Baldur’s Gate 3: Setup Your PC for Gaming for Beginners

If you are not already using a Professional Edition of Windows, I suggest contemplating the purchase. Although, at first glance, the disparities between Windows versions may not appear substantial enough to validate the supplementary cost, over the long term, these distinctions will prove to be significant. They can shield you from the vexations arising from compatibility issues brought about by restricted access to certain Windows features. 

Please ensure that you obtain your licence legally, preferably in the OEM format, and never opt for volume licensing. It is imperative to procure it from a reputable and trusted source. Personally, I am acquiring mine from a registered store in Germany, operating under the auspices of European law, and it comes highly recommended by well-regarded regional and international gaming publications.

Opting to upgrade from the Windows Home version to the Windows Professional edition without having to format your PC and apply a fresh Windows installation is indeed a viable choice. However, for gamers, a fresh installation is the preferred route to eliminate any constricting leftover settings and outdated files that might lead to compatibility issues. When doing a fresh installation, it is crucial to exclusively utilise the most current ISO files provided by Microsoft to avoid update-related complications. 

Moreover, it is prudent to prevent certain “features” from automatic activation, as this can avert unnecessary performance degradation. Consider, for instance, Windows’ BitLocker feature, which has the potential to reduce SSD performance by up to 50%. The necessity of requiring a Microsoft account is debatable, and the data collection practices of Windows are often viewed as undesirable. To attain an optimally configured Windows environment, I recommend utilising tools such as Rufus. This utility tool helps you with the creation of a bootable installation medium that addresses the aforementioned issues.

During the Windows 11 installation, select the version for Windows 11 Pro for Workstations.

 

Unfortunately, Microsoft consistently forces its users towards the latest iteration of Windows, without regard for whether the newer version works better or worse with our objectives. The postponement of this upgrade is only viable for a limited duration, as you eventually reach a point where the system requirements of new games necessitate a more recent Windows version.

Presently, the pivotal question pertains to whether Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro holds the upper hand for gaming. The answer is that both exhibit their respective merits and demerits at this time. Windows 11 excels in terms of efficiency and stability when compared with Windows 10, summarising both advantages and disadvantages in that sentence. Furthermore, Windows 11 caters to a more user-friendly experience by default, with a multitude of user-centric features enabled, making it somewhat more challenging for advanced users to acclimatize compared to casual users.

An apt analogy would be the transition from a manual gear-shift car to an automatic one. Advanced users will find themselves compelled to tinker more with various settings to extract the utmost from Windows 11, while the majority of users will discover that it simplifies and enhances their experience.

I encourage the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for advanced users. The sooner you adapt, the earlier you can reap the benefits of heightened system stability and novel features. An upgrade is inevitable; it is merely a matter of timing.

The contemporary dilemma, wherein a mere PC shutdown proves ineffective, thereby rendering the IT quip “have you tried turning it off and on again?” devoid of significance, traces its origins to the advent of ReadyBoost technology with Windows Vista. This feature, devised to expedite PC boot times by preserving work files in a dormant state during shutdown rather than purging the entire cache, has led to a conundrum. 

In an office setting, this mechanism appears somewhat incongruous and is often the root cause of numerous predicaments for novice gamers. It is the primary culprit behind the frequent service disruptions. Hence, I wholeheartedly recommend that you deactivate this feature for your own convenience.

Go to Control Panel and there for Power Options
(you can type “Control Panel” into your Windows Explorer address bar; it might differ depending on your OS language)

Select Choose what the power buttons do

Select Change settings that are currently unavailable and then disable the option for Turn on fast start-up

I strongly advise the regular rebooting of your PC, especially when transitioning between resource-intensive applications. This practice can prove to be highly beneficial for the casual gamer, as it serves as an effective means to enhance the long-term stability of your system.

