Can I make my PC better without paying?

[WkdPaul]

On 3/17/2016 at 1:02 AM, ShadowTechXTS said:

This might be a stupid question but can I make my PC better without paying? I don't care if it's software or hardware but I've already done cable management.

On a serious note, others mentioned optimizations (apart from OC), but here is a few detailed suggestions;

 

Disable services that aren't needed (be careful, it could cause problems);

http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-10-service-configurations/

 

Disable visual effects;

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/disable-visual-effects-windows

 

Disable transparency;

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5556-start-taskbar-action-center-transparency-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

 

Look if you HDD needs a defrag;

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2723517/defrag-windows-computer.html

 

Short-stroke your HDD;

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-short-stroke-your-hard-drive-for-optimal-speed-1598306074

 

Disable startup programs;

http://www.howtogeek.com/74523/how-to-disable-startup-programs-in-windows/

 

 

There are tons of other tips & tricks, those are some of the ones I used on my C2Q rig.

[rcole134]

On 17/03/2016 at 5:02 AM, ShadowTechXTS said:

This might be a stupid question but can I make my PC better without paying? I don't care if it's software or hardware but I've already done cable management.

It depends on what you mean by better? If you want to make it look better then you could always decorate the case to something you like. If you want to make it run better then I wish you luck because the only option you have is to do some software house cleaning. After that the performance you have is all you will ever have with that configuration.   

[NightMiu]

Download more ram

[MoonlightSylv]

7 minutes ago, NightMiu said:

Download more ram

Already done

[NightMiu]

2 minutes ago, ShadowTechXTS said:

Already done

Nice, next step would be to delete system32, and when you have done that I think that howtobasic has some pc guides on his youtube channel.

[Mrhappyjolly]

I don't know if this has been mentioned... but..

 

If by faster you mean better... if you have a fairly old PC, you should check that you have your boot drive connected to a SATA3 port... it's possible that if you have say a HDD or SSD which is SATA3 - it may have accidentally been plugged into a SATA2 port. Even some recent(ish) motherboards have a mix of SATA2 and SATA3 ports (Realtek Controlled SATA2 and Intel Controlled SATA3 for example) so simply checking and plugging your drive into the correct port might benefit.

 

A fresh install of Windows and sourcing up to date drivers for all your hardware is always a good way to give your machine a boost.

 

You could check bios settings to make sure AHCI mode is enabled. There may be other BIOS tweaks you can do to optimise performance, I'll start you off there, go research your specific board.

 

Oh and DON'T install linux. :-P

 

 

[Godlygamer23]

19 minutes ago, Mrhappyjolly said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned... but..

 

If by faster you mean better... if you have a fairly old PC, you should check that you have your boot drive connected to a SATA3 port... it's possible that if you have say a HDD or SSD which is SATA3 - it may have accidentally been plugged into a SATA2 port. Even some recent(ish) motherboards have a mix of SATA2 and SATA3 ports (Realtek Controlled SATA2 and Intel Controlled SATA3 for example) so simply checking and plugging your drive into the correct port might benefit. 

SATAIII hard drives won't really benefit from SATAIII ports. They're not fast enough. 

[Mrhappyjolly]

6 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

SATAIII hard drives won't really benefit from SATAIII ports. They're not fast enough. 

ugh... well, if you're going to nitpick...

 

he asked about making his pc better for no money... it's possible it might for the time it would take to open the pc, move the sata connector and change the boot order in the bios it's worth a shot.

It can be argued in my example it would be preferable to use the Intel SATA controller over the Realtek one..

It's good practice to use the best hardware you have available to you. Someone else with an SSD might read this - it can be easily overlooked if the builder hasn't read the manual.

 

Oh and to the OP... I checked your hardware - you could RAID0 those drives, you'll lose 250gb on your 500gb and if one drive dies all your data is toast, but it should improve read speed over all.. (I STRONGLY recommend you ignore this suggestion!)

[Mrhappyjolly]

his pro4 doesn't have any sata 2 ports lol - waste of time and posts haha.

[Godlygamer23]

15 minutes ago, Mrhappyjolly said:

ugh... well, if you're going to nitpick... 

This is my problem with the thread - people are making suggestions that do not really improve the experience at all.

[cleb]

 

 

>Pro Tip

[Ace0100]

Sell your liver on the black market

[Zodiark1593]

Run igp for a month. Put it back in. Enjoy gaming nirvana.