the characteristics of the computer do not meet the requirements, then only an upgrade can help. Another thing is when there is enough power, but games still freeze. In this case, the user is recommended to work on optimization.

Why games slow down on Windows 7 and how to fix it

Graphics settings

First of all, you need to pay attention to the settings of the game itself. Screen resolution, texture detail, shadows, reflection in water - all this loads the video card. When the graphics accelerator fails, the game starts to slow down. To lower the requirements, you need to open "Settings" in the main menu of the game. This item may be called differently (for example, "Options"). Then you should find the section where the video settings are adjusted. There can also be different variations: "Graphics", "Video" and so on.

Consider the menu of the game "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind". The "Options" section contains graphics settings. Here you can reduce the screen resolution, turn off shadows and lower the "Visibility" indicator. The last parameter affects how far the landscape is visible. Accordingly, with a small review, the load on the video card is lower.

The lower the characteristics, the higher the speed of the game

Incorrect video card settings

The computer has two video cards at once - built-in and discrete. The first is integrated into the motherboard or into the processor without the possibility of extraction. It has low power, but also consumes energy to a minimum. The second card has the opposite qualities. The problem may be that switching from an integrated card to a discrete one does not occur.

You need to manually activate the external graphics card like this:

Right-click (RMB) on the desktop and select the video card in the drop-down list (for example, through the NVIDIA Control Panel).
In the "NVIDIA Control Panel" are the settings for the video card that is used by the computer

In the next window, first open "3D Settings" and then "Manage 3D Settings".
In the "NVIDIA Control Panel", look for "Manage 3D Settings"

In the "Program settings" tab, click on the "Add" button and select the desired game from the list. Then, in the drop-down menu below, set "High-performance NVIDIA processor."
The game has been added, the settings for it have been changed

Now, when you start the game, the computer will always switch to a discrete graphics card.

Old drivers for graphics accelerator

With such a problem, you need to use the special Driver Booster program. It is available for free download on the official website http://driver-booster.ru.uptodown.com/.

After starting, the utility will analyze the drivers of all connected devices, including video cards. If older versions are found, the user will be prompted to reinstall.

Driver Booster has detected old drivers and offers to update them

After clicking on the "Update" button, the program will automatically download new drivers. You will be warned that the screen may go blank during installation. During the update process, it is advisable to close all applications. Upon completion of the procedure, you must restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

After installing the program, you will need to log in with your account. If there is no account, it should be created. The mailbox must be working - a letter will come there. The user must be logged in

The email contains a link to follow. After confirming the ID, you can log in to the system.

The first thing to do is to diagnose. To do this, open the "Utilities" tab, go to the "Diagnostics" section and click on the "Analysis" button. Diagnostics is needed just in case to check if there are any critical errors

The acceleration function itself is located in the tab of the same name. When you click the "Speed ​​up now" button, the program will set up your computer for maximum performance (the process will take a few seconds). At the end of the procedure, you can start the game and see if there is a result.
The program optimizes the system so that the game does not slow down

At the end of the game, you need to transfer the PC to normal mode.

Advanced System Care

Optimizes and improves the performance of the computer as a whole. Available for free download on the official website http://ru.iobit.com/.

When you start the program in the first window, you are prompted to check. All items can be marked.

When the user marks the areas to be checked, it will be possible to run the check

After completing the analysis, the program will display the result. You need to click on "Fix".

The program let you know which areas are in order and which need to be corrected

You can skip the repair step and configure the "Auto Repair" option. In this case, you will not need to click "Fix" with each subsequent check.

In order not to click on the "Fix" button every time, you can turn on "Auto Repair"

What to do so that the games do not slow down again?

Correctly setting up the graphics accelerator, virtual memory paging file and video characteristics in the game menu is enough once. There are measures that will have to be applied periodically:

remove junk files and malware;

clean the registry, fix errors on the hard drive using standard utilities, CCleaner and Advanced System Care;

update drivers;

defragment the disk;

clean your PC from dust.

