Top 10 Tricks That All PC Gamers Should Know

PC gaming gives you more control than any other platform—if you know where to look. These 10 tricks will help you get smoother performance, better aim, cleaner audio, and fewer headaches in almost any game.

1) Turn on the in-game FPS counter (and actually use it)

Knowing your frame rate helps you spot stutters and settings that are too heavy.

Steam: Settings → In-Game → In-game FPS counter

NVIDIA: GeForce Experience / NVIDIA App overlay → Performance

AMD: Adrenalin → Performance Metrics

Tip: If your FPS swings a lot, lower settings that hit the GPU hardest (shadows, reflections, volumetrics) first.

2) Use exclusive fullscreen (or the best borderless option) on purpose

Exclusive Fullscreen can reduce input lag and improve consistency in some games.

Borderless Windowed is better for alt-tabbing and multi-monitor setups.

Rule of thumb: Competitive shooters → try exclusive fullscreen. Everything else → borderless is usually fine.

3) Cap your FPS for smoother gameplay

Uncapped FPS can cause uneven frame pacing, heat, and noisy fans.

Cap FPS to your monitor refresh rate (e.g., 60/120/144).

If you use VRR (G-Sync/FreeSync), cap 2–3 FPS below refresh (e.g., 141 on a 144Hz monitor) for steadier results.

Most games have an FPS limiter; if not, use your GPU control panel.

4) Learn the “big 3” graphics settings that tank performance

If you need more FPS, adjust these first:

Shadows (biggest hit in many games)

Volumetric lighting/fog

Ray tracing (huge hit unless you have lots of GPU headroom)

Then tweak:

Reflections, ambient occlusion, view distance

5) Enable XMP/EXPO in BIOS (free performance)

Many PCs run RAM at a slower default speed unless you enable the profile.

Intel boards: XMP

AMD boards: EXPO (or DOCP on some)

This can improve minimum FPS and reduce stutter in open-world and CPU-heavy games.

6) Put your most-played games on an SSD (preferably NVMe)

An SSD doesn’t just improve load times—it can reduce texture pop-in and hitching in streaming-heavy games.

Quick win: Move large open-world games and anything with frequent loading to SSD first.

7) Fix mouse feel: disable acceleration and set a consistent sensitivity

For consistent aim:

Windows: Settings → Mouse → Additional mouse settings → Pointer Options → uncheck Enhance pointer precision

Set one DPI (commonly 800 or 1600) and keep it consistent.

In-game, use a sensitivity that lets you do a comfortable 180° turn without lifting too much.

8) Use push-to-talk and basic audio tuning

Clear comms win games.

Use push-to-talk to avoid background noise.

In Windows Sound settings, set your headset mic as default and test levels.

In-game, lower music slightly and raise footsteps/FX if the game allows it.

Bonus: If your audio sounds “muddy,” turn off “virtual surround” and try stereo first.

9) Keep overlays and background apps under control

Overlays can cause stutter or input lag in some setups.

Close unused launchers, RGB suites, browser tabs, and recording tools you don’t need.

If you stream/record, use a single tool (OBS, for example) rather than multiple overlays.

10) Back up and sync your settings (so you never lose them)

Many games store configs in Documents/AppData. A reinstall or crash can wipe settings.

Take screenshots of key settings (graphics, keybinds, sensitivity).

If the game supports cloud sync, make sure it’s enabled.

For competitive games, keep a small note with: DPI, sens, FOV, resolution, keybind changes.