Gaming is Microsoft’s claim to fame with Windows 11. Even if you disagree, you can still tweak it. Windows 11 is Microsoft’s best Windows OS for gaming, according to the company. It’s not always the case for avid gamers.
There are still a few things to improve when it comes to gaming in Windows 11. Low FPS, lagging, and crashes have been reported, for example. Here’s an article you might find useful if you’re dealing with these issues. You can enjoy your gaming sessions on Windows 11 if you follow these tips.
1. Activate the game mode
You can improve gaming performance by turning on Game Mode. Gaming applications get more resources, notifications go away, and most background activities are reduced.
Open the Settings app by clicking on the Windows icon in the taskbar. Toggle Game Mode on once you’re in Settings > Gaming > Game Mode.
2. Turn on Auto HDR
Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) isn’t as good as High Dynamic Range (HDR). It adds a lot to how games look, like better color depth and brightness representation.
To turn on Auto HDR, go to your Settings app and select System. You can then turn on HDR by going to Display. Drop down the menu to choose your display if you have more than one. Under Display Capabilities, check your capabilities. Make sure Use HDR and Auto HDR are toggled to On if the option is available.
You’ll get an immersive gaming experience once they’re on. For a better understanding of HDR, go read HDR vs. SDR: what’s the difference?
3. Make sure you’re using your primary GPU
If your PC has a powerful GPU, you should make sure graphics-intensive games use it. There’s usually a dedicated GPU and one built into the CPU on most gaming PCs, so it’s best to use the former.
As soon as you’re in Game Mode, select Graphics. Use per-app GPU selection settings if you’d like to change this default setting. On this page, you can also toggle on Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling.
4. Make sure Enhanced Pointer Precision is off
It’s relatively unknown to gamers that this tip can improve their gaming experience. Window 11 improves mouse movement by enhancing pointer precision. Some games already have similar settings in their own control scheme. This results in the mouse pointer moving less efficiently because these two settings conflict. The setting was supposed to accomplish the opposite.
Enhanced pointer precision should be disabled on gaming computers. Go to Windows search and search for Mouse Settings. Click on Additional Mouse Settings in the Related Settings section. By clicking this, you’ll get the Mouse Properties menu. You can untick the Enhanced pointer precision checkbox on the Pointer Options tab. Save your changes by clicking Apply and OK.
5. Boost your GPU’s performance
Keeping your drivers up-to-date is the key to getting the most out of your graphics card. You need to update your GPU drivers regularly to enjoy a good gaming experience. Several updates are probably missing from factory-installed graphics cards.
In order to play games on new PCs, you need to update GPU drivers. Driver updates can be done manually or with software released by the GPU’s manufacturer. Windows 11 works the same way you update your GPU on Windows 10.
6. Install the latest Windows update
The same goes for updating your Windows 11 OS, just like updating your GPU drivers. Make sure there are no pending OS updates before installing games and apps. Performance and user experience usually go hand in hand with these.
Find out how to install Windows 11 updates if you’re not sure how to do it. Metered connections won’t get updates automatically. You have to check for pending updates manually if you’re on one.
7. Performance tweaks for Windows
Our focus has been on getting games to run better on Windows 11. There’s plenty of advice we can give you that applies to Windows 11, too. So, apply some general Windows performance advice to Windows 11 and see how it goes.
If you’re on a PC, you can still use these tips to improve gaming performance on a laptop. Last but not least, our article on optimizing Windows 10 for gaming includes steps you can do on Windows 11.
Mostly we talked about things to enable or tweak in this article, but there are some parts of Windows 11 you should disable as well.
Getting the most out of Windows 11 for gaming
You’ll get better gaming performance with these tips. It’s important to remember that each device will have different improvements.
Think about other factors, like old graphics cards, slow and full hard drives, specific driver problems, overheating, and outdated processors. Your gaming sessions will be better if you do this.