You can improve the performance of your computer as a whole and get rid of the "brakes" during three-dimensional and online games, both using the internal means of the PC, and by using third-party software. Using programs whose main task is to improve computer performance is easy and quite safe - the risk that you infect your device with viruses when installing such software is minimal.

Typical user question...

Hello.

One game (Diablo III) is slowing down on my computer. Tried a lot of things but nothing helps...

The computer several times exceeds the minimum characteristics of the game, declared by the manufacturer. I lowered the graphics and performance settings in the game to a minimum - I got ~ 10 FPS ...

Tell me why the game can slow down even on a relatively powerful PC?

Good time everyone!

There is probably not a single PC user who does not play computer games! And most of them faced brakes, lags, delays, and other incidents. So the question presented in the article is a very popular one (perhaps only the name of the game changes).

In this article, I will look at the main reasons why games slow down, and give advice on how to eliminate and fix them. By the way, I do not pretend to be the ultimate truth 😉.

So, now on to the topic...

IMPORTANT!

First of all, pay attention to the system requirements of the specific game that slows you down. If her minimum requirements (and there are also recommended ones) your computer / laptop does not satisfy - then the reason for the brakes is obvious (Therefore, I do not dwell on system requirements in this article). True, in this case, something can be done to speed up the game (more on that below).

Eliminate lags and brakes in games

I will build the article in the form of questions, for each of which I will give an answer. Going through them and checking your PC, optimizing it - in any case, you will get some (even if it's small) performance gain.

❶ What programs load the processor, hard drive, RAM and network?

The very first thing I want to start with is to check what your processor, hard drive, and RAM are loaded with. The fact is that even on a powerful computer, brakes can appear if, in addition to the game itself, another dozen or two different programs are launched on it (I'm not talking about various conflicts).

The easiest way to find out about downloading them is to use task manager . To open it, press the buttons Ctrl+Shift+Esc(or Ctrl+Alt+Del ). By the way, it is highly desirable to first open the task manager, then start the game, and when the brakes start in it, turn it off and see what the main load is on.

Note: to minimize the game, press the key combination Alt + Tab, or the Win button.

In the task manager, pay attention first to what is most loaded: CPU, memory, disk or network. In my case - the CPU was loaded (approx. : the processor, by the way, is usually loaded more often than memory or disk) .

Pay attention to the screenshot below - the CPU is loaded not with the Civilization IV game, but with Explorer (in which there are five tabs open and several operations). No wonder the computer began to slow down when starting the game...

After the work in the explorer was completed (and it was restarted), the game began to function normally, not a single lag or freeze. Here's your recipe for wellness 👍...

In addition, pay attention to HDD : often it can be loaded with torrents (so popular lately).

Note: Many programs that you have already closed may remain in memory and boot your PC. That is why, in cases of problems in games, it is advisable to always check in the task manager if there is any extraneous process that heavily loads the PC.

Therefore, summing up, I will say the following: first of all, check if any third-party programs are running that take the lion's share of PC resources instead of the desired game. After making sure that the load is created directly by the game itself, you can move on ...

To help!

How to increase CPU performance through power settings (parking cores, how to enable all CPU cores ✔) -

❷ Do you know about problematic graphics in some games: fire, water, shadows, etc.?

Very often the reason for the brakes lies in the game itself, for example, often the developers did not optimize the graphics, say, for a certain line of video cards. As a result, for most users, everything works as it should, and for some users, the game is simply unrecognizable: everything lags, slows down, the picture twitches and distorts.

It is quite difficult to name for each game where and what problems it has (much more can be said about this on some forum dedicated to a particular game).

As for the same Diablo III (and some other games) - the game in the first releases had a problem with NVIDIA video cards due to the parameter enabled in the driver settings AMBIENT OCLUSION (backlight shading). When it was disabled in the graphic settings, the game started to fly!

Pay attention to these items like: fire, water, shadows, fog, dust, etc. If it is possible to disable them in the game (or reduce their detail) - try it! In some cases, games begin to behave in a completely different way.

❸ Have you used utilities to speed up games?

Who would not say anything about "magic buttons", that they do not exist, etc. - there are still utilities that can speed up the computer in a few steps, and as a result, reduce the number of errors and lags in games.

