Game On: Is Windows 11 Good for Gaming?

Since Windows 11 was released, it has gained a lot of fans, including many gamers, with its new designs and features. But, many gamers have doubts, and they are still waiting to make sure whether Windows 11 can meet their gaming needs and provide them with a better gaming experience. Also, they want to know which Windows version (Windows 11 or Windows 10) is better for gaming.

If you have the same questions, such as Is Windows 11 good for gaming, read the following content to find out more.

What Are the Windows 11’s Gaming Features?

Windows 11 has brought various new performance improvements such as sleep state recovery, memory management, browser caching, and disk footprint. Besides these, the features that attract gamers’ attention are DirectStorage, Auto HDR, and Game Pass.

• Auto HDR: HDR or High Dynamic Range Imaging is a feature for gaming that is automatically enabled in games that support HDR. While this feature gives you a better gaming experience, it surges the CPU and graphics card burden and causes a reduction in the game frame rate to a certain extent. The Auto HDR feature is not suitable for every user, especially those with low computer configurations.
• Game Pass: Windows 11 has a built-in feature which is called Xbox Game Pass. It provides users with more games for cheaper, but it is only available for console gamers. So, it does not make much difference for you if you are an MMO gamer.
• DirectStorage: DirectStorage can boost the speed of game loading and texture loading by bypassing the CPU, but it needs an NVMe SSD. While DirectStorage is not suitable for gamers with lower PC configurations, it works best for gamers with higher PC configurations.

The Difference Between the Gaming Performance of Windows 11 and Windows 10

“If you are a gamer, Windows 11 is for you” said the Microsoft community. Despite this, the comparison made between Windows 11 and Windows 10 represented that Windows 11 is not as suitable for gaming as Microsoft advertised.

Here are the results of the comparison between the performance of Windows 11 and Windows 10 in gaming.

• High-end configuration: A high-end configuration PC is above the mid-range configuration and under the CPU (Intel Core i7 11700K, or AMD Ryzen R9-5900X), graphics card (GTX 3080 or RX 6800XT), and memory (32GB DDR4-3600). These configurations provide you with a better gaming experience on Windows 11.
• Mid-range configuration: A mid-range configuration PC is above the entry-level configuration and under the CPU (Intel Core i5 11600 or AMD Ryzen R5-5600X), graphics card (GTX 3060 or RX 5700XT), and memory (16GB DDR4-3200). This PC’s gaming performance on Windows 11 is roughly similar to that on Windows 10. Therefore, it is recommended not to upgrade to Windows 11 for now.
• Entry-level configuration: An entry-level configuration PC is under the CPU (Intel Core i5 10400F or R5-3600), graphics card (GTX 1650 or RX 5500XT), and memory (8GB DDR4-2400). Therefore, these kinds of PCs are better not to be upgraded to Windows 11 since they may reduce your gaming performance.

In case you use an AMD Ryzen CPU, it is recommended not to upgrade to Windows 11 for now. Because it has a significant delay on the L3 cache of Ryzen CPUs in Windows 11, this may cause a reduction of 5% to 15% in the actual gaming performance.

How can I Make Windows 11 Run Better for Gamers?

If you are certain about upgrading to Windows 11, we recommend you follow the methods below to optimize Windows 11 for superior gaming performance.

Method One: Eliminate the Enhanced Pointer Precision feature

If you are a laptop user, enable the Enhanced pointer precision feature in Windows 11 to make the trackpad more usable. If you are a computer user, it is better to disable the Enhanced pointer precision feature in Windows 11 to have a better gaming experience.

1. Hold the Window + S hotkey to open the search box.
2. Type mouse settings in the Windows search bar and select the first result.
3. Click on the Additional mouse options link.
4. Once the Mouse Properties window pops up, head to the Pointer Options tab.
5. Uncheck the Enhance pointer precision option under the Motion section.

Method Two: Turn the Game Mode on

Before Windows 11, game mode used to be a feature that could bring adverse effects to your PC, like input delays. But, Microsoft started to work on the game mode and could make it better in Windows 11.

Game mode keeps any distractions away from you. For instance, automatic pop-up notifications, drivers, and updates will be averted by this feature.

The game mode feature is usually enabled by default. But, if you want to ensure whether it is enabled, follow the steps below:

1. Hold the Window + S hotkey to open the search box.
2. Type game mode in the Windows search bar and select the first result.
3. Now, the game mode settings window pops up.
4. Make sure that the Game Mode option is on.

