What is PC Optimization? Simple Guide for 2026

Quick Answers

Common questions answered at a glance

What is PC optimization?

PC optimization is the process of removing bloat, disabling features you don't need, and configuring your settings to optimize your performance. Optimization is a three-part solution that includes: speed (improved FPS, reduced input lag); stability (faster startup, less crashing); and privacy (reduced tracking of your activities by Windows). The key is good optimization provides a clear explanation for every change made, in plain language (no mystery, no guessing).

Why is my PC slow?

Bloatware, background processes, telemetry, resource competition. Bloatware is Windows installing apps you never asked for — such as Candy Crush, Copilot, Xbox Game Bar — and these apps consume 100-300MB of RAM even if you're not actively using them. Additionally, Windows tracks your location, typing patterns, and which apps you use and for how long, and sends this information back to Microsoft using your processor and bandwidth.

Is PC optimization safe?

How much faster will my PC be?

Do I need technical knowledge?

You purchase a brand new PC that is super fast. 6-12 months later it is slow, and your startup times are longer than usual, and your games seem to stutter, and everything feels slower and more laborious than it did.

The answer is much simpler than you might expect

Your Windows install has added extra baggage over time — apps you have not requested, background processes consuming your resources, and tracking features silently transmitting your personal data to Microsoft. This extra baggage consumes the resources that you would like to allocate towards doing the things you actually want to do.

IQON's automatic optimizations can help resolve many of these issues with one click.

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Removing the extra baggage

The concept of PC optimization involves removing the extra baggage associated with your PC. Removing features you don't need, cleaning up clutter, and configuring your settings to ensure that your PC is operating the way it was intended to operate — faster, smoother, and more privately.

The three things that this guide covers

There are three aspects that this guide will focus on:• Why your PC becomes slow (it's not your fault).• What optimization really does in plain language (no jargon, no assumptions).• What realistic results look like (no hype).

Why PCs become sluggish over time

You buy a new PC and it's fast. 6 months later it's sluggish. There are four reasons for this, and not one of them is your fault.Bloatware. Windows comes installed with apps you didn't ask for. Candy Crush, Xbox Game Bar, Copilot, Microsoft News — they're all pre-installed, and most run background processes, even when you never open them. Collectively, they consume 100-300MB of RAM and take up 500MB-2GB of disk space. That's RAM your games could be using, and disk space your system needs for updates.Telemetry. Windows tracks your location, your typing patterns, which apps you use, and for how long you use them — and then sends it all back to Microsoft. Plainly speaking — Windows is constantly sending your data in the background, using your processor and internet bandwidth. Telemetry isn't evil — it's how Microsoft tries to make Windows better — but you should know it's going on, and you should be able to shut it off.Resource competition. Your PC has a set amount of processor power, RAM, and disk speed. Every background app is competing for those same resources. To put it simply — your game needs 3 lanes to run smoothly, but dozens of other cars are taking up space. If your game wants to use 8GB of RAM, but Windows is already using 4GB for background apps, the result is stuttering, FPS drops, and noticeably longer input lag.Clutter build up. Temp files from apps that have crashed, cached browser data, old Windows updates that never got cleaned up, leftover files from programs you uninstalled 6 months ago... none of it is toxic, but on average a typical system accumulates 500MB-2GB of junk files per year. Cluttered disk space slows down disk access and makes everything feel like it's weighed down.

What PC optimization really does

Optimization addresses the three areas where you'll feel the biggest difference.

Speed

Most gamers notice it first. Optimization disables background processes competing with your games, configures power settings for max performance, and enables hardware features that improve frame rendering. Budget PC users tend to see 15-35% better FPS. Mid-range systems see steady frame pacing and fewer stutters. High-end systems see smaller gains, but in competitive games where every millisecond matters, the gains are still visible.Average improvement: 15-35% better FPS, 3-7ms lower input lag. Read more about our gaming performance guides.

Stability

Who likes waiting 2 minutes for their computer to boot? Who doesn't like having apps freeze because too many programs launched at startup? Optimization manages which apps launch at boot, configures power plans so your Processor isn't throttling, and turns off unnecessary Windows services running in the background. The result is a faster startup time, more responsive system, and less random slowing down.Average improvement: 200-400MB free RAM. Check out our system & power optimization guides.

Privacy

This is the part most people don't know about. Windows collects a surprising amount of data by default. Optimization turns off features you don't need to track your activities, removes bloatware that eats resources, clears out accumulated junk files, and protects your login information for Steam, Discord, and games from being exposed on public networks.Average improvement: 500MB-2GB disk space recovered, 100-300MB RAM freed. Visit our cleanup & privacy guides.

Why do we create guides?

IQON started as a PC optimization tool. After awhile, we noticed something — the people who needed help the most were being ignored by most existing resources. Students, casual gamers, parents — people who wanted their laptops to stop being slow. They would go looking for answers, only to hit a wall of jargon.Therefore, we started creating guides. Guides that don't just rank well in search engines through keyword stuffing, but actually answer questions in terms that regular people can understand. Every topic we cover here is something you can do yourself, for free, using nothing more than your PC and a few minutes of time.We believe you deserve to understand how your computer is changing, regardless of whether or not you use our app. That's why we created this website.