Here’s a list of five essential programs for a gaming PC, ranked in no particular order. The download links will be provided and all of the programs are free and open-source. Hopefully, programs will help your PC be much more accessible and improve your overall experience with it.
7zip is an essential tool for any PC
This app is completely free and it’s used to unpack compressed files and repack files to make them smaller in size.
Download it here: https://www.7-zip.org/
If you’re looking for an alternative to 7zip, I suggest WinRAR. It will say that you need to pay for a license and that it will expire in a month, but the free trial can actually be used indefinitely.
https://www.win-rar.com/download.html?&L=0
CCleaner will clean your PC and improve performance
What CCleaner does is clean your PC of any junk files and unused registry entries. There are also built-in programs for uninstalling unwanted programs and updating them, making it essential for a PC that runs a lot of apps or games.
Download it here: https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download
The free version is more than enough, so don’t bother buying enhanced versions.
GeForce Experience is an essential program for Nvidia users
GeForce Experience can be used to optimize all your games, and easily update graphics drivers. You can also record gameplay with the Shadowplay feature. However, it can be somewhat taxing in performance for some PCs.
Download: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/geforce-experience/download/
Notepad ++. Notepad, but way better.
The title says it all. This is a better version of Notepad. This will help edit INI files and create HTML documents much easier.
Download: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/
MSI Afterburner. The best overclocking tool.
MSI Afterburner will display the in-game FPS, individual temperatures of the CPU and GPU, the RAM usage, the power usage and much more. This can also be used to safely overclock your GPU. Despite the name being MSI, this program can be used with any GPU.
Download: https://www.msi.com/Landing/afterburner/graphics-cards
Steam, the most popular PC game distributor
I reckon that no introduction is necessary for Steam, and many of you might already have it. It’s a hobby of many gamers to collect games and create wonderful libraries, customise their profiles according to their tastes, and level up their account. Really, Steam is a fantastic platform for any and all PC gamers.
Epic Games Launcher
Epic Games Launcher is probably the second most popular digital video game distributor out there. While some gamers strictly prefer Steam as their platform to collect and play games, Epic Games gifts players certain games every single week. I personally have received many; BioShock franchise, Alan Wake and Control to name a few. Free stuff are always good, so be sure to download Epic Games Launcher and check every week for a new, free game.
