Windows 11 is a capable gaming platform, but it ships with several settings that are either disabled by default, set for general use rather than gaming performance, or actively counterproductive if your goal is maximum frame rates. None of the tweaks in this guide require third-party software or risky system modifications. They are all native Windows settings.

Work through this list and you should see a measurable improvement in gaming performance, particularly on mid-range hardware where system overhead has more visible impact.

1. Set Your Power Plan to High Performance or Ultimate Performance

Windows 11 defaults to Balanced power mode, which throttles CPU performance to reduce power consumption. In gaming, this can cause micro-stutters and inconsistent frame pacing.

How to change it:

  1. Open Settings and search for “Power & sleep settings”
  2. Click “Additional power settings” (or search Control Panel for Power Options)
  3. Select “High Performance”

To unlock Ultimate Performance mode (which is not shown by default):

Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

powershell -Command "powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61"

Refresh the Power Options panel and select Ultimate Performance.

Note: on a laptop, stick with High Performance rather than Ultimate Performance unless you are plugged in.

2. Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)

HAGS moves GPU memory management from the CPU to the GPU itself, reducing latency and freeing up CPU cycles for game logic. It is supported on Nvidia (RTX 10 series and later), AMD (RX 5700 series and later), and Intel Arc GPUs with the appropriate drivers.

How to enable it:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to System, then Display, then Graphics
  3. Click “Change default graphics settings”
  4. Toggle “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling” to On

Restart your PC after enabling it.

3. Enable Game Mode

Windows Game Mode prioritises system resources toward whatever game is running in the foreground. It reduces background CPU and GPU usage and prevents Windows from performing certain background tasks (like driver installations) while you are playing.

How to enable it:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to Gaming, then Game Mode
  3. Toggle Game Mode to On

4. Disable Xbox Game Bar (Optional)

Xbox Game Bar runs in the background and can add overhead, particularly on lower-end systems. If you do not use its overlay features, disabling it frees up resources.

How to disable it:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to Gaming, then Xbox Game Bar
  3. Toggle it Off

If you use Game Bar for screenshots or performance monitoring, leave it on. The overhead is small on modern hardware.

5. Enable Variable Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support allows Windows to pass adaptive sync signals (G-Sync, FreeSync) to supported monitors outside of full-screen exclusive mode. This is required for adaptive sync to work in windowed and borderless windowed modes.

How to enable it:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to System, then Display, then Graphics
  3. Click “Change default graphics settings”
  4. Toggle “Variable refresh rate” to On

6. Set Your Display to Its Native Resolution and Maximum Refresh Rate

Windows sometimes defaults to a lower refresh rate than your monitor supports. Check this every time you connect a new display.

How to check:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to System, then Display, then Advanced display
  3. Set “Choose a refresh rate” to the highest available value

7. Disable Nagle’s Algorithm for Online Gaming

Nagle’s Algorithm bundles small network packets together to reduce overhead, which improves network efficiency but adds latency. For online gaming where low ping matters more than bandwidth efficiency, disabling it can reduce input lag in multiplayer titles.

This requires a registry edit:

  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces
  3. Find the interface matching your network adapter’s IP address
  4. Right-click and create two new DWORD (32-bit) values: TcpAckFrequency and TCPNoDelay, both set to 1

Restart your PC for this to take effect.

8. Keep Drivers Updated

Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all release driver updates that include game-specific optimisations. New driver releases often include measurable performance improvements for recently launched titles.

  • Nvidia: GeForce Experience or manual download from nvidia.com
  • AMD: Adrenalin software or manual download from amd.com
  • Intel: Intel Arc Control or Intel Driver and Support Assistant

Set a habit of checking for driver updates when a major new game releases.

9. Disable Startup Programs

Background applications consume RAM and CPU cycles that games could use. Audit what is running at startup and disable anything unnecessary.

How to do it:

  1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
  2. Go to the Startup Apps tab
  3. Right-click and disable anything you do not need running in the background

10. Check Your Storage Health

Games installed on a degraded or nearly full SSD can experience slower load times and stuttering from shader caching. Keep your primary game drive at least 15-20% free, and check drive health periodically using a tool like CrystalDiskInfo (free).

What Not to Do

A number of “gaming optimisation” guides recommend disabling Windows Defender, core isolation, or other security features. Do not do this. The performance gain is negligible on modern hardware and the security cost is real. Similarly, third-party “PC optimiser” software is almost always either useless or actively harmful. The tweaks above cover what actually works.

After applying these settings, reboot and test in your most demanding game. On mid-range hardware, the combined effect of these changes is meaningful.