If you love gaming, then there’s nothing quite as exciting as unboxing and getting your new gaming PC set up and ready to use. Keep reading to get some top tips for setting up your new gaming PC in a way that will help it stay in good condition, run quicker, and last for longer over time.
Check for Packaging Materials
Before you turn your PC on, it’s a good idea to check the internals for any packaging materials. When you buy a good gaming PC from a good manufacturer like Lenovo’s Intel Gaming NUC then chances are that you are going to notice some packaging to protect the expensive parts inside like the graphics card and motherboard. Airbags, bubble wrap, and/or foam are commonly used inside gaming PCs to protect these important components so make sure that you check for them and remove them all before you fire the PC up to start playing.
Check Motherboard Connections
If your new gaming PC comes with a dedicated graphics card, then you will notice that there are multiple options for plugging your monitor in. The motherboard is the topmost part, and if you don’t have a separate graphics card and are using the integrated GPU in the processor then you should plug your monitor in here. On the other hand, if your PC has a separate graphics card then this will be located further down the case in a PCIe slot, so plug your monitor in here.
Check Your Privacy Settings
Once you have all the hardware set up and ready to go, it’s time to check your privacy settings if you want to avoid being targeted by advertising companies when you’re browsing. Search for Privacy Settings in the menu; once you find this option you can turn off everything that you see.
Check Your Monitor Settings
Making sure that your monitor is set up to perform at the intended refresh rates for the games that you will be playing is essential to getting the best experience. If your monitor is not set up to be in sync with your graphics card, then you will notice issues that you would probably rather avoid such as tearing. It’s worth spending some time checking the recommended settings for the games that you want to play and your GPU and making sure that your monitor is set up in line with them.
Set Up Backups
When you have a Windows PC, keeping it backed up is essential just in case you lose anything. It’s easy to do and if your new gaming PC comes with Windows 10 or Windows 11 then you can find this as a built-in option. All you need to do is head to the Start menu and search for Backup. Once you find the option, just follow the instructions to set up a regular backup of your files to another drive.
Install Essential Apps
You can help your new gaming PC run better and do everything as intended by carefully choosing apps that are designed to help with productivity without overloading your memory or storage. PC experts recommend a range of different apps to use on your gaming PC such as Playnite, where you can access all of your game launchers in the same place, and monitoring software to constantly monitor your power supply, GPU, and cooling system with stress tests to help you get a better understanding of your PC’s performance levels at any given time.
Getting a new gaming PC will never get less exciting. But before you jump straight on and start playing your favorite games, make sure that it’s set up for the best experience.
