Gamers, Here’s How To Optimize Gaming Performance On Windows 11

Microsoft likes to claim that every new edition of Windows is the best Windows ever. With numerous added features and improvements, we can't say they're always wrong, but we can also say performance sometimes takes a hit. After all, tacking on more features will use up more hardware resources, but it's possible not all consumers are as up to date as the developer hopes. As such, there are definitely times where you might need to squeeze out some extra performance through disabling certain unwarranted features. Windows 11 has a number of features that just might not be necessary for you to keep running in the background if you want the most frames out of your experience.

Usually people rely on sites like HotHardware, enthusiast forums, and other places to gather information on how to squeeze the most frame rates out of their rigs. However, in this case, it looks like Microsoft itself has provided some insight into gaming performance on Windows 11. Two security-focused features in particular might take away from your framerates while gaming—Core Isolation and Virtual Machine Platform. We ran a test on Shadow of the Tomb Raider and gained a pretty hefty 5 FPS average (and even better minimums) after disabling these options. Check out the results and instructions below.


Core Isolation's Memory Integrity option is first. This Windows 11 feature describes that it prevents attacks from inserting malicious code into high-security processes. This may seem like a concern to disable and it very well could be, as memory vulnerability seems to be a very common access points for malware as of late. You can always turn it back on when you're done gaming, though. To modify the setting open your Start menu and type 'Core Isolation,' then select 'Core Isolation' from the list. This will open Windows Security on the Core Isolation page. You can disable and enable the 'Memory integrity' feature at your own volition here.
Next up is the Virtual Machine Platform. Unless you are a developer or need to virtualize another operating system within your Windows environment, having this enabled is pretty useless. So, why have its services running in the background? Disabling VMP is simple enough. Open your Start menu, type in 'Windows features' and select Turn Windows feature on or off. Next, find Virtual Machine Platform, and uncheck the box.


In both cases you will need to restart your machine for the changes to apply, but you should see performance improvement once done. Good luck, and happy fragging!