I will not talk about them in detail here, since this will require quite a lot of space and time (especially since there is already such an article on the blog).

❹ Are video drivers updated? Is there a conflict, are they optimal?

Video drivers have a very serious and significant impact on performance in games.

For some video cards, choosing the optimal driver is not always easy: the newest driver may not be optimized, it may contain errors, it may not work correctly with some types of textures (but, as a rule, in new drivers, on the contrary, the number of errors tends to a minimum).

I'll give you one piece of advice: try downloading multiple versions of drivers for your graphics card. Then install one by one and check how the game works with one or another. Perhaps by installing another driver, the error will disappear ...

Update drivers in Windows 10 - an overview of the 5 best programs (in Russian) -

How to update the driver for AMD, nVidia and Intel HD graphics cards: from A to Z -

In addition, I recommend that you also go to device Manager and check if there is a driver conflict, if drivers are found and installed for all equipment (if there are any yellow exclamation marks. An example of what a problem driver looks like in the device manager is).

To open device Manager : press a combination of buttons Win+R and type devmgmt.msc(example below).

Pay attention to the tabs "Video adapters" and "Unknown Devices" - are there any devices with yellow exclamation marks (or just unknown devices ).

If there are any, you need to find drivers for them and install them. Then restart the PC and check how the performance in games changes.

To help!

How to find and install a driver for an unknown device -

❺ Are video drivers tuned for maximum performance?

I think that it's not a secret for anyone that the performance in games depends very much on the settings of video drivers. Sometimes, by changing some parameters, it is possible to increase the game by 1.5 (or more) times!

How to speed up an AMD graphics card (Radeon) -

How to improve the performance of your NVIDIA graphics card in games -

How to speed up an IntelHD graphics card, at least 10-15% performance increase -

❻ Is the game set to low graphics settings: resolution, details, shadows, etc.?

In addition to the video card settings, there are also settings for the game itself. By the way, their influence is no less than the video card settings (and maybe more!).

Absolutely every game (99.9%) has graphics settings. Going into them, pay attention (first of all) to the following things:

1. screen resolution: has the strongest impact on the quality of the picture in the game, and on the loading of your video card. By lowering the resolution a little, you can significantly increase the performance of your PC in the game. By the way, I’ll add on my own that in many games, the decrease in resolution will be hardly noticeable, while the performance will grow significantly! So, you always need to look for a balance;
2. quality of graphics, visualization, video: also has the strongest impact on performance. If the game lags, try lowering the settings from high to medium (or even low);
3. landscape detail, shadows, fog, etc.: remove, or completely disable, if this is provided by the game;
4. vertical sync: Try enabling/disabling. Sometimes it gives a significant increase in the number of FPS.

What to look for when setting up the graphics of the game // on the example of Civilization IV

❼ Does the built-in graphics card switch to discrete when playing games?

This question concerns computers / laptops with two video cards: integrated and discrete. The fact is that when starting games, the computer must use a discrete graphics card for maximum performance.

But this does not always happen, often the device does not switch the video card, and you play on the built-in one. Then, even if you have a powerful gaming laptop, you may well observe lags in relatively old games!

I already have an article on my blog about this problem. I recommend to take a look.

How to run the game on a discrete graphics card. How to check on which video card the game is running // using NVIDIA as an example -

Game mode in Windows 10: improve the performance of your computer in games -

❽ Have you checked the temperature of the components, is there any overheating?

Crashes and brakes in games can be associated with overheating. The fact is that games are rather demanding programs that significantly load both the processor and the video card, and sometimes the hard drive (with intensive data loading).

Particular attention should be paid to the temperature in the following cases:

• strong hum of fans/coolers;
• during unstable PC operation: reboots, brakes, freezes;
• warm case (noticeable in laptops / netbooks);
• frequent critical errors, etc.

Usually, you have to remember about the temperature in a warm summer, when the temperature in the room rises significantly and it becomes really hot (not only for a person, but also for a computer 😊).

To find out and control the temperature of the main components (CPU, video card, hard drive), I recommend using one of the utilities:.

