It’s crunch time. You’re working remotely, and — like clockwork — your laptop or machine starts to get real loud. The fan kicks into high gear, your keyboard is hot, and, let’s be real, nothing is loading.

Sound familiar? Yeah, we thought so. It’s a common scenario for designers, architects, video producers, engineers, and professionals across the planet. And it’s probably got you googling topics like, “how to make my PC faster.”

Keep reading to discover seven easy, tried-and-true ways to make your PC faster.

1. Check Your Power Settings

Don’t panic. Instead, check to see how your computer is using power.

Typically, this information is listed in the settings under “Power Options.”

Is your machine running on balanced settings? Or maximum performance settings? Depending on your presets, you’ll probably be able to reconfigure your PC to work double-time but be sure to stay connected to a power source. Max performance typically reduces battery charge at a much quicker rate.

2. Manage What’s Running at Start-Up

Did you know your PC could be running a large number of hidden programs from the moment you hit the power button? Many of these programs might continue to run in the background while you work. This can slow your PC way down.

To speed things up, hit the classic CTRL + ALT + DELETE command, navigate to the “Task Manager,” end the programs that don’t need to be running all the time, and disable auto-run at startup for the programs that don’t need to power up at the same time as your computer.

3. Scan for Viruses and Malware

Whether you’re an IT security genius or don’t even know what malware is, everyone should be routinely checking for viruses that could be slowing you down and — even worse — damaging your machine.

To guard against this sort of software, be sure to check your built-in Windows Defender Security Center and consider investing in a highly-rated anti-virus platform.

4. Free Up Disk Space

Head to the Start menu in the lower-left corner of your screen, search for Disk Cleanup, and let this handy tool identify unnecessary files that could be slowing down your PC.

Delete what you can part with and free up space to get your machine moving quickly again.

5. Check for Updates

Sometimes, your PC could be slow simply because the operating system is out of date. Check for updates consistently and apply them when available.

6. Increase RAM

Where possible, it’s always worth it to increase the RAM on your machine. It’s affordable, easy to do, and nearly always helps to increase the speed of your PC.

7. Consider Using an SSD

An SSD, or “Solid State Drive,” is a data storage component that allows most computer programs to work faster than if they were stored on a typical spinning HDD (“Hard Disk Drive”). To make the upgrade to an SSD, you have two main options: external or internal.

If you go with an external SSD, the setup is quick: Just plug the SSD into your machine via a Thunderbolt 3 cable. If you go internal, setup time will take a little longer, as you’ll have to physically open your machine and install your new SSD — but performance will improve all the same!

8. Disable Unnecessary Animations and Visual Effects

As a video editor or producer, you would have loads of previous edits, installed visual effects, and animations unnecessary for your current projects. These use up your computer’s processing power and memory. By disabling them, you can free up some of that processing power and memory and redirect it toward other tasks, such as video editing.

When your PC runs animations and visual effects, it can cause your computer to use more graphics resources, resulting in slower video playback or stuttering, particularly when editing or previewing video footage. By disabling these effects, you can improve the performance of your video editing software and reduce rendering times, as it can more efficiently utilize your graphics resources.

Here’s how you Disable unnecessary animations and visual effects:

• Right-click on My Computer and select Properties.

• Then click on Advanced system settings, go to the Advanced tab

• Click on Settings under Performance.

• Here, select Adjust for best performance or Custom and uncheck unnecessary options.

9. Uninstall Unnecessary Programs

When you purchase a new PC, you can stock apps you never used or no longer need. All of these programs and apps use memory on your PC, and if they have permission to run in the background, they will use RAM. If you remove these unnecessary apps, your PC’s speed will improve. Alternatively, you can deactivate apps with permission to run in the background.

Editors are limited to certain functions depending on their software and disk space. Dealing with large files can slow down your PC, especially if the internal disk doesn’t have enough space to render a large video. Removing unused apps will increase space for your exports and should improve your rendering times.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

10. Disable Unnecessary Services

You can speed up your PC by disabling unnecessary services like Bluetooth, mobile hotspots, etc. Most of these services run in your laptop’s background, but deactivating them might give you the extra power you need to edit efficiently.

Here’s how to disable unnecessary services:

• Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

• Type “services.msc” in the box and press Enter.

• Scroll through the list of services and identify the ones you don’t need (E.g. Bluetooth Support Service, Windows Mobile Hotspot Service, and Xbox Live Auth Manager).

• Right-click on the service you want to disable and select “Properties.”

• In the Properties window, change the Startup type to “Disabled” and click OK.

• Repeat this process for all unnecessary services.

11. Upgrade Your Graphics Card

Upgrading your graphics card can make a significant difference in the speed and efficiency of your PC for editing work and has numerous benefits. For example, you will have faster rendering times and be able to do more regarding color grading and adding effects, as newer graphics cards typically have more VRAM than older ones.

This will allow you to work with larger or multiple files simultaneously without experiencing performance issues. A bonus is that an upgraded graphics card should also be able to run more modern editing software like a 3D Render Engine. If your PC struggles to edit high-volume files, getting a new graphics card might be worth considering.

Photo by Joseph Greve on Unsplash

12. Use a RAID Setup

As an editor, you want to build the most efficient workstation. A RAID setup is a great way to boost your PC’s efficiency but will require some investment. A RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) setup combines multiple physical hard drives into a single logical unit for improved performance, increased data redundancy, or a combination of both. There are several RAID setups, each with its own characteristics and benefits. Here’s how you set up a RAID system:

• Choose the number of RAID array hard disks. For example, RAID 0 requires two identical hard disks.

• Data backup. Formatting hard disks for RAID 0 erases all data.

• Install your hard disks.

• Set the hard disks’ SATA ports to RAID mode in BIOS.

• Download your motherboard’s RAID drivers after booting up.

• Initialize hard disks in Windows Disk Management. For disks beyond 2TB, use GPT partitioning.

• Right-click each hard drive’s unallocated space and create a partition. Use the default partition size and file system.

• Create a striped volume by right-clicking on a partition and selecting “New Striped Volume.” Then, add the additional partitions to the striped disk using the prompts.

• Format the new volume with a drive letter.

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