Budget Gaming PC Build Recommendations Needed

@Arsalan Baig arsalan Baig, I get what you mean about worrying if those update apps might slow down gaming or streaming. I had a similar concern when I first started using a GPU driver updater that ran constantly in the background.

What I ended up doing was setting it to manual update mode instead of automatic, so it only checks for updates when I open it.

that way, I keep control and avoid surprise slowdowns during gameplay. It helped me avoid random stutters that I later traced back to background processes.

If you want to keep the convenience but avoid performance hits, try looking for that option in the app settings. also, sometimes just closing the updater after it finishes checking can help.

some apps don’t fully quit unless you explicitly exit them from the system tray. It took me a while to figure that one out.

If you want a quick way to see if something’s eating CPU or RAM during gaming, Task Manager’s performance tab is handy for spotting those sneaky background tasks.

@Samuel Hill Thanks for the tips on setting the updater to manual mode. I did not realize some apps just keep running in the background like that without fully quitting.

Is it tricky to find the setting that turns off automatic updates, or is it usually pretty obvious? Also, if you leave it off manual mode, do you have to remember to check for updates regularly yourself? I am worried I might forget and miss important driver improvements.

@Samuel Hill samuel Hill, I do not think it is always that simple to just switch to manual updates and avoid background slowdowns. Some updater apps are designed to run services or scheduled tasks that kick in even if you set them to manual mode, so you might still get some CPU or disk usage without realizing it.

Also, I have noticed that certain GPU updaters do not always notify you properly when updates are available if you turn off automatic checks, which can lead to missing important driver fixes that improve performance or stability.

it is worth checking if the updater has an option to completely disable background services or if you need to use Windows’ Task Scheduler or Services panel to stop those tasks manually.

Otherwise, you might end up with the updater running quietly anyway, which defeats the purpose of switching to manual. I found some decent tips on this in this thread that helped me spot hidden background processes causing issues.

@Samuel Hill thanks for the tip about setting the updater to manual check. that sounds like it could help with performance issues for sure. i am just wondering though, when you do it that way, do you ever forget to check for updates?

Like, how often do you think is safe to check manually without missing important fixes or improvements? Also, do you have any suggestions for a specific updater app that is easy to control like that? I am a bit worried some might not have clear options for manual updates.