[Celestial]

As we all know, PC industry is developing really fast. That means that every few weeks/months, borders are set higher and higher. That gaming PC you bought 2 years ago is now a piece of crap, since now there are computers 3x stronger than yours. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is.

Even if you have a solid PC, there's a good chance that your HDD is cluttered or something similar can be slowing your PC which can massively decrease your gaming performance.

But you can do something about it! Don't just whine, not everything is so dark. Here are few tips you can follow to improve your PC's performance.

Take care of your HDD.

A bunch of files on your HDD will obviously clutter your PC. Take care of that. Move those old photos to a CD, DVD or USB. Delete those big applications and games you don't even use anymore. Basically, just organize your files.

You can also use programs like CCleaner (link) to clean up old registry data, some leftover files etc. You should be doing this once a week or so, it will improve your PC.

Defragment your HDD.

Use programs like Defraggler (link) to defragment your hard disk.
Disk defragmentation describes the process of consolidating fragmented files on your computer's hard disk.
Fragmentation happens to a hard disk over time as you save, change, or delete files. The changes that you save to a file are often stored at a location on the hard disk that's different from the original file. Additional changes are saved to even more locations. Over time, both the file and the hard disk itself become fragmented, and your computer slows down as it has to look in many different places to open a file.

Update your drivers.

You should always make sure your drivers are up-to-date. Check your graphic cards manufacturer's website. If your drivers are outdated, make sure you download new ones.

Decrease the looks to improve the performance.

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Windows offers some great animations and effects to make your PC look cool. These include fading menus, shadows, wallpaper that changes automatically etc. However, these animations can badly affect system as well as gaming performance. As a gamer, you should disable these animations, to ensure better gameplay. To do this, follow these steps:

For Windows XP:

1. On the desktop, right click on "My Computer" and then click on "Properties."
2. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
3. Click on "Settings" under "Performance."
4. On the "Visual Effects tab," select "Adjust for best performance."

For Windows 7 and Vista:

1. On the desktop, right click on "Computer" and then click on "Properties."
2. Click on "Advanced System Settings"
3. Click on "Settings" under "Performance."
4. On the "Visual Effects tab", select "Adjust for best performance"

Although you might not like how windows looks after changing this setting, but you will definitely feel a change in gameplay performance.

Spice it up.

You can use programs like Game Booster 3 (link) to improve the performance. What this program will do is turn off all of the unnecessary processes. Play around with it until you grab a hold to it, and it will help your inner-gamer feel better about himself.

If you have any more advices and tips, feel free to post them below.

[Lincoln Burrows]

I'd say overall this is a great guide. Most people can't even do some of this stuff so this should help.

[Alex]

Pretty good guide. Nice , I got shitty laptop so no use lol

[Wonders]

Very nice guide Prosper, thanks for the share.