For example, in the screenshot below I have a utility Speccy.

In general, it is difficult to say what temperature is critical (a lot depends on the specific iron). But in general, in general, if you highlight, then:

1. processor: pay attention to the temperature if in games it began to exceed 60 ° C ();
2. hard disk : normal hard disk temperature range is 25÷43°C. If yours is higher, I recommend that you seriously worry, as leaving this zone can seriously affect the longevity of your disk ();
3. video card: in general, some video card models (for example, NVIDIA) can withstand temperatures up to 100 ° C (but personally I cannot call this a normal situation). At temperatures in games above 80 ÷ 85 ° C - I recommend reading the recommended temperature ranges of your video card manufacturer ().

To help!

The laptop is heating up: what to do? Temperature high all the time: 85°C+ -

Important!

One of the main "enemies" of computer hardware is dust. It penetrates absolutely everywhere, over time it clogs the cooling system, which leads to an increase in temperature. And this, in turn, can affect the speed of the PC, as well as its service life.

To help!

Cleaning the computer from dust: monitor, system unit, keyboard -

❾ Is Windows optimized for maximum speed?

It's no secret that an optimized Windows operating system can run significantly faster than one that no one has worked on. Moreover, all this can also affect the performance of the PC in games (and the number of FPS).

Imagine for yourself: extra services and programs that you never use are loaded into memory for some reason, executed, etc. All this takes up PC resources.

I'm not talking about the fact that over time a large amount of garbage accumulates in the system: temporary files, folders, erroneous entries in the registry, non-working shortcuts, etc. All this needs to be cleaned and cleaned, and then Windows will be much more responsive, the number of errors will be less, and the performance will be higher!

Windows 10 optimization // to speed up your computer - (also relevant for Windows 7, 8)

❿ What PC power supply scheme is involved, is the economy mode enabled?

This item is more about laptops. The fact is that in Windows there is a power section where operating modes are set. Among the modes there are several options: economical, optimal (or balanced), and high-performance.

By default, most often, either optimal or economical is enabled. The latter, in general, can have a very significant effect on the performance of a laptop (and, moreover, not only in games).

To open the settings and select a power plan, go to Windows at: .

High performance // Power supply

If you have a laptop with Windows 10, please also note that you can add performance using the battery icon in the tray.

Also, with regard to laptops, some manufacturers equip their devices with special software. Among this software there are modules responsible for powering the laptop: for example, some LENOVO devices have power saving modes.

By the way, in some cases, due to power settings, Turbo Boost may be disabled. (as a result, the processor works far beyond its capabilities). You can learn how to check this point and enable Turbo Boost from my previous article, the link to which is given below.

To help!

Because of what the low performance of the Intel processor on the laptop. How it can be accelerated (about Turbo Boost) -

I-❶ Do you have 2 hard drives? Does one of them turn off?

If the game works, works, and then after a certain time it hangs for 0.5-1 seconds, and then works again, then this behavior is similar to turning off the hard drive. Those. Windows turned off the hard drive, and when data was needed from it and the game wanted to get it, it turned on again, and it took this time to turn it on (at the same time, if you listen, you can hear how the disk starts to work (make noise).

The conclusion suggests itself - you need to prohibit the hard drive from turning off during operation. By the way, this often happens when you have 2 or more hard drives in your system. Some of them are disabled when inactive.

To prevent this, Windows at: Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options . Next, open the link "Setting the power plan" for the active scheme (example below)!

Expand the section "HDD" and put "0" tab "turn off hard drive after" . This means that the hard drive will never turn off (which is required). Save your settings and try to return to the game. Will this characteristic lag disappear?

never turn off hard drive // ​​Windows 10

I-❷ Do you have antivirus/firewall enabled, have you tried without it?

And the last thing I wanted to dwell on in this article is viruses and antiviruses (and other security software). In some cases, antiviruses/firewalls can have a significant impact on performance, for example, they may have a computer scan for viruses scheduled in their schedule, and at that time you sat down to play. Often, in this case, the game starts to slow down.

I'll be brief here:

This is where I end the article.

Zand additions on the topic - I will be grateful.