Optimize Windows 11 for Gaming with these 7 simple tweaks 2024

Are you a hardcore gamer? Do you love to play high-definition and feature-rich video games on your Windows 11 PC? If your answer is yes, then we have today treat for you. There are plenty of bulky video games available in the market, but running them on your PC sometimes gets a bit tricky. So, if you are struggling to play your favorite game on your Windows 11 devices because they are too bulky, then you can easily run your feature-rich games by using some tricks to optimize Windows 11 for gaming.

Is Windows 11 a Good Choice for Gaming?

Windows 11 offers better game performance and game framerates as compared to its predecessors, even if marginally so. Windows 8 wasn’t very gamer-friendly, Windows 7 doesn’t support DirectX 12, and anything older than that is unsupported leaving Windows 11 the last man standing.

  • It includes support for the new DirectX 12 video API, which includes advances mostly in the 3D processing and rendering capabilities (some of which are backported to DX 11.3).
  • Better integration with Xbox via the new Xbox app, which will allow streaming Xbox games to Windows 11 PCs.

How to Optimize Windows 11 For Gaming

Windows 11 is a great system to play games but just required small adjustments to create the perfect gaming environment. Here follow the steps below to experience the optimum level of gameplay modes on a Windows 11 PC.

Optimize with game mode

Windows 11 is a great operating system for gamers as it has a special gaming mode built in to optimize the software. Enable Game mode on Windows 11 help to optimize your PC’s gaming performance. And it does this by reallocating your system resources toward the game app. At the same time, Game Mode also prevents any other programs from hogging CPU and GPU cycles.

Enable Game mode on Windows 11

  1. To Enable the Game mode feature on Windows 11,
  2. Press the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut to open the settings app,
  3. Click on gaming then On the Gaming screen, click Game Mode.
  4. Switch to On to take advantage of Game Mode.

Game mode windows 11

 

If your computer supports Game Mode, then the Windows updates will suspend while the gaming mode and all the resources of your computer will focus on providing a high frame rate to you.

Disable Nagle’s algorithm

Nagle’s algorithm is bundle data packets at the cost of a smoother internet connection. If this feature is enabled on your Windows PC, then it can result in latency when you are playing games online. By disabling this feature, you can improve the performance of your Windows 11. And we need to tweak the windows registry To disable this function.

  • Press Windows + R keyboard shortcut, type Regedit and hit enter.
  • This will open the Windows registry editor,
  • First back up the registry database then navigate the following path.
  • In the new window which is the Registry editor, just go to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces

On the left side panel, you will see a collection of folders. To access the right file, you have to match your IP address with the correct file and match your IP address with the listed IP address in one of these files. To track down your IP address, you can use the following line of command – ipconfig.

Note: If DHCP is enabled on your PC you need to match your IP address with the listed DhcpIPAddress in one of these files.

Disable Nagle’s algorithm registry tweak

After knowing your IP address, you have to right-click on the corresponding folder and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Here, create two DWORD Values: name one TcpAckFrequency and the other TCPNoDelay. Once you’ve created the values, double-click on each and set their parameters to 1. So, whenever you run into a problem, then you just have to change the parameter value 0 and Nagle’s algorithm will get disabled.

Disable the automatic update function

Windows 11 has a feature where it will automatically update your operating system and restart your system without your permission. This feature won’t disturb you often, but when you are in the middle of an important game session, then it can cause you trouble. The system won’t only restart automatically without warning but will start to download updates in the background which can reduce your network speed.

However, you cannot disable the automatic restart, but you can delay it by the following method

  • Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app,
  • Click on Update and security then Windows Update
  • Next click on Advanced options followed by Update Options.
  • Here, disable Automatic download updates, even over metered data connections (charges may apply).
  • This is the best option to reduce the chance of Windows Update downloads interrupting your gaming performance.

 

Don’t let steam auto-update your games

If you are using a Windows device to play games, then you are probably going to install games via Steam. One of the disadvantages of Steam is that it won’t allow you to stop automatic updates across all your games. This feature can eat up your memory space by updating games that you won’t play much or it can limit your network connectivity with the background updates.

To stop Steam from updating your downloaded games without your permission, you have to visit your Steam client access and from Settings click on Downloads where you can uncheck downloads during gameplay and prevent Steam from updating your game’s content.

Adjust visual effects

Your graphical user interfaces could be a hindrance to your processing power. Your Windows 11 visual Settings by default set to impress. Thus, the games running in the front can conflict with GUI running in the background. To optimize Windows 11 for gaming, you have to adjust the visual settings.

To adjust the visual settings of your Windows 11:

  • Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app,
  • Here search for and select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows
  • Select the radio button and Adjust for the best performance
  • Click Apply and OK to effect the changes.

Activate maximum power plan

 We generally leave power options alone due to their negligible effects on the functioning of the computer. However, when some gamers adjusted high power while playing games, then they notice significant changes in their PC’s performance. So, if you want to experience the same level of high performance, then you have to change the power plan of your PC.

To change the power, you have to use the following directions

  1. Open control panel,
  2. Search for and select power options,
  3. Here select High performance under preferred plans

Set Power plan High Performance

Disable Mouse Acceleration

The mouse pointer in Windows 11 does not only move through physical detection but is also affected by speed too. Windows have a feature called mouse acceleration that controls your mouse movements. You can change this option to improve your mouse accuracy, especially for shooting games.

  • Click Windows +Q
  • Type pointer
  • Select change the mouse pointer display or speed
  • Disable the enhanced pointer precision

Configure your GPU Driver

This is another Most obvious and necessary step you must apply. Check and make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your system & devices, especially your graphics card. Install the latest Windows Update from settings, update & security check for updates.

Install the latest graphics driver from Microsoft

  1. Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc and ok to open the device manager,
  2. Expand display driver
  3. Right-click the installed graphics driver, and select the Update Driver option.
  4. Click the Search automatically for updated driver software

Update display driver

Also, you can visit the manufacturer’s official website to download the latest driver version and install it on your PC. Alternatively, can download and install drivers for a new NVIDIA or AMD card:

Install DirectX 12

Microsoft itself revealed that by using DirectX 12, you get an extra 20 percent improvement in frame rates. This also decreases the processor utilization for other tasks such as boost.

DirectX has been a front-runner for the Microsoft operating system. This accelerates multimedia applications such as 3D games and video playing. If you have not already installed DirectX 12 in your gaming system, just install it. If you have an older version of it, update it to the latest version.

Upgrade to SSD Hard drive

The hard drive stores your games and other data permanently. A solid State Drive aka SSD is the fastest storage disk you come across. These drives increase the retrieval time of your data and your gaming speed accelerates. Once you get to use this type of hard drive, you would never be able to use a conventional hard drive ever.

Now, if you follow all these super easy tips to optimize Windows 11 for gaming purposes, then you can play your favorite games at a much better place.

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