Congratulations on your new gaming PC, we hope you are enjoying your experience. To ensure that your system has a long and healthy lifespan it is important to carry out regular maintenance on key aspects. In this blog we will share our favourite tips and tricks to help you maintain your gaming pc and keep it running efficiently and effectively.

The first tip is to regularly clean your gaming PC externally including the desktop, monitor and accessories to stop the build-up of dust or dirt. The accumulation of dust over time can clog up crucial PC elements such as fans or vents that will eventually lead to overheating. For external cleaning use a soft cloth to carefully wipe down surfaces, be gentle to ensure that no components are damaged in the process.

Internal cleaning will be needed less often; however, it is just as important in keeping your machine healthy, use compressed air to clear components such as fans, filters and heat sinks from dust buildup. Before conducting any cleaning be sure to check out the individual product details as well as the health and safety briefing.

For your gaming pc to continue to run at optimal levels, new updates to the enhance the operating system should be installed to improve stability, patch security issues and improve performance capabilities. Computer manufacturers often release new updates that provide users with bug fixes that provide a better experience when using their devices, failure to stay up to date with new updates can slow down the loading time of your machine.

If keeping on top of new updates is a nuisance or you do not have time to manually overlook each update, then enable automatic updates for your own convenience.

To get the most out of your gaming PC it is important that you manage the storage on your system to create free space that can be used to expand your library of games. Scan and uninstall unnecessary files as they will decrease system performance, also look to remove games or applications that you no longer use to free up space. Although If you are using a traditional hard disk drive (HDD), then defragmentation can help to improve file access speed, however if you are using a solid-state drive (SDD) then it is not necessary. Defragmentation is the process of identifying and regrouping segmented fragments that have been misplaced by the hard drive.

It is important to make sure that your personal information and system is protected at all times from online threats such as hackers or fishing that can attack your privacy as you browse on the internet. Microsoft Defender is included with all our Gaming PCs so you don't need to install another one, and this will automatically scan and check the machine for you. It will also keep itself up to date, but is worth checking the Windows Update page on your device to make sure.

An additional step to boost system security is to enable the built in firewall and malware protection tools, this will limit the access to particular areas on the internet however it will offer enhanced protection that will keep you as well as your system safe online.

As gaming pcs can produce high levels of heat during demanding games, it is crucial to monitor the temperature of your PC on a regular basis.

Take care when checking the system and avoid touching any surfaces that may be hot to avoid injury. Heat monitoring software can be installed that continuously checks the temperature of the CPU and GPU; overheating will lead to performance complications as well as hardware damage.

To stop your machine from overheating ensure proper airflow is adequate, this can be achieved by ensuring that your pc is positioned in a well-ventilated area free from obstructions which could possibly block air vents. Avoid placing the pc on carpet, as this will block ventilation and lead to overheating that will slow performance or damage hardware.

Additional case fans or liquid cooling solutions can provide excellent temperature controlling methods for long term gamers, however come at an additional cost. Fans play a major role in cooling down your pc, regular cleaning of fans guarantees that they maintain optimal airflow as dust can dramatically reduce their efficiency.

To protect yourself from instances of data loss, keep regular backups of important files and game save points periodically. External storage devices or cloud-based backup services are great ways of keeping your important files safe whilst providing easy access in the case of system issues. Another way of protecting your files is to create system restore points once per month, these restore point will help you to revert to a stable system in case of emergencies where complication arise in areas such as system software updates or file installations.

Taking care of your new gaming pc is through regular upkeep and maintenance is crucial in providing you countless hours of entertainment as well as enjoyment. By following these tips and tricks you have learnt to maintain your PC through cleaning your system, updating the software, optimising storage, maintaining system security, monitoring system temperature and backing up key data.

Remember looking after your new purchase will reward you with a healthy system that is built to continue performing at optimal levels, giving you the best possible performance that enhances your gaming experience for many years to come. Happy gaming and happy maintaining!