How to optimize Windows 11 for gaming?

Admin

Windows 11 ships with many settings that are not optimized for gaming by default. Background processes, unnecessary animations, Xbox Game Bar always running, balanced power plan: all these settings eat into your FPS and increase your latency. Here is how to configure Windows 11 to get the most out of your hardware in-game.

1. Enable Windows Game Mode

Windows 11's Game Mode prioritises CPU and GPU resources for the active game and disables certain background tasks like Windows Update during gaming sessions.

• Go to Settings → Gaming → Game Mode
• Enable Game Mode

Good to know: Game Mode also disables screenshot and recording notifications. If you use third-party capture software, this will have no negative impact on your recordings.

2. Disable Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar is a permanently active overlay that consumes CPU and RAM resources even when you are not using it. To disable it:

• Go to Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar
• Disable "Open Xbox Game Bar using this button on a controller"
• Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps, search for "Xbox Game Bar" and uninstall it if possible
• Also disable automatic captures in Settings → Gaming → Captures

3. Choose the right power plan

The default balanced power plan limits CPU performance to save energy. In gaming, this can cause micro-stutters and latency spikes.

• Go to Control Panel → Power Options
• Select High performance or, better still, Ultimate Performance
• If you have a desktop PC and want the best absolute performance, enable the Ultimate Performance plan via PowerShell: powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

Good to know: on a laptop, the Ultimate Performance plan is not recommended on battery — it significantly increases power consumption and heat output. Use it only when plugged into mains power.

4. Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)

HAGS (Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling) allows the GPU to manage its own VRAM memory, reducing latency between the CPU and GPU. It is compatible with NVIDIA RTX 2000+ and AMD RX 5000+ GPUs.

• Go to Settings → System → Display → Graphics → Change default graphics settings
• Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling
• Restart your PC

5. Configure NVIDIA Reflex or AMD Anti-Lag low latency mode

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, enable NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency in the graphics options of compatible games (Valorant, Fortnite, Apex Legends, CS2…). This technology significantly reduces system latency.

For AMD cards, enable AMD Anti-Lag 2 from the Radeon Software panel in compatible games.

6. Disable unnecessary startup applications

Every application that launches at startup consumes RAM and CPU that could be allocated to your game.

• Right-click the taskbar → Task Manager
• Go to the Startup apps tab
• Disable all non-essential applications: Discord, Spotify, OneDrive, Teams, Adobe Update…
• Keep only drivers (NVIDIA, AMD, Realtek) and your antivirus

7. Disable Windows visual effects

Windows 11 animations and visual effects consume GPU and CPU resources unnecessarily.

• Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl and confirm
• Go to the Advanced → Performance → Settings tab
• Select Adjust for best performance
• Or manually uncheck unnecessary animations while keeping "Smooth edges of screen fonts" for visual comfort

8. Configure exclusive fullscreen mode

Exclusive fullscreen mode (FSE) offers the lowest latency because the game takes full control of the GPU and bypasses Windows' Desktop Window Manager (DWM) compositor. Always prefer this mode over "borderless windowed mode" when possible in your games' graphics options.

9. Update and configure GPU drivers

• Keep your GPU drivers up to date via NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin
• In the NVIDIA panel, set the power management mode to "Prefer maximum performance"
• Disable V-Sync in the NVIDIA/AMD control panel — manage synchronisation directly in the game or via G-Sync/FreeSync if your monitor supports it

Good to know: all these optimisations can deliver an additional 10 to 20% FPS gain and a significant reduction in system latency (input lag) depending on your configuration. The biggest gains typically come from the power plan, disabling startup applications and HAGS. None of these settings require third-party software — everything is done directly in Windows 11.