Computers are fast becoming an essential part of our everyday lives. With the rapid advances in technology, it is important to take care of your computer in order to ensure that you can continue to enjoy all the benefits that modern life has to offer.
The make your own checklist for maintenance of your personal computer system is a blog post that gives 25 ways to maintain your computer for optimal performance.
Installing the components and connecting the connections to obtain the display on your monitor takes around 30 minutes to an hour, but the steps ahead are much more time-consuming and essential than acquiring the display itself. These stages involve installing the operating system, drivers, and necessary applications, as well as monitoring the hardware, downloading your work files, and more.
With the growing number of applications and data sizes on your computer, it becomes more difficult to keep the performance of your system as it was when you initially set it up. Additionally, when the components age, they begin to function at a lesser level. There are, however, a number of actions and measures you can take to get optimum performance without wiping everything from your system or replacing all of your components and starting over.
These procedures need you to maintain your computer’s hardware and software/OS on a regular basis to avoid your system deteriorating to the point where it’s almost difficult to restore it to its previous condition. The following collection of Tips and HowTo’s will guarantee that your computer remains on track, performs better, lasts longer, and ultimately saves you time and money by preventing you from having to have your system serviced at a computer shop.
CLEANING AND MANAGEMENT
1. Make sure all of the components and peripherals are clean.
Cleaning your PC won’t give you a 30 percent or 40 percent performance increase, but it will help you keep your system running at peak performance. I’ve seen many instances where the primary cause of a PC’s sluggish performance was dusty and filthy PC components. If you haven’t cleaned your system in over a year, it’s time to unplug everything and start cleaning right now.
The accumulation of dust and grime on PC components may cause thermal throttling and, in rare instances, blocked mechanical operations. Motherboards, graphics cards, DIMM slots, hard drives, power supplies, and chassis fans all need to be cleaned on a regular basis using the right equipment and cleaning kits, and it’s suggested that you clean your PC hardware every three months.
The Methodology:-
To remove extra dust from your components, use a pressurized gas duster or an air blower. Make sure you use compressed air to clean the interior of your motherboard and graphics card, as well as within the ports and slots, to ensure that anything you attach to them is recognized correctly the first time.
After that, wipe off the obstinate dust and grime using an electronic cleaning brush, and if there are any areas where you can’t get rid of the dust, use Isopropyl Alcohol with a cotton pad or swab. Your motherboard and graphics card will be as new as when you bought them.
Peripheral Devices
Clean your keyboard as well, since it collects dust far more readily than other peripherals such as a mouse, headset, or monitor, resulting in extremely unpleasant operation. It takes longer than cleaning any other component, but it’s OK if you do it once every six months or a year. To clean a keyboard, turn off the computer and wash the keys from the top using a cleaning wipe. Use compressed air and a brush that is thick enough to reach out between the keys to clean the keyboard even more thoroughly. No liquid should be spilled on it.
2. Keep track of the wires in your system.
What would happen if the wires in the image above were hung and allowed to dangle here and there without being tied?
I’ve seen instances where the wires become stuck inside the CPU fan and prevent it from spinning, or where they obstruct a significant amount of airflow from the front panel fans. This will not only make it difficult to operate at lower temperatures, but it will also make your system appear unkempt. So, why not take use of the routing holes that are present in most instances these days?
If you want to learn how to conduct appropriate cable routing, check out our cable management tutorial.
3. Take care of the cables on the exterior
While it has no effect on the functionality of your computer, it does demonstrate your organizational skills. Pay close attention to the red rectangle’s dark region. Instead of letting your wires strew over the ground, it’s best to anchor them someplace above the ground where you won’t be able to see them.
Untidy cables strewn around the room should be avoided, and you should determine how and where the wires from various components and peripherals should be placed. It won’t be easy, but at the end, you’ll have a desk that takes just a few minutes to clean and has no tangled cables.
4. Maintain a safe distance between your chassis and the table.
Maintaining your chassis on the ground exposes your system to a great deal of dust. By just elevating your chassis over the table, you may eliminate the majority of dust entry. The main drawback of mounting the chassis on the table is that it reduces the amount of space available on the table for the monitor and peripherals, but if you have a big table, this may be a benefit, especially if you have a nice-looking CPU.
5. Make sure your system and room have enough airflow.
The first step in keeping your system cool is to provide enough ventilation by allowing air to flow from the outside into the casing and allowing hot air to exhaust outside. Almost every case includes at least one exhaust fan slot for removing heat produced within the chassis, and if yours doesn’t, installing a fan at the back should be your first step.
