PC gaming is really great because it has graphics and fast response times. However it can be very hard to get started because of all the stuff. Sometimes your computer will. The game will stutter and that can be very annoying. It is like when you are playing a game and your computer just stops working. This can happen because of hardware or because of problems with your computer settings.

This guide will help you fix problems with your computer and show you how to set up your controllers and keyboard settings like the pros do.

Part I: Fixing PC Errors and Performance Bottlenecks

Plaintext

                  PC GAMING BOTTLENECK DIAGNOSIS
                               │
       ┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
       ▼                       ▼                       ▼
Software and Drivers        System Hardware         Network and Latency
├── Bad Drivers             ├── Computer Getting    ├── High Ping
├── Conflicts with Other        Too Hot             ├── Lost Internet Packages
│   Programs                ├── Not Memory          └── DNS and Routing Errors
└── Windows Settings        └── Hard Drive Problems

Section 1: Resolving Unexpected Game Crashes and Desktop Drops

When your game crashes without giving you any error message it can be very frustrating. This usually happens because of problems with your software or drivers. Because your game files are corrupted.

Step 1: Reinstall Your Graphics Driver

Sometimes when you update your drivers they can leave behind files that can cause problems. To fix this you need to remove the old drivers and then install the new ones.

• First download the graphics driver package from the company that made your graphics card like NVIDIA or AMD.
• Then download a program called Display Driver Uninstaller or DDU for short. Extract it.
• Next restart your computer in Safe Mode:

1. Hold down the Shift key and click Restart.
2. Go to Troubleshoot, Advanced options then Startup Settings and click Restart.
3. Press the number 4 or the F4 key on your keyboard to select Safe Mode.

• Once you are in Safe Mode open the DDU program.
• Select what kind of graphics card you have and who made it.
• Click Clean. Then restart your computer.
• When your computer starts up again install the graphics driver that you downloaded earlier.
• Make sure to select the Custom installation option and check the box that says Perform an installation.

Step 2: Check Your Game Files for Errors

Sometimes your game files can get corrupted, which can cause the game to crash.

• If you are using Steam: right-click on the game. Go to Properties then Installed Files and click Verify integrity of game files.
• If you are using the Epic Games Launcher: click the three dots to the game title then Manage and then click Verify.

You should also check your system files for errors:

Open the Command Prompt as an administrator. Run the following commands:DOS

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
sfc /scannow

Step 3: Turn Off Overlays That Can Cause Problems

Overlays can sometimes cause problems with your game so it is an idea to turn them off when you are troubleshooting.

You should turn off the following overlays:

• NVIDIA App or GeForce Experience: Go to Settings then General and toggle off In-Game Overlay.
• Discord: Go to User Settings then Activity Privacy or Game Overlay and toggle off Enable in-game overlay.
• Steam Overlay: Go to Settings then In-Game and toggle off Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
• MSI. Rivatuner Statistics Server: Set Application Detection Level to None or close RTSS while testing.

Section 2: Eliminating Stuttering, Micro-Freezes and Frametime Spikes

Stuttering happens when the time between each frame of the game changes a lot even if your frame rate is high.

Let me show you what I mean:Plaintext

FRAMETIME (Smooth Experience):
[Frame 1: 16.6ms] ──► [Frame 2: 16.6ms] ──► [Frame 3: 16.6ms] ──► [Frame 4: 16.6ms]

/ MICRO-FREEZE (Jarring Experience):
[Frame 1: 16.6ms] ──► [Frame 2: 85.2ms (Spike!)] ──► [Frame 3: 12.1ms] ──► [Frame 4: 16.6ms]

Step 1: Change Your Windows Graphics and Power Settings

Sometimes Windows will slow down your graphics card to save power, which can cause stuttering.

1. You should turn off Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling:
   1. Go to Settings, System then Display, then Graphics.
   2. Click Change default graphics settings.
   3. Toggle Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling to Off.
   4. You will need to restart your computer for this to take effect.
2. You should also set your Windows Power Plan to High Performance:
   1. Press the Windows key and the R key at the time type powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
   2. Select High. Ultimate Performance.
3. You should also turn off Fullscreen Optimizations:
   1. Right-click, on the games file then Properties, then Compatibility tab.
   2. Check fullscreen optimizations.
   3. Click Change DPI settings and check Override high DPI scaling behavior (Application).

