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Choosing the Best Operating System for Gaming: A UK Guide
March 21, 2025
While many casual players associate gaming with popular consoles like PlayStation and Xbox, a remarkable 48% of the world’s 3.1 billion gamers use a PC as their primary gaming device. Here in the UK, PC gaming has seen tremendous growth, with more British gamers than ever investing in purpose-built gaming PCs to access the latest titles and technologies.
Finding the best operating system (OS) for gaming, with the right specifications like CPU, RAM, and storage, is crucial to the gaming experience. However, UK gamers must also recognize the equal importance of meeting gaming system requirements for modern, resource-intensive games that are increasingly demanding.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to optimise your OS for gaming to achieve the best possible performance. With the right gaming system requirements and settings, you can achieve flawless visuals and an immersive gaming experience that exceeds anything a console can offer.
We’ll also dive into the most critical factors that impact gaming performance, including graphics card compatibility, and walk you through the most common technical issues PC gamers face in the UK. Read on to learn how to purchase and optimise your PC for peak performance.
Best Operating System for Gaming: Key Features
Gaming OS performance largely depends on three factors: hardware, software, and system settings, including gaming mode and graphics card updates. When these components work in harmony and are optimised for gaming, they can produce an exceptional experience that rivals the immersion found in current arcade titles.
Before diving into advanced performance features, check your operating system for basic gaming system requirements, processor compatibility, and graphics card specifications. First, make sure that you’re working on Windows 11. Many gamers still use Windows 10, but companies like Steam are planning to end support for the older operating system. Windows 11 offers superior gaming performance and ensures compatibility with newer games.
Windows 10 doesn’t support DirectX 12 Ultimate or many other crucial optimisation features either, for AMD and NVIDIA graphics card updates.
Next, make sure Windows 11 is updated to the latest version. Newer versions of Windows 11 provide advanced optimisation features like gaming modes and other performance boosters, recommended for high FPS. This will boost frame rates and minimise latency.
You’ll also want to optimise the following other settings on your gaming computer to ensure high performance:
Graphics: Download DirectX 12
This software is essential for running game features smoothly on your gaming computer.
Ultimate for high-performance features like variable rate shading and ray tracing, which provide a more realistic look and feel.
Memory: Ensure your Computer’s Processor and RAM Meet Minimum Game Requirements
- Shut down background processes to prioritise RAM usage for your game.
- Check built-in tools that measure memory consumption and optimise its usage to meet game requirements.
Storage: Choose the Right Drive Type
Gaming PCs with solid state drives (SSDs) provide faster load times and smoother gameplay. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are cheaper, but you will sacrifice performance.
Windows 11 Gaming Mode
Windows 11 Gaming Mode is a cutting-edge command centre that helps you optimise your PC specifically for gaming. It takes the hard work out of manually adjusting CPU and background settings to give you high performance with minimal up-front work.
It automatically optimises system settings and resource allocation for enhanced gaming performance, which is particularly beneficial for UK gamers facing the increasingly demanding requirements of modern titles.
Gaming OS Performance
Optimising your gaming computer for peak gaming OS performance is an ongoing task. One of the first steps in preparing your gaming computer was selecting the appropriate gaming-specific performance features to ensure good gameplay. Make sure your PC meets the recommended system requirements for optimal gameplay. Next, you’ll want to tweak other aspects of your PC’s operating system, including drivers and processor management, to maximise performance, speed, and graphics quality. These options found within standard settings on most PC platforms will improve other multimedia as well, including graphic design, data visualisation, and digital streaming.
System Settings
Disable startup programmes (like Spotify, Apple Music, and other applications you aren’t using while gaming) that automatically launch after booting up your PC. Set your PC’s power settings to High Performance.
These adjustments ensure your gaming computer uses resources efficiently for gaming.
Resource Management
Ensure resource-heavy applications aren’t taking up too many RAM and processor cycles to optimise gameplay.
Background programmes like music players, internet browsers, and office apps can slow down your gaming computer’s performance.
Background Processes
Disable auto-updates that may launch while in-game and slow your gaming computer’s performance. You can also disable wallpaper animations to speed up performance. Ensure update management is consistent by scheduling updates outside of normal gaming hours. If you typically log off by 10 pm, you can set up updates during the middle of the night. This means you can continue gaming without interruptions caused by updates, which is crucial during those late-night gaming sessions that many UK gamers enjoy.
Compatibility Considerations
In addition to optimising your gaming computer’s general and gaming settings, ensure that the following items meet system requirements to be compatible with your gaming OS:
- Hardware
- Drivers
- Accessories
- Display
Ensure your CPU and GPU, including Intel processors and AMD graphics cards, are compatible with modern gaming technology, such as AMD Smart Access Memory. You’ll also want to update, or in some cases upgrade, all of your drivers to ensure performance remains strong, including for NVIDIA and other graphics cards. Pay special attention to the graphics card drivers and drivers for accessories, including your keyboard, mouse, virtual reality headsets, and special gaming controllers.
Finally, optimise your operating system to support high monitor refresh rates or variable refresh rate tech to ensure a stable visual experience.
HP Gaming Solutions
HP is a leading manufacturer of high-performance gaming PCs available to UK customers. Their products are equipped to meet the gaming system requirements needed for high-level games. In particular, the OMEN and Victus lineups are designed for advanced gamers who require peak performance, outstanding graphics, and an ideal gaming experience.
