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5 overhyped PC performance tips that most people should ignore
There's no lack of advice online when it comes to PC building and optimizing PC performance. From choosing components and prioritizing specs to squeezing the most out of your hardware, the community will bombard you with tons of tips whether you want them or not. Many of these tips are well-intentioned and even well-researched, but they're not especially useful for the average user. Most people aren't really leaving performance on the table if they don't overclock their hardware. Similarly, buying overkill PSUs and motherboards isn't going to deliver any magical returns on a typical gaming PC. Unless you have a solid reason already, you can safely ignore these PC performance tips.
Every BIOS update is necessary
Only if your PC is a test bench
Keeping your PC's BIOS/UEFI updated has genuine advantages, such as getting access to security patches, the latest features, and enhanced stability. It might seem logical to update your firmware each time your motherboard manufacturer releases a new BIOS/UEFI version, but it's not that straightforward. Firstly, not all BIOS updates bring significant updates to your system. You'll struggle to find any difference in your PC's performance or stability after jumping to the new version. Secondly, some BIOS versions can actually make things worse by introducing new bugs that ruin a perfectly well-oiled system until the manufacturer releases yet another update to patch things up.
Sure, you should never ignore a BIOS version that addresses critical security threats. However, it's also recommended not to jump to every single version, at least not before it has a few days or weeks in the wild. Once you find known problems, if any, with the new update, you can take an informed call about updating or not. You can also adopt a quarterly cadence to check for any new BIOS versions on your motherboard's product page. Unless your PC is experiencing major performance, stability, or power issues, I'd suggest staying away from BIOS updates, barring any security-related patches.
Generous PSU headroom is non-negotiable
It's unnecessary for the majority of users
It's well-known that you need to add some headroom to your PC's estimated wattage when choosing a power supply. Cutting it too close can threaten system stability in case of power excursions. Plus, thanks to physics and real-world efficiency, some amount of power drawn from the wall is always wasted as heat. This doesn't mean, however, that you justify buying a 1000W PSU for a PC whose peak power demand is only around 500W. Even provisioning for future hardware upgrades doesn't bring the recommended wattage to 1000W for such a system. All you need to ensure is that your PSU has around 30% more wattage than your PC's peak demand, and maybe a little more for a future GPU upgrade.
ThioJoe
Fireship
GameRantThe thing about PSUs is that the build quality and quality control matter much more than capacity and efficiency. If you're already limiting your search to reliable manufacturers and models that have been well-reviewed over time, you don't need to buy overkill PSUs "just to be safe." Modern power supplies have more than enough protections built in to safeguard your components in the event of a stray power spike. As long as you stay away from power supplies mired in scandals and cheap, no-name units, your PC will work just fine. Only enthusiasts who are pushing their hardware to the limits need to think about overkill PSUs.
Always look for premium motherboard VRMs
Not even remotely necessary
Motherboard VRMs are one of the most misunderstood elements of a PC. While it's true that you need a certain VRM quality for any PC, you also don't need to overspend to avoid unstable power delivery. Every VRM solution is made up of transistors, capacitors, chokes, and other components, and their quality determines how efficient the VRMs are. The number of phases that you see in motherboard marketing, such as "10+2+1", indicates a breakup of the phases dedicated to the CPU, memory, and the chipset, respectively. Generally, the higher the phase count, the lower the load on each individual phase, and the more stable the power delivery.
What also matters is the amperage of individual phases, but for the average user building a gaming PC, buying a motherboard with 8–10 dedicated CPU phases is more than enough to handle any mainstream CPU. And this spec is common on budget motherboards, so you don't need to spend over $200 to ensure adequate VRM quality. Unless you're overclocking an extremely demanding chip, you don't need to worry about premium motherboards.
Vertical GPU mounting is a strict no-no
It's a resounding yes, provided you take some precautions
Mounting your graphics card vertically looks way better than installing it in the conventional horizontal orientation. It allows you to showcase the most important component of your build in all its glory. However, there are some concerns around restricted airflow and higher operating temps when it comes to vertically-mounted GPUs. If you install the graphics card too close to the side panel or the bottom intake fans, there's a real possibility that you'll experience slightly worse temperatures. Also, using an unreliable PCIe riser cable or an incompatible vertical mount can create stress on the riser cable.
That said, these reasons aren't valid enough to avoid vertical GPU mounting altogether. Using the right vertical mount, you can easily push your graphics card away from the side panel. As for blocking the bottom intake fans, especially in the case of GPUs with vapor chambers, you can consider building in a dual-chamber case to get more separation between the card and the bottom fans (thanks to the PSU being in the other chamber). Even if your GPU runs a few degrees hotter in the vertical orientation, it's not the end of the world. The performance won't suffer unless you're hitting the throttling temperature of the card. Even the longevity of your precious GPU won't be affected by a few extra degrees.
Overclock your CPU and GPU for maximum performance
It's unfortunately not true anymore
This aging piece of advice might be less popular than ever, but it still lingers in online forums, with people recommending it to everyone irrespective of their build configuration. Modern CPUs and GPUs don't benefit from overclocking nearly as much as older components did. Manufacturers are already pushing modern hardware to its limits right out of the factory, so the gains from overclocking are getting slimmer and slimmer for the same amount of time and effort. Automated boosting algorithms are enough to extract the most performance out of your CPU and GPU. You don't have to interfere with them by manually overclocking your components.
Besides, undervolting is better than overclocking for the majority of users. It not only allows you to run your CPU or GPU a fair bit cooler, but it does it without really reducing the performance. You might even gain a few FPS by undervolting your hardware, since the additional thermal headroom enables your CPU or GPU to sustain boost clocks for longer. Undervolting has firmly replaced overclocking as the go-to hardware optimization tool on modern PCs. Overclocking isn't extinct yet, but it's been limited to niche circles for a while now.
Get with the times
PC building and optimization tips keep changing with time, and while some things never fundamentally change, they undergo modifications that you need to adapt to. Overused PC performance tips like buying overkill motherboards & PSUs, and overclocking your hardware for maximum performance, are no longer useful for the average PC gamer. It's all about choosing quality components without spending more than necessary, and ignoring performance-boosting tools that aren't relevant anymore.
