Published October 6, 2026 - Updated October 6, 2026 - By Xilly
Best PC Optimization Software for Gaming: Tools From Our Guides
Explore the tuning and monitoring tools covered in our guides. Find the right use case, read the steps or watch the walkthrough, then test on your own PC.
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PC Optimization Guide
Want to tune your gaming PC yourself? Start with a tool that solves the problem you have. These are tools covered in our own guides, with a clear next step for each.
These tools each handle part of the job. They do not cover every Windows setting, RAM issue, BIOS setting or cooling fault. A one-click “FPS booster” is not a full diagnosis. Choose a tool for a clear reason, follow the guide and test the result.
MSI Afterburner: GPU tuning and monitoring
Afterburner lets you monitor your graphics card and adjust supported settings such as clocks, power limits and fan speed. Our NVIDIA guide shows how we approach overclocking and undervolting. Overclocking aims for higher speeds. Undervolting uses less voltage at a chosen speed.
Read our GPU overclock and undervolt guide or watch the walkthrough. Get the tool from MSI's official Afterburner page.
Process Lasso: choose which CPU cores a game uses
Process Lasso can save rules for which cores an app uses. Our Ryzen 9 9950X3D guide covers keeping games on the chiplet with extra gaming cache while leaving the other chiplet available for other work.
This is a specific use case for supported dual-chiplet Ryzen X3D CPUs. It is not a reason to copy the same core numbers onto every PC. A Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a different layout. A bad rule can make performance worse.
Read our CPU scheduling guide or watch the setup. The guide also explains AMD's automatic option. Bitsum makes Process Lasso.
HWiNFO: find out what your PC is doing
HWiNFO reports hardware details and sensor readings. It can help you check temperatures, clock speeds and other available readings during a test. We reference it in our AMD memory tuning guide.
It is a monitoring tool. Opening it does not boost FPS. Its value is helping you see what changes while the problem happens, so you can make a better next decision.
See how monitoring fits into our AMD DDR5 guide or watch the memory walkthrough. Manual RAM values depend on your hardware. Get HWiNFO from its official site.
NVIDIA Profile Inspector: advanced game profiles
NVIDIA Profile Inspector exposes driver profile settings beyond the usual control panel. Our RTX 50 series guide covers it as part of a wider NVIDIA setup.
This is an advanced tool for NVIDIA systems. A hidden setting is not automatically a better setting. Save the original values, follow the guide and compare the same game scene after a change.
Read our RTX 50 series guide or watch the video. The tool is a community project, not an official NVIDIA app. Use the project's release page.
What about clean driver installs?
Our RTX guide also covers driver cleanup and installation tools. They serve a specific job. Start with the guide's context before removing a working driver or stripping components you may need.
The free Windows optimization playbook gives you a place to start. If Fortnite is your main game, read the Fortnite settings guide next.
How do you know a tool helped?
- Record a baseline in the same game scene and settings.
- Change one thing, then repeat the test.
- Check for fewer pauses as well as higher FPS.
- Keep the change only if the PC stays stable and the result improves.
None of these tools promises a fixed FPS gain. See our testing method for the limits of before-and-after comparisons. If the PC crashes or has a hardware fault, find that cause before tuning.
Use our guides to work through the parts that fit your PC. If you want live help, Core is $85 for 30 minutes. Competitive is $250 for two hours on supported desktops. Results depend on your PC.