Computer Freezes During Games Not Overheating? 5 Tips

If you are an avid gamer and feel like your current setup has not been giving the results you want performance-wise, there are ways to solve the problem. For instance, some players experience computer freezes during games not overheating, which is a bit tricky.

You would think that an underperforming computer that runs a demanding video game should show signs of overheating. Computer Freezes, on the other hand, without other signs, do not happen that often.

Having said that, the problem is still there, and it is worthwhile knowing how you can solve it so that you have a better gaming experience.

Let’s take a look at some of the tips that ought to come in quite handy when it comes to computer freezes. In addition, you can also treat the information below as general guidelines to boost the overall computer performance.

Free Up Disk Space

According to setapp.com, there are multiple steps you can take to free up the computer’s drive and optimize the device.

Start with files you no longer need. Since you are a gamer, it is possible that there might be a video game or two that you stopped playing. If so, why not delete it from the computer? In case you want to play it again, you can download it later. But for now, focus on what you do not need because the goal is to free up the computer’s drive space.

It is also worth talking about external storage. This approach focuses on transferring data to a different location rather than deleting files permanently. A USB flash stick or hard drive, as well as cloud storage, are the go-to options for external storage.

Once your computer’s drive has enough free disk space, you should notice improvements in performance.

Clean the Dust Inside

The dust inside is associated with overheating, but it can also clog the internal hardware enough to affect it and cause issues other than overheating.

Cleaning the dust inside a computer can be tricky, especially if you have a laptop and no prior experience doing the task before and this may lead to continue using the overheated laptop.

If you are not confident in your own skills despite watching multiple videos and reading guides online, why not take the computer to a service shop and leave everything in the hands of professionals? 

It will take some time and money, but you will know that someone with experience is cleaning the dust inside your computer, which minimizes the risks that would be there if you were to do the job yourself.

Pro tip: Laptop users can consider a cooling pad. It is not the same as cleaning the dust inside the computer (you should prioritize that, by the way), but an accessory that gives cool air to the device is a neat addition when running high-end video games on a laptop.

Upgrade Hardware

Hardware upgrades can be expensive, but it is difficult to come up with a better solution efficiency-wise.

Running modern video games on outdated hardware is bound to cause you problems, and those problems go beyond video games freezing or crashing randomly.

Your first instinct might be to adjust the game’s graphics to lower the quality, but that only gets you so far. Besides, sacrificing graphics means a worse overall gaming experience, which is one thing you want to avoid as an avid gamer, right?

Additional RAM and a new graphics processing unit are the two most popular options as far as computer hardware goes. In case you still have an HDD, replace it with a solid-state drive because SSDs are by far the superior option.

Your budget dictates how much you can spend on the upgrades, but even if the improvement is small, it can still make a significant difference.

Check for Malware

Malware could be the primary reason why you are struggling to play video games on your computer. Do not underestimate modern cybersecurity threats and how they can infect and affect your device.

Run scans using a reliable antivirus tool to make sure that your computer has no corrupted data. If the scan detects a potential threat, eliminate it right away.

In some cases, malware can snowball out of control enough to cause significant issues, and even good antivirus software might not be enough to solve the problem. You might have no option but to reinstall the operating system to give the device a clean slate.

Install Updates

The last bit of advice is to make sure that your computer is up to date. And by this, we do not mean just the operating system. That goes without saying, but you also need to keep an eye on drivers and the different software you have.

Video games themselves also receive updates, and not running the latest version could be the reason why you have been running into performance issues recently.