The gaming industry is rapidly approaching the launch of next-generation GPUs, with Nvidia’s 50-series expected to launch between early 2024 and late 2025 if it follows current trends.
With new hardware just around the corner, you may be wondering if your gaming laptop or PC isn’t powerful enough right now. One solution is to bite the bullet and buy a whole new laptop or parts for your desktop PC, but that costs money. Instead, there may be an even simpler solution to your problem.
With gaming laptops, it’s not that easy to take the parts apart and swap them around (unless you really know what you’re doing), so the next best solution is to make the possible changes on the software side.
Some of these Windows 11 features are more hidden than others, and we don’t recommend leaving them turned on all the time, but using them when playing demanding titles can be critical to ensuring your gaming experience is as good as it can be.
1. Check GPU temperature
While this is a simple feature that won’t blow your mind, knowing exactly how hot your GPU is running while gaming can be crucial. Overheating can cause crashes and shutdowns, and in more serious cases, it can even damage hardware if not adequately monitored.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to check your GPU temperature:
1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc open Task ManagerAlternatively, you can right-click on your taskbar and select Task ManagerOr, if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, press the Windows key and type Task Manager in the search bar.
2. On the left side you will find a collection of icons. Select the icon that looks like a diagram or, if you have expanded the icons, it says Perfomance.
3. Choose Graphics card. Mine was at the bottom of the list and is called GPU0.
4. The upper section contains a diagram, but the lower section shows the information you want. Here you can see GPU temperaturehow much of your GPU is under useand lots of information about the GPU memory. You can even see your driver date and driver version.
This is crucial because if you have an overheating problem, your gaming experience will quickly become less enjoyable.
If you’re playing on a gaming laptop, ideally the laptop manufacturer should have already done a good job of controlling the laptop’s temperature. However, mistakes can happen and there’s always a chance that something could go wrong.
But what is an abnormally high GPU temperature? Anything over 85 degrees Celsius while gaming can be cause for concern, and if it’s over 95 degrees, you should definitely check the temperature stress on your GPU and make sure it’s within the expected range.
If the speed is not in the expected range, you can change the fan speed using your laptop’s built-in software. For example, if you are using an Asus ROG gaming laptop, Armoury Crate provides a “Fan Speed” section in the dashboard where you can change the fan speed.
If you can’t find your laptop’s built-in application, we recommend MSI Afterburner. This is an official MSI application that’s great for changing the fan speed if you’re worried about heat issues.
2. Change your power mode
This is a classic recommendation that everyone and their mother have probably shouted at you, but I want to remind you how important it is. If you don’t keep your PC’s settings up to date, you might be shocked at how big a difference it can make in gameplay.
1. Open Settings.
2. Choose system.
3. Under Power modechange the setting to Best performance.
While we don’t necessarily recommend leaving this option on all the time (as it can drain the battery pretty quickly), it can improve performance when plugged in. This is especially important if you’re gaming, but be prepared to have your computer running at full speed.
3. Turn off memory integrity
This recommendation comes directly from Microsoft, but comes with a comprehensive disclaimer that asks you to re-enable the feature after you’re done with your gaming sessions (as it could pose a security risk).
1. Open Windows settings.
2. Go to Data protection and security.
3. Choose Windows Security and then press Open Windows Security.
4. Choose Device security.
5. Including Core insulationchoose Details on core insulation.
6. Including Memory integrityswitch the slider to Out of.
Again, we recommend turning this back on if you don’t need the extra power. Microsoft claims “it can help improve your performance,” so check out what difference it makes.
