Your PC is dragging. It’s frustrating. You click an icon, wait three seconds, and wonder if you’ve somehow downloaded the entire Library of Congress by mistake. Honestly, most people think they need a new machine the moment the startup wheel spins for more than thirty seconds. They don’t. Most of the time, the "slowness" is just digital friction—layers of software residue, background tasks, and thermal throttling that have piled up over the years.
Learning how to make your computer faster isn't about some secret registry hack that 14-year-olds on YouTube claim will double your FPS. It’s about maintenance.
The Browser Is Probably Eating Your RAM
We spend 90% of our time in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. These aren't just browsers anymore; they are operating systems within operating systems. If your computer feels like it’s wading through molasses, look at your tabs. Chrome uses a "sandboxing" technique where every single tab and extension runs as its own individual process. This is great for security—if one tab crashes, the whole browser doesn't die—but it is a nightmare for your memory.
Open your Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or Activity Monitor on a Mac. Look at the memory column. You’ll likely see Chrome at the top, devouring gigabytes of RAM.
You don't necessarily need to close everything, but you should use an extension like Auto Tab Discard. It "suspends" tabs you aren't using so they don't suck up CPU cycles. Also, check your extensions. Do you really need that coupon finder, the grammar checker, and the three different ad blockers all running at once? Probably not. Each one adds latency to every page load.
Startup Apps: The Silent Performance Killers
Every time you install a new piece of software, it tries to be the "priority." Spotify, Discord, Steam, Adobe Creative Cloud, and even printer drivers all want to start the moment you log in.
It’s annoying.
When ten apps try to launch simultaneously, your processor hits 100% utilization immediately, and your disk read speed bottlenecks.
How to prune the list
On Windows, go to the Startup tab in Task Manager. Look at the "Startup impact" column. If something says "High" and you don't need it open the second you turn on the PC, disable it. You can still open the app manually later. On macOS, this is under System Settings > General > Login Items.
Keep it lean. Your computer will boot faster, and you'll have more "overhead" for the tasks you actually care about.
Why Your Hard Drive Choice Matters More Than Your CPU
If you are still running an old-school Mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD) as your primary boot drive, stop. Just stop. Nothing—and I mean nothing—will teach you how to make your computer faster more effectively than switching to a Solid State Drive (SSD).
HDDs use a physical spinning platter and a read/write head. It’s 1950s technology. SSDs use flash memory. The difference in "seek time" is the difference between walking to the grocery store and teleporting there.
Even an old laptop from 2018 can feel brand new with a $40 SATA SSD.
If you already have an SSD and things are still slow, check your storage capacity. SSDs need "breathing room" to move data around. This is called wear leveling. If your drive is 95% full, the controller has to work twice as hard to find empty blocks, which slows down write speeds significantly. Try to keep at least 15% of your drive empty.
Debloating Windows Without Breaking It
Windows 10 and 11 come with a lot of "telemetry" and pre-installed junk. You’ve got news feeds in the taskbar, "suggestions" in the start menu, and background services that track usage data for Microsoft.
While you shouldn't go deleting random folders in System32, you can use a tool like the Chris Titus Tech Windows Utility or a simple PowerShell script to remove "bloatware."
- Turn off transparency effects in Personalization settings. It looks pretty, but it uses GPU resources.
- Disable "Search indexing" if you have a fast SSD; the constant scanning can sometimes cause micro-stutters.
- Set your Power Plan to "High Performance." Windows often tries to save battery by downclocking your CPU, even when you're plugged in.
The Heat Factor: When Dust Slows Down Software
This is the one nobody talks about. Your computer has sensors that monitor the temperature of the CPU and GPU. If those chips get too hot—usually around 90°C to 100°C—they engage in "thermal throttling."
The chip literally slows itself down to prevent melting.
If you hear your fans screaming like a jet engine, your computer isn't "working hard"—it's suffocating. Dust acts like a thermal blanket. Grab a can of compressed air. Hold the fans so they don't spin too fast (which can damage the bearings), and blow out the heatsinks. If you're on a desktop, this is easy. If you're on a laptop, blow into the intake vents. You might see a literal cloud of gray fluff fly out.
Suddenly, your CPU can maintain its "Boost" clock speeds for longer, and your performance stabilizes.
Dealing With Malware and "Optimizers"
Here is a hard truth: Most "PC Optimizer" or "Registry Cleaner" software is a scam. At best, they do things you can already do for free. At worst, they are actual malware that tracks your data or installs more bloatware.
You don't need "MyFastPC Pro."
Windows Defender (now Microsoft Defender) is actually quite good these days. It’s lightweight and integrated. If you suspect a deep infection, run a one-time scan with Malwarebytes. Once it’s done, you can even uninstall it. Avoid having two "active" antivirus programs running at the same time; they will fight each other for system hooks and destroy your performance.
Specific Tweaks for Gaming and Heavy Work
If you're a gamer, your focus should be on GPU drivers and background processes.
- Update Drivers: Use GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin. Manufacturers release "Game Ready" drivers that include specific optimizations for new titles.
- Game Mode: Keep Windows "Game Mode" ON. It tells Windows to deprioritize background updates while a full-screen application is running.
- V-Sync: If your computer feels "laggy" but the FPS is high, check your V-Sync settings. Sometimes it introduces input delay.
For video editors or 3D artists, the bottleneck is usually the "scratch disk." Ensure your cache files are on your fastest NVMe drive, not your bulk storage drive.
Practical Next Steps
Improving your computer's speed isn't a one-and-done event. It's a habit.
📖 Related: How to Set Google Chrome as a Default Browser Without the Headache
Start by purging your startup apps today. It takes two minutes and has the highest ROI. Next, check your drive space and delete those 20GB 4K videos you forgot were in your Downloads folder. Finally, if you're on a desktop, open the side panel and check for dust buildup.
If none of these software fixes work and you’re still on a mechanical hard drive, your next step is a hardware upgrade. No amount of software tweaking can overcome the physical limitations of a spinning disk. Buy a cheap SSD, clone your drive, and you’ll realize your "slow" computer was actually just waiting on a slow disk.