The PC Doctor's Fix-it-Yourself Guide- P38: A technical director for a UK-based computer company who teaches such courses as Caring for Your PC has developed prescriptions for treating sick PCs. Arguing the benefits of fixing it yourself rather than relying on experts, his mission is to empower users with trouble- shooting and safe repair skills. | CHAPTER 18 Improving Performance and Stability 369 absolute minimum and never buy a game on the off chance that it will work on a lower-specification system. PC DOCTOR S ORDER Check the specifications carefully. If you buy the wrong game or software you may not be entitled to your money back. 2. Overall system quality that is the quality of the parts used. Lower-quality components especially graphics adapters and sound cards will result in poorer performance and stability. FIX-IT-YOURSELF HOME REMEDY Remember that you ultimately get what you pay for. A low-cost graphics adapter might well be false economy when you have to replace it because of system performance. 3. Drivers for the hardware any game requires input from you and the quality of the hardware especially the hardware for the drivers is of the utmost importance. In a lot of ways this again boils down to quality. The better the quality of the hardware the better the drivers will be and the faster the manufacturer will respond to any problems by bringing out new drivers to solve them. 4. Other installed running software conflicts between software aren t uncommon. The less you have running at any one time the better things will be. Another advantage to this is that the less you have running the more system resources you ll have available. Signs of Problems with Games Fire up a game and start playing. If it works fine great If not here are some common symptoms along with step-by-step solutions. If the game hangs during load-up and you get a black screen try these steps 1. Check system requirements. 2. Check the game distributor s website for updates or patches to the game. Many games are released and then subsequently refined based on user feedback. 370 The PC Doctor s Fix-It-Yourself Guide 3. Check for updated drivers for the graphics adapter. 4. Check for updated sound card drivers. If the game hangs during load-up or play and the audio stutters or repeats 1. Check for an updated driver for the sound card.
