Things You'll Need:
- Video card
- Memory
- Processor
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Step 1
Turn off all unnecessary programs when gaming. Your computer likely starts up and loads a lot of programs (chat programs, sidebars, antivirus, and so forth). Turn these off by right-clicking in the taskbar and closing so they don't take up the computer's resources you need for decent gameplay.
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Step 2
Upgrade your video card (graphics card). Unless you bought a computer designed for gaming, your video card probably isn't up to spec for most modern games. Check the resources section for a link to NewEgg where you can purchase a higher end video card for your computer.
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Step 3
Upgrade your RAM. Many computers now come with two or more gigabytes of memory but, depending on your operating system and the games you are playing, that might not suffice. Check you system manual for the kind of RAM you need and consider adding one or two gigabytes to speed things up. You can buy more RAM from your manufacturer or sites like NewEgg.
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Step 4
Upgrade your processor. If the video card and memory upgrades did not give you the gaming performance you wanted, you can try upgrading your processor. Check with your manufacturer to see what speed/kind of processor your model computer can handle and see the NewEgg Link in the Resources section to search and buy.
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Step 5
Buy a new computer. You may find that the price in money and time for doing these upgrades is close to or costs more than the price of buying a new computer with the latest technology. A new top-of-the-line computer will be able to play this year's games for sure without any issues. To be sure, check the video card, memory, and processor specifications against your favorite games.
