An Easy Guide on How to Keep Your PC Cool While Gaming

Millions of people play games on their PC daily as a hobby. Gaming takes you to another world without worries, so you tend to do it more than expected. However, you must keep your PC cool while gaming for the best performance. If you don’t keep your PC cool, you will face problems such as lag stuttering, and sometimes your PC will automatically shut down due to thermal throttling or component safety precautions.

So, to prevent that, you have to take care of your PC. In this guide, we outline ten tips you should follow to keep your PC cool while gaming.

10 Tips for Keeping Your PC Cool While Gaming

The following are the ten tips for keeping your PC cool while gaming:

1. Move Your PC Away from Vents & Windows

The first step is simple; you only have to move your PC away from vents and windows. Vents can cause the PC to heat up, especially in the winter, which would increase the temperature of your PC. This procedure will lessen the life of your CPU and GPU, and you won’t be able to enjoy a good gaming experience due to the lack caused by high temperature.

You should also never put your PC near a window as it is a temperature-sensitive area. By moving your PC to a more open spot, you can keep it cool.

2. Leave Space Around Your PC

You must always give your PC some breathing room for optimal performance. If your PC is in a congested place, then the airflow could be restricted causing the surrounding temperature to rise. Make sure to make some room around your PC so you can prevent it from getting heated up. You should get a case that can easily fit every PC part for better airflow. If your case has less space, the PC will hold higher temperatures.

3. Put Your PC On a Solid Surface

It might not seem an important tip, but it is. If you place your PC on a soft surface, the vents of your PC can be clogged by carpet, dust, or other debris, which would prevent the hot air from escaping. This would cause your PC to overheat, which would affect your gameplay. So, to prevent that, you must place your PC on a solid surface like a table or hard surface on the floor. 

4. Close Your Gaming PC’s Case

A closed case helps your PC to remain cool from the inside as you have a cooler inserted in your PC. If you do not close your gaming PC’s case, the temperature will increase as outside dust clogs your cooling fan. This would not only damage your fans, but it will also lead to poor management of wires.

A closed case is preferred, as the dust can damage your PC. Cases are made to be closed so the air inside your PC can circulate while gaming. Otherwise, it will just get overheated, which will cause problems for you.

5. Keep Fans Clean

As said before, dust can damage the fans of your PC, and it can shut them down too. So, you have to keep them clean. There are several fans on your PC. Some would be attached to your case, the cooler fan, and the fan in your power supply. There could be more, so you have to shut down the computer, open your case, and clean the fans.

If you don’t know you to do that, then don’t try to do it. Take your PC to a computer store and ask them to clean your PC for you thoroughly. While you're cleaning your PC, make sure to replace the thermal paste too.

6. Upgrade Your Fans or Add More

If your PC is overheating, you should upgrade your fans or add more if you have less in your case.

Case Fans

Most cases have the option to add at least four fans, and those are the necessary fans to keep your PC cool. So you can either upgrade to better fans or add four fans in your case to prevent it from overheating.

CPU Fans

Adding more CPU fans can also be beneficial, but upgrading the one you already have is better. Having a better cooler will prevent your PC from overheating. The best coolers in my opinion come from Noctua or Cooler Master with other high end AIOs from companies like MSI or ASUS; choosing any that suit your needs.

Memory Fans

Memory chipset units have fans that prevent the PC from overheating, so getting a better one will surely help you.

7. Up Your Fans’ Speeds

If you are playing a game consuming around 80% of your GPU, you should increase the speed of your fans. When you are gaming for a while, and your fans are moving at an average speed, then there is a possibility that your PC could overheat.

You can find tons of software online that you can use to increase the speed of your fans. There might be an official software of the company you buy the fans from, so check it out.

8. Don’t Overclock Your System

Overclocking might increase your PC’s performance for the time being but will seriously damage your PC. Overclocking your PC may eventually cause it to overheat; if you do it for a while, it might shut down automatically.

You should check the temperature of your PC from time to time and never play a game on high or ultra settings if it is causing your PC to be overclocked. Moreover, if you are playing cracked games, check the temperature while playing, as some cracked games can also overclock your PC, even if your system has recommended specs for the game.

 9. Upgrade to a Water Cooling System

If you have a system with a high-end GPU, standard coolers won’t be able to help you much.

There are multiple water cooling solutions like AIOs (All in Ones) and custom hardline or soft tubing water cooling. AIOs are more manageable, acting like most other air towers with mounting and clearance; the main catch is securing the additional radiator to an advantageous position in the case of direct airflow.

Custom water cooling requires fittings, pipes, and, most importantly, correctly paired metallic solutions to ensure a proper transfer of heat from the PCBs to heatsinks and fins. This is not for anyone new to PC building and is the most expensive cooling solution.

10. Keep Your Drivers Up-to-Date

The last tip is to keep your drivers up-to-date. Before playing a new game, check if your drivers are up to date, as the game will require the latest update for better performance. Your graphics card often gets an update which you should always prioritize as it won’t take much longer to download and install the latest update.

Why You Want to Keep Your Gaming PC Cool

You want to keep your gaming PC cool for the following reasons:

Better System Performance

If you take care of your gaming PC and follow all the ten tips we have explained, you will notice better performance in your system. There won’t be many lags and stutters in games except if the game isn’t well-optimized or doesn't have a good PC port.

Nowadays, games might not have a good PC port, so if you face lags or stutters, you should check the temperature before upgrading anything.

Longer PC Lifespan

Keeping your PC cool will give it a longer lifespan. If you don’t take care of it and don’t monitor the temperature, your PC will have a far shorter lifespan. 

Summary of Keeping Your PC Cool While Gaming

It's on you to follow the ten tips we have explained in this ultimate guide to prevent your PC from overheating. If you prevent your PC from overheating, it won't get overclocked, meaning it will have a longer lifespan, and your overall PC will perform better. So this way, you will be able to enjoy your favorite games.

At Apex Gaming PCs, we strive to keep all the PCs that leave our facility cool and handle any task without thermal throttling or crashing. If your system experiences issues, it may be time for maintenance or an entirely new custom gaming PC. We offer stock air coolers built to handle most lower-wattage CPUs to AIOs, ensuring even the highest chipset stays cool under stress. Whatever your cooling needs are, we hope to be of service at Apex!

Written By Danl K
Edited by William Wilson

Header Photo Pavan Bhakta

Updated: 7/11/24