Install some fans even at the front to ensure that cold air is flowing in from the exterior of the chassis for improved cooling. Some cases have opaque front panels that totally restrict circulation, but to allow cold air in, you’ll need a vented front panel. If your existing case does not include a vented panel, you may remove it entirely, however this will result in a significant amount of dust buildup.
If your case contains dust filters, that will be ideal. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to purchase one or upgrade your case if you want a better cooling solution. There are now hundreds of excellent airflow cases available for less than $50, with top-end airflow cases costing upwards of $200.
COMPONENTS
Maintenance of the CPU
7. Put on the thermal compound.
The thermal compound that fills the space between the heatsink base and the CPU chip doesn’t stay forever, no matter how excellent the heatsink is. After a few years, it’s suggested that the thermal compound be replaced by removing the heatsink.
Although you may replace it anytime you want, a good thermal compound can easily last more than three years without drying out. For extended operation, use Arctic MX-4 or Cooler Master high-performance thermal paste.
8. Upgrade your heatsink
The stock heatsinks that come with Intel and AMD CPUs may not provide enough cooling. Despite the fact that AMD Ryzen processors have a better heatsink than Intel processors, they will not be as effective as a custom CPU cooler.
We don’t suggest replacing your CPU cooler if your CPU temperature stays below 70 degrees Celsius under full load, but if it stays over 80 degrees Celsius or even more, you’ll need to upgrade. An air cooler will suffice for most cheap CPUs. You can buy a decent one for less than $50, but for enthusiasts with an 8 core or higher-end processor, an AIO cooler is suggested, since it will maintain your CPU’s temperature below 60C at all times.
Not only that, but the standard heatsink fan is much louder than the aftermarket CPU cooler fans, thus your system will be quieter.
9. Monitor and Overclock
If you want your CPU to operate for a longer length of time, you need keep track of its performance and health on a regular basis. To operate effectively for a longer period of time, your CPU requires low temperatures and steady voltages.
If your CPU and motherboard support it, you can also overclock it and monitor it. It enables you to obtain excellent performance for free by simply raising the clock speed and voltages using overclocking software or a BIOS setting.
We suggest software like CPUID HWmonitor for monitoring to ensure everything is in working order. It will give you with real-time information on clock speeds, voltages, usage, and temperatures for each core.
Benchmark your CPU using several tools to see whether it is functioning to its maximum capacity. Among the best CPU benchmarking programs are Cinebench R15, UserBenchmark, Handbrake, Heavyload, Passmark, and GeekBench.
Maintenance of the Motherboard
10. Revise your bios
Motherboard makers release new Bios versions on a regular basis to keep you up to speed on the newest technological advancements. If the BIOS on certain motherboards isn’t updated, they won’t be able to run subsequent CPU generations.
Updating the BIOS fixes a number of problems with the CPU and RAM. Some systems may have significant variations in CPU voltage, which may usually be resolved by upgrading the BIOS. Some systems don’t support highly overclocked memory, which can be fixed if the motherboard already supports it but is running an earlier version of BIOS that doesn’t support higher clock rates.
Nowadays, manufacturers offer their own official software to manage Bios, which can be downloaded from their website.
11. Make use of motherboard utilities and drivers
The most frequent issues with computers today are linked to wifi, fan control, RGB lighting, and audio, all of which are caused by failure to use the motherboard’s drivers and tools. For complete compatibility with peripherals that connect directly to the motherboard, you need obtain the appropriate drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
Upkeep of RAM
12. Make sure the DIMM slots and RAM sticks are clean.
RAM sticks sometimes cease functioning without warning, and you have no clue why. Before you change your RAM modules, make sure the DIMM slots and RAM modules are clean.
You may cover the space within the DIMM slot with a piece of paper folded many times to make it thick enough to clean. Rub the RAM pins with an eraser to clean the RAM sticks.
13. Use overclocking to get the most out of your computer.
When paired with a high-clocked RAM kit, AMD and Intel’s current-generation CPUs perform better. The higher the clock speed, the better the gaming and memory-intensive applications will run. It does, however, have a limit beyond which you will notice a decrease in performance. As a result, for optimum performance, it’s advised that you adhere to your RAM kit’s recommended frequency.
Maintenance of hard drives
14. Make it simple to find what you’re looking for.
The first step in keeping your hard drives in good shape begins when you create a partition in Windows. You should create a large enough partition for the C disk, which will house your operating system. You don’t want to keep formatting your hard disk to free up space since it ultimately fills up with a lot of leftover files and applications.