Method Three: Disable the Record What Happened Option

AMD or Nvidia graphics cards can record your activities while gaming. Therefore, you will need to switch off the features that are akin to the Windows 11 features, so you will prevent conflicts and a reduction in the game performance. To do so, walk through the steps below:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the Gaming section.
4. Select the Capture option from the left-side pane.
5. Switch off the Record what happened option under the Recording preferences section.

Method Four: Disable Unneeded Apps in Task Manager

Over time, while you install various apps on your system, they will continually be added to the apps that launch at startup. This action will lower the speed of your startup and also affect the actual gaming experience. To solve this problem, you will need to disable unneeded apps in the boot. To do so, use the steps below:

1. Open Task Manager by holding ESC + Shift + Ctrl hotkey.
2. Go to the Startup tab.
3. Right-click on any unnecessary app.
4. Select the Disable option from the menu.
5. Restart your PC.

Method Five: Change the Power Plan

When you are using your PC, change the power plan. This action will enhance your gaming performance while your PC is not connected to a power source. To do so, walk through the steps below:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Head to the Hardware and Sound section.
3. Click on Power Options.
4. Select the suitable power plan for your device under the preferred plans section. It is recommended to choose the Balanced option.

Method Six: Change the Priority of GPU for Particular Apps

Changing the GPU priority is meaningless in computers with one graphics card. But, if you are using a laptop with two graphics cards, changing the GPU priority will have a noticeable effect on your gaming performance. To do that, use the following steps:

1.Go to the Start menu.

2.Open Settings.

3.Go to the System settings.

4.Select the Display option from the left-side pane.

5.Choose the Graphics option.

6.Here, select the apps that you desire to change the GPU options for.

7.Then, hit the Options button.

8.Once the Graphics performance window pops up, select the High performance option.

9.Hit the Save button.

Method Seven: Disable VBS

There is a new feature in Windows 10 and later called VBS or Virtualization-based security. This feature boosts your system security via virtualizing software and hardware to create an isolated subsystem that averts the damage caused by malware on your PC. But, this feature is not useful for gamers since it affects their gaming performance by dwindling the average frame rate of games by 28% and more. Therefore, it is recommended to disable the VBS feature.

To check whether VBS is disabled on Windows 11, follow the steps below:

1.Open the search box by holding the Windows + S hotkey.

2.Type System Information in the Windows search box.

3.Select the System Summary option from the left-side pane.

4.Find virtualization-based security to check whether VBS is disabled.

5.There are some specific states in front of virtualization-based security option. Not enabled means you do not need to disable it. Enabled means you need to disable VBS.

There are two methods to disable VBS:

Disable VBS Via Windows Settings

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to the Privacy & Security section.
4. Select the Windows Security option.
5. In the pop-up window, select the Device security option.
6. Under the core isolation, hit the Core isolation details button.
7. Once the new window pops up, turn off the Memory integrity option.
8. Restart your PC.

Disable VBS Via Registry Editor

1. Open the Run dialog box by holding Windows + R hotkey.
2. Type regedit and hit the OK button.
3. Head to the following address: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard
4. Double-click EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity.
5. Change the Value data to 0.
6. Hit the OK button.

Backup your device for a better gaming experience

For a better gaming experience, we recommend you make a backup of your system before upgrading to Windows 11. In case you are not satisfied with the gaming experience on Windows 11, you can use your previous system backup file to restore to Windows 10 and have the best gaming experience.

There is an app called AOMEI Backupper Standard, which helps you with backing up your device.

First, download and install AOMEI Backupper Standard. This app is supported on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11. If you are a server user, make sure to download AOMEI Backupper Server. This app provides you with a quick backup of your system. AOMEI Backupper Server is supported on Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, 016, 2019, and other server versions.

Once you have downloaded the app, walk through the steps below:

1.Open AOMEI Backupper Standard.

2.Select the Backup option from the left-side pane.

3.Then, go to the System Backup section.

4.Now, the app will automatically choose the partition of the Window system and boot. You only need to choose a destination.

5.Hit the Start Backup button. This action will make a backup of Windows 10 before you upgrade to Windows 11.

AOMEI Backupper Standard’s Features

Besides backing up, this app has more features. Here are some of them:

1. You can add comments, split or compress the backup, or set an email notification for system backup.
2. This app allows you to set an automatic backup system at various times, such as Daily, weekly, etc.

Last Words

Nowadays, gamers are dealing whether to upgrade to Windows 11 or stay on Windows 10. If you are one of them, you will find this article which made a comparison in terms of gaming between Windows 10 and Windows 11. Have you ever tried Windows 11? How was your gaming experience on Windows 11? Share your ideas with us.