Have you ever had your PC running slow than it once did, or a game that you just wish could run a little smoother? If you did, you probably found yourself typing "How to improve PC performance" in your search engine to get to the bottom of it. Now, while there are tweaks that can do so, there are many more that either do not work or can make matters even worse for you. And with the sheer number of guides promising better performance, it can be overwhelming and hard to choose which source you can trust.

High or Ultimate performance power plans

Power hungry, even when you don't need it to be

The high- and ultimate-performance power plans are misnomers, as they don't magically unlock extra performance from your CPU. Their main trick is setting the "Minimum Processor State" to 100%, compared to 5% in Balanced mode. This keeps your CPU running at its boost clock speed, even under low workloads or idle state, leading to higher power consumption and no performance difference. Likewise, there's no performance uplift for gaming or rendering workloads, as the CPU already runs at its boost frequency under these loads (provided your CPU cooler can handle it) in Balanced mode. The only benefit you could get is a slight reduction in latency when you jump from a CPU-friendly workload to something more intensive, like a graphically demanding game.

If you're running a laptop, using this plan will drain your battery faster and can degrade its long-term health. In short, avoid this setting. The "Balanced" power mode does not hold back your performance and is all you need.

Performance "optimizing" software

Little to no positive results

Most of the features offered by "performance boosters" or "PC care" software are already built into Windows (such as freeing up background resources and disk cleanup). Similarly, "Game" or "FPS" boosters promise better performance by killing unnecessary background apps, something Windows' Game Mode already does. Generally, if your drive is filled with unnecessary background software, you may see improvements by using such an app. But if you are wary of what you download and don't have any such programs, you likely won't see a difference. In any case, it's better to rely on Windows' Game Mode (though don't expect miracles), as you don't have to worry about adware, spyware, or bloatware that some programs bundle.

Similarly, "driver boosters" promise improved performance by updating your drivers to the latest version. You don't need such software because Windows automatically handles driver updates for most devices/components through Windows Update. For GPU drivers, you should update them manually or via the manufacturer's software (AMD/Intel/Nvidia).

Adjusting visual effects

No difference in modern PCs

One of the safest tricks that often goes around is to let Windows adjust the visuals for best performance. While there's no risk involved here, there's not much benefit either. The best-performing setting disables visual features like taskbar animations and the smooth edges of screen fonts. The net performance improvement of such tweaks will be little to none, especially if you have anything that resembles a modern GPU.

If you're running older integrated graphics from AMD or Intel, you might see a bit of improvement, but again, it won't be significant. At the end of the day, you're sacrificing features that otherwise make Windows look and feel smooth, and gaining almost nothing from it.

Tweaks that can actually work

Depending on the circumstances

One of the most viable ways to improve your PC's performance (potentially without extra spending) is overclocking. With it, you can extract more performance from your CPU, GPU, and RAM. If you're looking to take this route, make sure you know what you're doing. If you haven't overclocked before, you can use manufacturer-provided tools for auto-overclocking (often bundled with motherboards). For RAM, you can simply use the EXPO/XMP profile that comes with your kit. You can also undervolt your CPU or GPU. This can potentially improve performance if they generally run too hot and thermal throttle, as it reduces their power consumption.

If you have a lot of dust making your PC its home, cleaning it can also help improve performance. Too much dust can clog PC fans and hamper their cooling performance. This can lead to higher temperatures for potentially every PC component, and can slow down a PC through thermal throttling.

On the software side, there are some Windows performance tweaks that can help. One of these is to uninstall any programs that you don't use. These programs can run in the background and hog CPU and RAM resources. If you don't want to uninstall them (for example, if you use them occasionally), you can also simply prevent them from starting with Windows. This can also improve your Windows boot time.

Lastly, various types of malware, like adware, spyware, and cryptominers, can bottleneck your PC by running processes in the background. Often, they are hard to detect as they disguise themselves as legitimate Windows processes. Some trojans can even inject themselves into Windows processes, such as explorer.exe. The best strategy is to run the antivirus software you have and quarantine anything that's found. Malwarebytes is also a great tool for detecting such agents.

Some methods can help, while others should be completely avoided

PC performance tweaks and Windows optimization methods can help your PC run faster or even increase FPS in games. However, there's no guarantee of what method will work for you. One thing's certain, though: you don't need any external software to improve your system's performance. If your PC is running slower than it once did, you'll have better luck identifying the cause and fixing it. For example, Windows' disk cleanup feature could speed up your PC if you're running low on space in the partition containing the operating system.