PC gaming is great for the amount of customization it gives players. Owning a gaming PC (whether it's custom-built or prebuilt) means you have a wide array of choices. But to truly appreciate the modularity of PC gaming, you have to install these four FREE programs that'll give you full control over your entire gaming experience.
Steam
Steam is the world's foremost PC gaming marketplace, and almost nothing else comes close (you might make an argument for Epic Games, but still). As the owner of a gaming PC, chances are this is where you'll find most of the titles you want to play. Furthermore, Steam is excellent for its secure ecosystem that's often only available on consoles, according to TechRadar.
Lastly, Steam is not just a marketplace for full-price games. You'll get to experience insane discounts at the regular sale events on the platform, with one of the most anticipated being the Steam Summer Sale. At these events, you'll find several of the generation's hottest games (even the newest ones) go for next to nothing.
MSI Afterburner
This software bundle is extremely popular among PC gamers who want to make sure they're getting the best performance out of the hardware they paid for. But for MSI Afterburner, the focus is your graphics card. It is a free overclocking utility that supports both AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards, which allows you to tweak certain parameters in order to make your GPU perform better than how it came out of the box.
You can download MSI Afterburner for free on the official MSI website. And don't worry if your GPU isn't from MSI, too, because this software supports ALL graphics cards, regardless of manufacturer.
RivaTuner Statistics Server
RivaTuner comes bundled with MSI Afterburner when you download the latter. While this software may seem like it's just another tacked-on free program, it can make your PC gaming experience way more enjoyable.
One of the few capabilities of RivaTuner that not a lot of people know is that it can make games run way smoother, with barely any hitching or frame rate dips. Unless, of course, you know how to use it properly. Detailing how RivaTuner works is tropic for another time, but here is a comprehensive YouTube guide for setting it up:
If you're having trouble with stuttering in your PC games, even if you got a very powerful GPU, RivaTuner will be your saving grace, and that's a guarantee.
TechPowerUp CPU-Z
Now, you can't forget your CPU, can you? Coupled with your graphics card, the CPU is what gives your powerful gaming PC its... well, power. And to identify ways on how to make your CPU run faster, CPU-Z is the software you need.
This program shows you your processor's current clock speed (both base and boost), how much voltage it is running on, and almost everything else. Consider it as a one-stop-shop for everything about your PC's running condition. If you want to make sure that your system runs well enough, download and install this as soon as you boot your PC up.
Just like MSI Afterburner, CPU-Z supports all processors from AMD and Intel, and it constantly gets updated with new models so you can better monitor your computer's vitals.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