To get the performance out of your computer you need to manage your Video Random Access Memory and game graphics settings. If you use much Video Random Access Memory your computers graphics card has to send information back and forth with your computers regular memory, which can cause big spikes in the time it takes to show you what is happening in the game.

Here are some things you can do to improve your games performance.

• Set your Shadow Quality to Low or Medium. This will help your computers processor and Video Random Access Memory.
• Set your Texture Quality based on how Video Random Access Memory your graphics card has. For example if your graphics card has 6 or 8 gigabytes of Video Random Access Memory you can set your Texture Quality to Medium.
• Turn off Volumetric Lighting. This can help your graphics card.
• Turn off Motion Blur and Depth of Field. This will make your game look clearer. Will also reduce the time it takes for your computer to show you what is happening in the game.
• Set your Anti-Aliasing to FXAA or TAA Low. Use DLSS or FSR Quality. This will help your Video Random Access Memory and your graphics cards shaders.

To get the frame rate you should limit your frame rate to 3 to 5 frames per second below your monitors maximum refresh rate. For example if your monitor can show 144 frames per second you should limit your frame rate to 139 frames per second. You should also turn on G-Sync or FreeSync in your graphics cards control panel.

If you are having problems with your internet connection while you are playing games there are a things you can do.

• Use a wired Ethernet cable of Wi-Fi. This will give you an more stable connection.
• Open your computers Device Manager. Find your network adapter. Then you can change some settings to improve your connection.
• Set Moderation to Disabled. This will reduce the time it takes for your computer to send information over the internet.
• Set Energy Efficient Ethernet to Disabled.
• Set Send Offload to Disabled for both IPv4 and IPv6.

You can also reset your computers DNS and TCP/IP stack. To do this you need to open your computers Command Prompt as an administrator. Then you can run a commands to reset your DNS and TCP/IP stack.

To get the connection you should use a fast public DNS server. You can change your DNS server in your computers Settings.

• Go to Settings then Network and internet, Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
• Click on Edit next to DNS server assignment.
• Select Manual. Enable IPv4.
• Enter the address of a public DNS server, such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8.

When you are playing games it is important to have a controller or keyboard setup. This will help you play the game easily and will also help you play better.

Here are some tips for setting up your keyboard.

• Put your pinky finger on the Left Shift key, which you can use to walk or sprint.
• Put your ring finger on the A key, which you can use to move.
• Put your finger on the W key, which you can use to move forward and the S key, which you can use to move backward.
• Put your index finger on the key, which you can use to move right and the E, Q, F, C or V keys, which you can use for abilities or to use things.
• Put your thumb on the Spacebar, which you can use to jump and the Left Alt or V key, which you can use for utilities or to crouch.
• When you are setting up your keyboard there are a things to keep in mind.
• Never stop moving left or right to do something
• Use your mouse buttons for high-frequency abilities or for melee attacks.
• Separate your jump and scroll wheel.

Different games have keyboard setups. Here are a few examples.

For shooters like Valorant or Counter-Strike you can use the following setup:

• Move or strafe with W, A, S and D.
• Walk with Left Shift.
• Crouch with Left Ctrl.
• Jump with Spacebar and Mouse Wheel Down.
• Use your ability or utility with Mouse Button 4.
• Use your ability or utility with Q or E.

For battle royale games like Fortnite you can use the following setup:

• Build walls with Mouse Button 5.
• Build ramps with Mouse Button 4.
• Build floors with Q or E.
• Edit structures with F or E.

For high-mobility shooters like Call of Duty: Warzone or Apex Legends you can use the following setup:

• Crouch. Slide with C or Left Ctrl.
• Vault with Spacebar and Mouse Wheel Down.
• Sprint or tactical sprint with Left Shift.
• Quick melee, with F or Mouse Button 4.
• Loot with E.

Section 3: Controller Layouts and Paddle Configurations

When you use the thumb placement on a controller you have to lift your right thumb off the right analog stick, which controls aiming to press the face buttons like A or X.Plaintext

STANDARD GRIP vs. PADDLE / CLAW CONFIGURATION
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STANDARD GRIP:  Your thumb leaves the aim stick to press    │
│                 jump or crouch                              │
│                 This means you cannot aim while you are     │
│                 jumping or sliding                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PADDLE CONFIG:  Paddles on the back of the controller are   │
│                 used for jump and crouch                    │
│                 This way you can keep tracking your aim     │
│                 while you jump                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

There are some recommended controller button layouts that you can try.