A 1TB hard disk should be partitioned into three drives. One for the operating system and applications, another for games, and a third for miscellaneous files. The games partition should be the largest, followed by the C drive, and then the one that holds other data should be the smallest. This partitioning technique may be used to storage devices larger than 1TB.
You should also organize your files into folders based on your projects for easier access. If there are numerous categories, you may create subfolders and organize them by name, size, date, or kind.
15. Optimize your system by defragmenting it.
Defragmentation is the process of separating the free space on your hard disk from the space that has been acquired. This procedure is not required for solid-state drives, but it is required for hard drives. Over time, the free space on your hard drive creeps in between your acquired space, slowing down the hard drive and causing delayed access to the necessary file or folder.
The defragment program is already included in the Windows operating system, and it just takes a few minutes to separate the empty space.
16. De-cluttering to conserve space
When you utilize programs, a lot of cached data, memory dumps, internet browser cookies, windows log files, and other things build up. They are no longer required and should be removed. You can no longer manually search for them by delving deep into the C drive, but there is a program called CCleaner that will perform the job with just one click.
It will assist you in cleaning out any leftover unneeded files from your computer, as well as changing numerous starting settings.
17. Have a backup in case anything goes wrong.
Nobody can ensure that your data will always be secure on your computer, therefore create a thorough backup of your essential information at the very least to avoid getting into problems. Data backup is simple and may be done both offline and online. While the built-in backup function in Windows OS is free to use, you can also utilize internet solutions like Dropbox to keep your critical files online and secure. You may access them at any moment from there.
You may also use EaseUS Backup to backup your files. You may learn how to do it for free by watching their video.
Upkeep of graphics cards
18. Improve performance by updating the graphics driver.
Although we don’t suggest using the driver CD that comes with almost every graphics card, it is there for a purpose. Graphics card makers such as Nvidia and AMD strive to make their graphics cards as compatible as possible to offer optimum performance in the games, since many excellent new games are released every day. AAA games have unique needs, and if your graphics driver isn’t up to current, your graphics card may or may not be able to take advantage of it.
The drivers are updated automatically from the manufacturer’s software/program with a single click. Keep an eye out for updated graphics drivers and make sure you don’t miss any.
19. Monitor and overclock
Overclocking the graphics card, much like overclocking and monitoring the CPU, may result in even better results in certain of the programs and games you use today. 3D rendering applications, special effects in video editing, and gaming all require graphics cards.
You may use MSI Afterburner, which is the finest program for simultaneously overclocking and monitoring your graphics card. All you have to do now is progressively raise the core and memory clocks while benchmarking or stress testing for stability. If you desire greater performance, you may raise the voltage, but this will result in additional heating, necessitating a change to the fan curve for cooler performance.
PERIPHERALS
20. Make your keyboard more efficient
With a few easy steps, you can optimize even a $1 keyboard. All you have to do to make your keyboard more enjoyable is type “keyboard” into the Windows search bar and access the control panel to change some settings. The Repeat Delay and Repeat Rate may be found here. You may change the speed of your keyboard to suit your requirements. Although this tool is not as good as software that allows you to program your keys nevertheless, if you have a quality keyboard from Corsair, Cooler Master, Razer, SteelSeries, or another manufacturer, you have a lot of choices to modify your keyboard functioning via the company’s software.
Another excellent thing you can do for free if you don’t have an expensive keyboard is to set macros using Microsoft Keyboard and Mouse Center. You may also use a program called Macro Recorder to make the procedure easier. Macros are very useful for time-consuming repetitive activities, and you may assign these repeated duties to a single key.
21. Make the most of your mouse.
You may alter the functionality of your mouse buttons using the manufacturer’s software or by tweaking the mouse settings from the control panel. Whatever the situation, it’s always better to utilize your mouse in a manner that speeds up your job.
On a big display, you should utilize a higher DPI than you would on a small monitor. If your mouse includes a DPI button, setting two modes: one with high sensitivity and one with low sensitivity will be ideal. Make sure your mouse sensitivity isn’t too high, otherwise you’ll wind up with incorrect results. Different DPI modes may also be set up for your games. During example, I utilize a lower DPI for CSGO and a higher DPI for non-gaming tasks.
If your mouse has extra thumb buttons, assign certain tasks to them so you don’t have to rely on the keyboard for minor operations. One of the things you can do with your mouse thumb buttons in a browser like Chrome is go back and forth.
