How-To

How to Optimize Windows 11 Gaming Performance

By Brian Burgess

Updated November 5, 2022

If you’re getting mediocre gaming performance on Windows 11, you can fix it with some quick settings changes. This guide explains how.

Expecting better gaming performance on Windows 11? You might be surprised to find that your performance (and those important frame rates) suffering.

Often, the cause of slow gaming performance on Windows 11 is when certain security and virtualization settings are enabled. These features include Memory Integrity and the Virtual Machine Platform.

Switching these off can improve gaming performance. Here’s how to turn those features off and optimize Windows 11 gaming performance on your PC.

How to Optimize Windows 11 Gaming Performance

One of the first security features you’ll want to disable includes Memory Integrity in the Windows Security app.

To disable Memory Integrity on Windows 11:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for Windows security and select the top result.
3. When the Windows Security app launches, click the Core isolation details option in the Core Isolation section.
4. Turn off the Memory integrity toggle.
5. Exit the Windows Security app and restart Windows 11.

After the restart process is complete, the Memory Integrity security feature is disabled. You should notice your gaming performance has improved.

How to Disable Virtualization on Windows 11

Another security feature you’ll need to disable for better gaming performance is virtualization. Virtualization is required for tools like running the Windows Subsystem for Linux and Hyper-V for a virtual machine.

To disable virtualization on Windows 11:

1. Press the Windows key and open Settings.
2. Click on Apps from the list on the left and the Optional features option on the right.
3. Under the Optional features tab, scroll down and select More Windows features from the list.
4. Uncheck the Virtual Machine Platform option from the list.
5. Click OK and restart your PC.

Combined with turning off Memory Integrity, your PC should provide you with an enhanced gaming experience.

Improving Gaming on Windows 11

The steps above should help to improve gaming performance. If it doesn’t, you can always go back and turn them back on after a quick gaming session (especially if you need to run a virtual machine).

Of course, other factors will affect gaming performance, like your graphics card (or GPU). For example, ensure it has updated drivers and check your GPU performance. You’ll also need to check your RAM information on Windows 11.

Once you get quality gaming performance, you’ll want to learn how to change the refresh rate on Windows 11. In addition, you can enable Dynamic Refresh Rate if your monitor supports it.

Not on Windows 11 yet? No worries—you can always optimize Windows 10 for gaming.