1. “Bumper Jumper Tactical” is for controllers without back paddles.
   • You use L1 or LB for jump.
   • You use R1 or RB for equipment or to ping your teammates.
   • You use the stick click or R3 for crouch, slide or prone.
   • You use Circle or B for melee.
   • You use X or A for utility or to use something.
   • This layout works because it moves the jump button to L1 or LB and the crouch button to R3 so you can jump, slide and aim at the time without needing a custom controller.
2. The 2-paddle back layout is for controllers like the SCUF, Xbox Elite or DualSense Edge.
   • You use the paddle for jump, which is X on PlayStation or A on Xbox.
   • You use the paddle for crouch or slide which is Circle on PlayStation or B on Xbox.
   • The face buttons are the same.
   • The left stick is for movement. The right stick is for aiming.
3. The 4-paddle advanced layout is for games like Apex Legends or Warzone.

Plaintext

BACK OF CONTROLLER PADDLE MAPPING
┌───────────────────────────────┐
│   [P1] Jump   │  [P2] Crouch  │ (Top Paddles)
├───────────────┼───────────────┤
│  [P3] Reload  │ [P4] Switch Wpn│ (Bottom Paddles)
└───────────────────────────────┘

1. You use paddle 1 which’s the top left for jump, which is A or X.
2. You use paddle 2 which is the top right for crouch or slide which is B or Circle.
3. You use paddle 3 which’s the bottom left for interact or reload which is X or Square.
4. You use paddle 4 which’s the bottom right for weapon swap or cycle which is Y or Triangle.

Part III: System Diagnostics and Maintenance

To keep your system running and prevent it from slowing down you should do some routine maintenance.Plaintext

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE TIMELINE
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ WEEKLY:    You should clear temporary files check your standby memory   │
│            and verify your temperatures                                 │
│ MONTHLY:   You should run a clean reinstall of your GPU driver and      │
│            check your disk space                                        │
│ QUARTERLY: You should clean out dust from your computer inspect your    │
│            cables and run some benchmarks                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. You should monitor your system hardware temperatures when it is under load.

• You can use a tool like HWiNFO64 or MSI Afterburner.
• The CPU temperature should not go above 90°C to 95°C.
• The GPU temperature should not go above 83°C to 88°C. The hotspot temperature should not go above 100°C.
• If it does you should clean out the dust filters replace the paste or adjust the fan curves using software like Fan Control.

1. You should manage your Windows standby memory drops.

• Sometimes Windows does not clear the memory fast when you launch a game, which can cause stuttering.
• You can download a tool called EmptyStandbyList.exe from a trusted source.
• You can open the Task Scheduler in Windows. Create a new task to clear the standby memory.
• You can set it to run every 5 minutes. When you log on.

Part IV: Quick Troubleshooting Reference Checklist

You can use this checklist to fix performance issues before you play ranked matches.Plaintext

-GAMING PERFORMANCE CHECKLIST
┌───┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ □ │ You should close background apps like Chrome, Discord        │
│   │ Overlay and RGB software                                     │
│ □ │ You should set your power plan to High Performance or        │
│   │ Ultimate                                                     │
│ □ │ You should turn on Game Mode and turn off HAGS in Windows    │
│   │ Settings                                                     │
│ □ │ You should update your GPU drivers via a clean install       │
│ □ │ You should connect to the internet using Ethernet and set    │
│   │ your DNS to Cloudflare or Google                             │
│ □ │ You should cap your frame rate 3-5 FPS below your monitor     │
│   │ refresh rate                                                 │
│ □ │ You should install your main games on an SSD with more       │
│   │ than 15% free space                                          │
└───┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Final Thoughts for Competitive Gamers

System stability and control optimizations can really affect how well you do in a game.

By fixing system bottlenecks updating your drivers optimizing your network settings and setting up keybinds you can eliminate hardware and latency issues, which means the game outcome is all, about your skill and decision-making.