22. Increase the speed of your display
Overclocking a display involves increasing the refresh rate to make it run more smoothly. Keep in mind that not all monitors can be overclocked; you may verify this in the monitor’s settings. If you have a graphics card that can produce extremely high frames per second, an overclocking monitor may be quite useful in gaming. If you’re receiving 100+ frames per second but your display only has a 60Hz refresh rate, you’re missing out on 40 frames per second.
There are two methods for overclocking your monitor: The first option is to utilize the GPU manufacturer’s software, while the second option is to use the built-in Windows Display Settings. If you have an Nvidia graphics card, you can use the Nvidia Control Panel to overclock your display, whereas if you have an AMD graphics card, you can use the AMD Catalyst Control Center. The choices will appear, and you must choose the maximum refresh rate that your monitor can support. If your monitor’s maximum refresh rate is just 60Hz, you won’t be able to go higher.
If you don’t have a graphics card, you may access the Display Settings in Windows 10 by right-clicking on an empty area on your desktop. Go to Advanced Display Settings and then to Display Adapter Properties from there. You may then increase the refresh rate to the maximum supported by your display.
SECURITY AND WINDOWS
23. Recognize the significance of updates
While most of us are irritated when we get a new Windows update notice, the majority of people are unaware of the importance of updating Windows and only discover it when they have severe issues. Using Intel or AMD’s latest-generation CPUs with an out-of-date version of Windows may lead to frequent crashes and hangs with no means of knowing it.
When you construct a PC, you must upgrade Windows right immediately to avoid these issues and ensure that your operating system is fully compatible with the various drivers and applications that your system will utilize.
You can read more about what software to install after constructing a new PC in our guide.
To make Windows 10 operate at its maximum capacity, you need also choose a Balanced or High-performance plan from the Control Panel. If you don’t have a graphics card, you may also change the graphics settings to minimize the strain on your CPU. To do so, right-click on This PC, choose Properties, go to Advanced System Settings, select the Advanced tab, and then click on Settings under Performance under Performance.
24. Don’t allow unidentified files take over your computer.
We don’t need to talk about how important it is to keep our computers safe from viruses and malware. They have a variety of effects on your computer, and no matter how little or minor a virus is, it will always have an impact on its performance. Some viruses eat up your Internet data, some cause strange computer operations, and yet others may steal your personal information.
While Windows Defender must be switched on, failing to install an anti-virus and utilizing Internet browsers may result in you having to reinstall Windows in a matter of days. We don’t mean the free anti-viruses you may get from odd websites when we speak about installing an anti-virus. Purchase an annual membership from an anti-virus company’s official website. Some of the finest anti-viruses available right now include Norton, Avast, McAfee, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Avira Prime.
METHOD THAT ALWAYS WORKS
25. Upgrade or replace defective components
This is the last step you may do to maintain or improve the performance of your system, and unlike the other stages on the list, it is not free.
When you’ve tried nearly every kind of troubleshooting and still can’t find a solution, it may be time to replace and update your defective component. It’s not essential to replace your component just when it breaks; you may also replace it if you notice that your computer is slowing down in applications that need greater processing power.
Depending on the kind of job you perform, you may upgrade your CPU, motherboard, RAM, or graphics card. If you’re a serious player who can’t achieve a good frame rate on extreme settings, you can upgrade your graphics card. If you need additional processing capacity for CPU-intensive apps or multitasking, you may consider upgrading to a CPU with multiple cores. This applies to other components as well, so make sure you verify the compatibility of each one before purchasing.
Are there any other options?
The list identifies the majority of popular solutions that you can implement immediately on your system. The answers, however, aren’t restricted to just 25 stages. This list will grow as we find new options, and you are welcome to add any other solutions or ideas you have in the comments area below!
The computer maintenance checklist template is a list of 25 ways to maintain your computer for optimal performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I maintain my computer for best performance?
To maintain your computer for best performance, you should run a virus scan and check for any viruses. You should also keep your system up to date with the latest patches and updates.
How do you maintain your computer properly?
I maintain my computer by regularly updating the software and performing an anti-virus scan.
What are the 4 types of computer maintenance?
The 4 types of computer maintenance are hardware, software, firmware and network. Hardware includes the hard drive, RAM, motherboard and processor. Software is programs like word processors and antivirus software. Firmware is the program that tells your computer what to do when you turn it on. Networking is connecting to other computers over a network such as the internet or LAN.
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Indiana - based graphic designer for more than 6 years. Creator of multiple awesome print and web designs. Interested in blogging as a second addiction since 2019. 100% animal lover.