MyGamingPCFirst-day setup checklist for a new gaming PC
I've tested nearly 100 gaming PCs, and the same few steps make the difference on day one. Every PC page here has a checklist made for that exact PC: its graphics card's driver, its memory's profile, its brand's BIOS key and its store's return window.
What the checklist covers
- Run Windows Update. A new PC has often sat in a warehouse for months: install every update and restart until none are left. Skip the "Optional updates" list on day one, and never install anything labeled Firmware or BIOS from it.
- Install the right graphics driver. The NVIDIA app for a GeForce RTX or GTX card, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition for a Radeon, Intel's driver for an Arc card.
- Set the full refresh rate, with the right cable. A DisplayPort or HDMI 2.1 cable into the ports on the graphics card's own metal bracket (usually a horizontal row lower down; on a case with the card mounted upright they may be elsewhere), not the motherboard's ports, then Settings > System > Display > Advanced display.
- Turn on EXPO or XMP (optional). EXPO on an AMD Ryzen PC, XMP on Intel, only when the memory is rated faster than its default speed, and only its own rated profile, with the BIOS key for your PC's brand.
- Leave the brand's own apps until they're checked. Only apps the brand's own support page calls optional are listed to remove; the rest often run the lights, fans or warranty.
- Run a quick stability check. About 10 minutes of a free processor test and 10 to 15 of a free graphics test, with HWiNFO showing the temperatures, and what is normal for your processor and card.
- Note your return window. The last day on your calendar, the box and receipt kept until then.
The rules it keeps
- Never past the memory's own rated profile, and nothing that opens the case.
- No BIOS update on day one unless the PC's brand says to.
- Only apps a brand's own support page calls optional are listed to remove. Until we've checked, it says "Not verified yet".
- Each step says why it matters, how to do it in a few short steps, and how to tell it worked.
If something looks wrong, contact the store or the brand before the return window ends.
Something already not right? The PC Help Desk has fixes by symptom.