Go to Settings and there select the System category, then go to Advanced system settings 

In the subsection Performance Options we go for the Advanced tab and select change for the Virtual Memory

As you can see in this example, it is pretty low. I recommend a size of at least 8 GB

Furthermore, you have the option to configure Windows’ visual effects for optimal performance, diminishing extraneous animation effects to enhance system performance. The impact of this adjustment is notably more pronounced on low-performance PCs compared to high-performance systems.

This option has to be setup in your graphics card software’s control panel 

Set to 10 GB minimum (in this image it shows the Nvidia Control Panel for Nvidia graphics cards)

If you are not utilising Microsoft OneDrive, it is advisable to uninstall it. This particular application is known to cause problems with various games, as it mirrors the Windows’ Documents folder within its environment. Furthermore, since it operates as an autorun application per default, it consumes system resources that can adversely impact a game’s performance. 

By employing RevoUninstaller for the removal of OneDrive, you can be assured that the Advanced Scan following the uninstallation will effectively eliminate any residual files and registry entries.

It is essential to ensure that only the apps you genuinely require are set to autorun. Otherwise, you might find yourself burdened with numerous background applications, some of which you may not even be aware of, each exerting an influence on your PC’s overall performance. 

Preventing Windows from data collection and transmission helps with the PC’s performance. 

A registry cleaner, such as CCleaner, is a valuable tool for eradicating lingering registry entries. This cleansing process can make a substantial contribution to the rejuvenation of your PC’s performance. I recommend using such a tool regularly, not solely following a fresh Windows installation. 

Not only good for Baldur’s Gate 3, but many games and applications can benefit from this.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3031161135 

Changing DNS is a tip you must not miss.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3028158704 

A straightforward registry entry does the job, and it will not impact your PC in any other way. I employ SharpKeys to keep the process uncomplicated and user-friendly. 

Efforts to entirely eradicate Microsoft Edge prove futile, for its functionalities are intricately woven into the very fabric of the Windows operating system. Nonetheless, should you choose to employ an alternative browser in lieu of Microsoft Edge, it is prudent to deactivate its Startup Boost feature. This action will facilitate the release of system resources that would otherwise be assigned to the application, lying dormant and unused. 

As previously noted, Windows 11 is considerably more user-friendly than Windows 10, although this may not necessarily be an improvement for experts. Certain new features have, in my case, detracted from the overall user experience. Therefore, I recommend utilising the apps Start11 and Winaero Tweaker to reconfigure some of Windows 11’s novel features, restoring them to the familiarity and functionality found in Windows 10. 

I primarily employ Start11, which is also accessible as a Steam version, to reinstate the aesthetics and functionality of the taskbar, while still harnessing the advantages of Windows 11 features.

Start11 even permits the use of older start menu designs.

Currently, Winaero Tweaker is indispensable for me as it allows me to reinstate the previous context menu.

To achieve optimal performance and stability when playing games on Windows 10 and Windows 11, it is imperative to disable the optimizations intended for both fullscreen and windowed game modes. Additionally, it is advisable to exclusively employ games in windowed screen mode with the app Borderless Gaming, as opposed to opting for either fullscreen or borderless windowed screen configurations. 

It is worth noting that Microsoft views fullscreen mode as a legacy feature, and its relevance for gaming in future Windows iterations is expected to diminish.

Borderless Gaming is available for free and also as a paid Steam version.

With 32 gigabytes of RAM or more at your disposal, it is certainly worthwhile to contemplate the utilization of a RAMDisk for TEMP folders. Applications configured to harness the capabilities of a RAMDisk can substantially enhance their performance. For Baldur’s Gate 3, it is especially advantageous to establish junctions, directing the LevelCache to reside on the RAMDisk. 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3028167094
RAMDisk not only capitalizes on the swiftest memory hardware within your PC but also guarantees that upon each PC restart, your temporary files on the RAMDisk are effortlessly eradicated, leaving no trace behind. This feature facilitates a multitude of advanced applications.