Modern PC hardware often demands a balance between peak and stable performance. After all, what good are record-breaking frequencies and timings if your system can't sustain them for long? That said, if you're afraid of tweaking any of your components out of fear of instability, you may be giving up performance that others are enjoying without any effort. Yes, overclocking your CPU or tightening RAM timings is time-consuming, but you don't need to go that far to get extra performance out of your hardware. Choosing one or the other extreme isn't necessary when balancing stability and performance. You have a lot of options in between to ensure your PC isn't running below its potential.

XMP/EXPO is performance you already paid for

Don't be scared of "overclocking" your RAM

You should ideally enable XMP/EXPO while setting up a new PC, but you may have it disabled on yours. The reason could be ensuring 100% stability or not being aware of the feature in the first place. The thing is, XMP and EXPO don't come pre-enabled on your motherboard. Your RAM runs at the default JEDEC frequency when it's first installed. This ensures a successful boot, but also steals performance, since you're running your memory at a lower frequency than it's rated for. XMP and EXPO are validated memory profiles that are guaranteed to work with most motherboards, barring extremely high frequencies and tight timings. Turning them on is as simple as entering the UEFI and choosing the one that matches your memory kit's rated speed.

Your PC might take a few seconds and reboots to train the RAM, but once done, you can enjoy all the performance you paid for without being scared of instability. Enabling XMP/EXPO isn't the same as RAM overclocking, since the latter involves manual tuning of frequency, voltage, and timings that may or may not work for your particular combination of RAM, CPU, and motherboard. XMP and EXPO, on the other hand, are already tested to work on your kit, provided your motherboard supports the respective RAM frequency, and you're not running high-speed kits rated for 7,200 MT/s or 8,000 MT/s. High-speed kits struggle to run stably on AMD systems, whereas Intel has relatively better compatibility. Still, the sweet spot for performance and pricing is around 6,000–6,400 MT/s, so you don't need to overspend on high-end RAM anyway.

A GPU undervolt is almost always recommended

Stock settings are rarely optimal

You may be satisfied with your graphics card's gaming performance, but a quick undervolt can still work wonders for your FPS and GPU temperature. Manufacturers are understandably liberal when configuring the voltage-frequency curve for GPUs — they need to ensure 100% stability for the largest number of users. However, this means that you have a lot of room to cut down on the supplied voltage to your GPU without sacrificing the clock speeds. You can essentially trim the fat by applying an undervolt to your GPU, lowering the operating temps for a given frequency. In most cases, users are able to drop temperatures without affecting the performance.

If you're lucky, you may even get a performance boost by undervolting your GPU. This happens because your GPU now has greater thermal headroom than earlier, so it can boost higher and sustain those clocks for longer. In most games, this translates into higher 1% FPS, and in some titles, you may even see higher average FPS. This is why many people undervolt every GPU they buy — there's almost no downside, except that you need some time to find the minimum voltage you can dial in. Using MSI Afterburner, you can easily modify your GPU's voltage-frequency curve. If you aren't satisfied with the post-undervolt results, you can always revert to the stock settings in MSI Afterburner.

Resizable BAR may be turned off

Check your UEFI after a hardware change

Resizable Base Address Register, or ReBAR, is a PCIe technology that allows the CPU to access the entirety of the GPU's VRAM in one go instead of in small installments. This has the potential to boost gaming performance by around 15–20%, depending on the title. As long as you have an RX 5000, RTX 30, or newer graphics card and a Ryzen 3000, Intel Core 10th Gen, or newer CPU, your system will support ReBAR or Smart Access Memory (SAM), as AMD calls it. Most newer PCs have ReBAR/SAM enabled by default, but if you recently changed your CPU, there's a chance that an updated BIOS/UEFI toggled the feature off.

You may not notice the change, since it's difficult to isolate the impact of ReBAR/SAM when comparing CPUs. So, the best way is to enter your UEFI and check "PCIe settings" or something similar in Advanced mode. You should see "Re-Size BAR Support" and "Above 4G Decoding" in that section — enable both of them, apply the changes, and exit the BIOS. Once on the desktop, ensure ReBAR/SAM is enabled in your Nvidia or AMD software. You should now be able to enjoy maximum performance in games, thanks to a simple firmware toggle.

AMD PBO and Intel ABT are a must

Don't give up free performance

Automated performance enhancements have come a long way on both AMD and Intel CPUs, but your PC may not be utilizing them completely. AMD Ryzen CPUs support Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO), a smart overclocking mechanism that dynamically boosts the power and frequency of the CPU based on set parameters. You can modify these parameters in your UEFI to allow PBO to unlock more performance for your system. Combining PBO with Curve Optimizer will allow you to extract the most performance with the least amount of voltage, ensuring lower temperature and power draw. You may need a decent CPU cooler if your current cooling hardware isn't up to the mark.

Intel doesn't have a PBO equivalent, but uses Adaptive Boost Technology (ABT) and modern iterations of Turbo Boost, which you should turn on if you have an Intel CPU. Similar to PBO, they boost your CPU's performance if thermal, power, and current headroom are available. Depending on the workload you're running, your system will demand more performance from your CPU, and if you have a powerful cooler, your system can actually sustain that extra performance. PBO, ABT, and Turbo Boost are simply automated overclocking mechanisms that, once configured, don't need manual intervention from the user. They're essentially free performance boosts that most people should take advantage of, unless your case or cooling is constrained.

Swearing off BIOS updates is ill-advised

You'll miss out on a lot

I know updating the BIOS/UEFI can still be nerve-wracking for some users, but we've come a long way from the days when a bad update meant a bricked PC. Today, even if something goes wrong during a BIOS flash, you can simply use your motherboard's BIOS flashback feature to update the BIOS without a functional system. Some motherboards also come with a helpful dual BIOS feature, which means you have a backup BIOS in case an update doesn't succeed. So, the old "don't fix what ain't broke" doesn't apply anymore, since BIOS updates can unlock better performance, more features, improved stability, and even enhanced security. Ignoring BIOS updates for years means depriving yourself of the performance that your PC can get for free. You don't need every single BIOS version released by your motherboard manufacturer, but checking for BIOS updates once in six months is still recommended.

Stability should not mean compromised performance

A stable PC is obviously a priority for everyone, but it should not come at the cost of the performance that you can have for free and without too much effort. Avoiding overclocking makes sense since the gains don't justify the higher thermals and potential instability. Undervolting, on the other hand, has almost no downside, and you may even get a performance boost. Similarly, BIOS settings like XMP/EXPO, Resizable BAR, and PBO are free performance boosts that you should use if your PC supports them.