MyGamingPC.ai

PC Help Desk

Fixes in plain words for a new gaming PC, safest first. Bought one through us? Your account has a help page for your exact PC.

Don't open the case or swap parts yet. While you can still return it, the store can take it back or replace it, and some makers count opening the case against the warranty. Check the warranty card in the box first.

First day: set it up

  1. Unpack it, and keep the box and receipt until the store's return window ends. Many prebuilt PCs ship with foam or an air bag inside the case to protect the graphics card: the quick-start sheet says whether to take it out.
  2. Plug the monitor into the graphics card: the row of ports lower down on the back, not the ones near the top.
  3. For Wi-Fi, screw the antennas from the box onto the two small gold connectors on the back; for gaming, a network cable is steadier.
  4. Finish Windows setup, then install every update: Settings > Windows Update, and Advanced options > Optional updates for drivers. Restart until none are left.
  5. Install the graphics card maker's driver.
  6. Set your screen to its highest refresh rate: Settings > System > Display > Advanced display > Choose a refresh rate.
  7. Check it is what was listed, while you can still return it: Settings > System > About (processor and memory), Task Manager > Performance (graphics card, memory speed), Settings > System > Storage.
  8. Register the warranty with the maker named on the warranty card.
  9. Make a recovery drive: search Start for "Create a recovery drive" and use a USB stick of 32GB or more. It can reinstall Windows if something ever goes wrong.
  10. Play a game you know, and compare its FPS with what reviews of your graphics card show.

Games run slow or stutter

  1. Plug the monitor into the graphics card: the row of ports lower down on the back, not the ones near the top (those skip the graphics card).
  2. Update the graphics driver from its maker's site.
  3. Set your screen to its highest refresh rate: Settings > System > Display > Advanced display > Choose a refresh rate.
  4. Set Windows to Best performance: Settings > System > Power (or Power & battery) > Power mode.
  5. Check the memory runs at its rated speed: Task Manager > Performance > Memory shows "Speed". Much lower than the listing says? XMP or EXPO is off in the BIOS; the maker's support can walk you through turning it on (it does not void the warranty).

Games crash or the PC restarts

  1. Install every Windows update: Settings > Windows Update (and Advanced options > Optional updates for drivers).
  2. Update the graphics driver from its maker's site.
  3. Only one game crashes? Check its files: in Steam, right-click the game > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files; in Epic, the three dots > Manage > Verify.
  4. Turned on an overclock, XMP or EXPO? Set it back to default and test again.
  5. Watch the temperature: Task Manager > Performance > GPU shows the graphics card's temperature. In the high 80s °C or more while gaming, give the vents room (4 inches from walls, not in a closed cabinet or on carpet).
  6. Run Windows Memory Diagnostic (search for it in Start) to check the memory.
  7. Still crashing? That is a fault, not a setting: contact the store while you can still return or exchange it.

No picture on the screen

  1. Plug the monitor into the graphics card: the row of ports lower down on the back, not the ones near the top (those skip the graphics card).
  2. Check the monitor's input matches the cable (HDMI or DisplayPort), push both ends in firmly, and try another cable.
  3. Check the power switch on the back of the PC (next to the power cord) is on, and the fans spin when you press the power button.
  4. Try another monitor or a TV.
  5. Many prebuilt PCs ship with foam or an air bag inside the case to protect the graphics card. The quick-start sheet in the box says whether to take it out.
  6. Still nothing? Something may have come loose in shipping: contact the store (or the maker) before you open the case.

It is loud

  1. Fans get louder while gaming: that is normal. Loud with nothing open? Windows updates and a game's first launch (it builds its shaders) keep the PC busy for a while.
  2. Give it room to breathe: vents 4 inches from walls, not on carpet or in a closed cabinet.
  3. Set a quieter fan curve in the maker's fan app or the BIOS.
  4. A high-pitched whine at very high FPS (coil whine) goes away with a frame limit: the game's own frame limit, or the game's own setting.
  5. Rattling, grinding or clicking is a fan touching a cable or a failing part: contact the store while you can still return it, and don't open the case.

Wi-Fi is slow or missing

  1. Screw on the Wi-Fi antennas from the box: they go on the two small gold connectors on the back.
  2. A network cable to your router beats Wi-Fi for gaming: steadier ping, no drops.
  3. Update the Wi-Fi driver: Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
  4. Use your router's 5 GHz network if it has one, and keep the PC out of a closed desk cabinet.
  5. No Wi-Fi connectors on the back at all? Some models come without Wi-Fi: a USB Wi-Fi adapter adds it without opening the case.

For returns, use the help pages of the store you bought it from; for repairs after that, the warranty card in the box names the maker's support.

How are we doing?