Step 2: Check your Connection:

It may seem mundane, but how your rig is connected to the internet can really affect your gameplay. If your gaming experience is filled with stuttering, lagging, or even a lost connection, then your connectivity may be the culprit. If you are connected wirelessly, that might be part of the problem. Connecting directly to your router through an ether net cable will always give you the best results, regardless of the speed of your Wi-Fi. The best connection will always be a direct ether net connection, regardless of the speed of your Wi-Fi.

Tip: Get the fastest data plan you can afford. Even if you have the best system money can buy, it will not perform to its fullest potential on slow internet.

Step 3: Adjust your peripherals settings:

Another commonly overlooked problem is your system's settings. Often your system peripherals, such as the mouse, are optimized for desktop use rather than gaming. Ensuring your mouse acceleration is adjusted for gaming is huge. Typically, this is set so as you move the mouse fast it moves your cursor farther, which is handy for normal desktop operations but not ideal for gaming. You want your movements to be precise and not overshoot where you want your cursor to be.

Tip: If you’re using a gaming mouse with an adjustable DPI, you can adjust it separately in addition to your system’s settings to really dial-in your personal sensitivity preference.

Step 4: Upgrade your Memory:

It’s no secret that gamers upgrade their systems hardware to really eke out their system’s highest performance. Our Ballistic® memory is specially designed for gaming and a worthwhile upgrade. Often upgrading and increasing your system's memory -- especially with memory designed specifically for gaming -- will give you the best bang for your buck. Certain games have specific memory requirements. It’s easy to check how much memory you have on your Windows 10 PC to see if you need an upgrade.

Installation is simple. You can quickly install additional memory on your laptop or desktop with our easy-to-follow tutorials.

Step 5: Upgrade your Storage:

Cross-platform play, game DVR, and DirectX 12 are exciting reasons to use Windows 10, but running these features seamlessly requires more than just the minimum. If you are going to upgrade your hardware with more and faster memory, then upgrading to an SSD should be on your radar as well.

SSDs such as the P5 increase operating system speeds. Apps open faster and games load as soon as you’re ready to spawn. The P5 specifically has read/write speeds up to 3400/3000 MB/s, which is pushing the limits of PCIe® Gen 3 NVMe™. It's easy to install an SSD and get faster performance.

For more information about SSDs for gaming, read our guide about which SSD is best for gaming.

Tip: Another great option is adding an external SSD such as the X8. The Crucial X8 runs up to 1.8x faster than other portable SSDs and up to 7.5x faster than portable HDDs.1 Back up and expand your gaming library on your PC and have it on the go. The X8 can also be used on PS4™, Xbox One, iPad Pro, and Android devices, with speeds up to 1050 MB/s.1,2

Step 6: Upgrade your Graphics Card:

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How to Optimize Windows 10 for Gaming

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So, you just bought the latest gaming title, and you want to know how to optimize Microsoft® Windows® 10 to make sure you’re getting the most out of your system. No problem, our comprehensive guide below will help you optimize Windows 10 for gaming. But before we get into changing things, let’s talk about the unique features of Windows 10 and gaming.

Last but not least: updates:

Even if you max out all your upgrades, you still might not get maximum performance unless you keep everything updated. The latest greatest hardware in the best system on the fastest internet will not run at its peak performance unless everything is updated. For more general PC gaming optimization tips, check out our gaming PC upgrade guide

Windows 10 features: