Frame-Time Graphs Reveal Problems an Average FPS Number Misses

A game can report an excellent average FPS and still feel noticeably uneven. This is one of the more confusing performance situations because the number most players watch appears to say everything is fine. A counter showing 120 FPS, for example, sounds like the game should be running smoothly, yet the image may occasionally hitch, … Read more

A Gaming Headset Works in Windows but Not Inside the Game

A headset that works perfectly in Windows but produces no sound inside a particular game can be surprisingly confusing. You may hear music from your browser, Windows notification sounds, or audio from another application, yet the game remains completely silent. In some cases, game audio works but the microphone does not. In others, the headset … Read more

USB Connection Problems That Look Like Controller Failures

A gaming controller can suddenly stop responding, disconnect during a match, or behave as though one of its buttons has failed. The natural reaction is to suspect the controller itself, especially when the problem appears repeatedly. But USB problems can produce remarkably similar symptoms. A controller may be perfectly healthy while the connection between it … Read more

A Practical Way to Separate CPU Limits From GPU Limits

When a game starts running poorly, it is tempting to look at the GPU usage percentage, see that it is below 100%, and immediately decide that the processor must be the problem. The opposite mistake happens just as often: the graphics card reaches very high utilization, so the player assumes every performance issue is automatically … Read more