In the OMEN Gaming Hub, users can adjust cooling settings for their system and select from various performance modes based on different game titles.
The Victus by HP 15L TG02-0007na Gaming Desktop - NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 SUPER™ offers an excellent entry point for UK gamers. Get one machine to do it all with this Desktop Gaming PC. Play for real with a powerful AMD processor and impressive graphics. Seamlessly switch over to work or streaming with the latest Windows 11 OS, Bluetooth® connectivity, 9 USB ports, and plenty of storage.
For more serious gamers, the OMEN 25L GT15-1016na Gaming Desktop - NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060 Ti provides exceptional performance. Look good and play even better with this Desktop PC. Experience incredible performance with an Intel® Processor and dazzling graphics. Tailor this PC to your liking with tool-less access to internals and easy upgradability. Your game never looked so good with a cutting-edge modern design and full controllable RGB lighting.
HP’s line of gaming PCs also allows you to adjust specific display settings, like the monitor’s refresh rate, response time, and resolution. For an immersive gaming experience, consider the OMEN 34c (34") WQHD Curved Gaming Monitor, 1ms response / 165Hz refresh. There is no better joy than fully escaping into the game with its ultrawide 1500R curved screen. Quick performance and realistic HDR colour let you get lost in the games you love most, while the sleek design looks, sounds, and feels great on your desk.
Users can monitor system performance in real-time by getting a bird’s-eye view of your gaming computer’s temperature, CPU/GPU use, and RAM status through the OMEN Gaming Hub.
Troubleshooting
Even high-end gaming PCs can have problems. This can be especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of playing new games and your device fails—kicking you out of the lobby and forcing you to troubleshoot. We’ve gathered the most common gaming computer problems—and their fixes—here to help you fix issues and resume playing.
Game Crashes or Stutters
To fix this issue, access settings to update your PC drivers and monitor your system resources to disable background apps with high resource demands.
Game Won’t Launch
When a game won’t launch at all on your PC, it’s normally due to outdated components or missing files. Ensure your system meets the minimum requirements outlined by the game developers. First, try to delete and then re-download the game. If it starts working normally, it likely happens because of missing files. This means that hardware compatibility is crucial for game operation. If it still fails to load, check your components against the game designer’s hardware recommendations to see where your device falls short.
Poor Connectivity
Good connectivity is vital for multiplayer gaming stability. For decades gamers have spoken about the infamous “lag” and its impact on gaming performance. This is usually a network problem, causing issues with gameplay. So, check your wired connection or router to make sure they’re working properly. Update your router, ensure drivers are up to expected specifications, and check online to see if there’s an issue with your Internet Service Provider.
Poor Graphics
Often visible as glitches, “visual artifacts,” and screen tearing, the issue normally takes the form of visual anomalies during gameplay. The most common causes are outdated GPU drivers, overheating, or malfunctioning hardware. Update your graphics card drivers, clean out your fan and vents, and tweak the V-Sync settings in your in-game menu to resolve this issue. This means ensuring your equipment is free of dust and running efficiently.
Overheating
Overheating is a common problem, which can lead to major issues like poor performance, crashing, or even component damage. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution available. Open your PC case and fans to remove dust buildup and you’ll be back in the game in no time.
Blue Screen of Death
The Blue Screen of Death is an infamous PC failure that’s normally caused by hardware failures or driver issues. The blue screen should display an error code—which will point you to the source of the problem.
Enhance your Gaming Setup
To elevate your UK gaming setup further, consider adding high-quality peripherals. The HP 430 Multi-Device Wireless Mouse offers versatility and customization. Work seamlessly with this mouse that connects with up to two devices and moves content across operating systems. Enjoy the freedom to work on most surfaces with Multi-Surface Sensor technology.
For immersive sound, pair your setup with high-quality headphones that will help you detect even the subtlest audio cues in your favourite games, providing that competitive edge when playing popular titles.
Conclusion
Optimising your PC for the best operating system for gaming is just as important as purchasing the right device. Choosing the best OS for gaming involves balancing processing power, system requirements, and user preferences. When you optimise your operating system to run high-resolution, memory-intensive modern games, you gain access to better gameplay, smoother graphics, faster load times, and a better overall playing experience.
To optimise your operating system for gaming, it’s important to first update your operating system and drivers to the latest version. These updates improve gameplay and fix bugs already found in early versions. You’ll also want to optimise system settings to get the best performance from your PC.
- Update the Operating System
- Update PC Drivers
- Enable Gaming and/or High-Performance Mode
- Monitor System Resources for Usage Spikes
- Close Unnecessary Apps and Disable Apps on Startup
- Regularly Update and Clean Your PC
For UK gamers looking to upgrade their setup, HP offers excellent gaming solutions like the OMEN by HP 45L GT22-1015na Gaming PC. Built for extreme performance, this desktop PC is designed for gaming from the ground up. Powered by the latest AMD Processor, it takes cooling to incredible heights with a unique cooling chamber and is created for easy tool-less upgradeability with industry standard components to meet your gaming needs.
By following these guidelines and selecting the right hardware and software combinations, UK gamers can experience the very best that PC gaming has to offer, with performance that far exceeds traditional gaming consoles.
Check out HP’s full range of Gaming HP Desktop Computers to find the perfect system for your needs, or explore Gaming HP Laptops if you prefer a more portable gaming solution.
