What should you check first on a new PC?
Check that the parts run the way they were sold, before you install games and forget about it. A new PC that starts and shows Windows can still be leaving speed on the table: memory running at its slow default, the graphics card in the wrong slot, a device with no driver, a cooler that was not seated well. None of these show an error. They only show when you look for them.
- Memory profile (XMP or EXPO) is on
- Every device has a driver
- The BIOS settings that affect speed are set
- The PC stays cool and stable under full load
- Fans and lighting behave the way you want
Is the memory profile switched on?
This is the setting most often left off, and the one with the biggest effect for no money. Memory is sold with a speed on the box, but a motherboard runs it at a slower standard speed until the profile is switched on in the BIOS. The profile is called XMP on Intel boards and EXPO or DOCP on AMD boards. To check without opening the BIOS, compare the speed the memory runs at with the speed it is rated for. While you are there, look at the slots: two sticks belong in the second and fourth slot from the processor on most boards.
Are all the drivers installed?
Windows installs most drivers by itself, but on a fresh build a few devices are often left without one, and they sit in Device Manager with a warning sign that nobody opens. Install the chipset, network and audio drivers that Windows Update offers, and take the graphics driver from the maker of the card, because NVIDIA, AMD and Intel publish newer ones on their own sites first. Stay away from programs that promise to update every driver from the internet: a driver from an unknown source is a good way to break a working PC.
Which BIOS settings are worth a look?
Four, besides the memory profile. You do not have to hunt through the BIOS to find out how they are set, because each of them can be read from inside Windows.
- Resizable BAR: recent graphics cards are faster in many games with it. It needs "Above 4G Decoding" on and CSM off.
- The graphics card's slot: the card should run on all of its lanes. In the wrong slot, or with lanes shared with an M.2 drive, it runs on half.
- Secure Boot: it does not change speed, but Windows 11 and the anti-cheat of some games ask for it.
- BIOS version: an old one can hold back memory compatibility and processor behaviour. Update only from the board maker's own page.
Does it stay cool and stable under load?
Run the processor, the memory and the graphics card at full load for a while and watch the temperatures. A healthy PC settles at a steady temperature and gives no errors. Temperatures that keep climbing point to a cooler that is not seated properly, a forgotten protective film, missing thermal paste, or a case with no airflow. Calculation errors point to unstable memory or an overclock that does not hold. Fifteen minutes catches the gross problems; an hour gives more confidence. A check that stops by itself when a part gets too hot is the safe way to do this.
What about fans and lighting?
Leave them for last, because they are about comfort, not about whether the PC works. Fans on automatic control are safe; a quieter curve is fine as long as the temperatures from the load test stay reasonable. Lighting usually ships as a rainbow on every part, each with its own program. One program that sets all of them at once saves installing four.
Can one program do the whole list?
Yes. Configurator for Windows is our free app, and it covers each step above: it reads the parts and checks the memory profile, lists devices without a driver and installs what Microsoft offers for them, reads the BIOS settings that show from inside Windows, runs the load test with a temperature cut-off, and sets fans and lighting. It also measures real FPS in games. It is in beta and the installer is not signed yet, so Windows may warn that it does not know the publisher.