My Windows 11/SystemTweaks - Use at your own discretion

[Animl-AW]

In the past I had an extensive web site and used pretty graphics to help with settings.
In this case it's just straight text.

I was experimenting since my return to see if a new modern computer can run games with no tweaks. It looks good on the surface, but under the hood, not so much.

One may want to setup a New User in Windows 11 so that one user is for gaming and the other for normal PC use.

I'm running a Dell XPS 8950 custom setup.
Operating System - Windows 11 Home 64-bit
CPU - Intel Processor Core i7 12th Gen
RAM - 16.0GB
Motherboard - Dell Inc. 0R6PCT (U3E1)
Graphics
   4095MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (Dell)   47 °C
Storage
   476GB NVMe PC801 NVMe SK hynix 512GB (Unknown (SSD))
   931GB Western Digital WDC WD10EZEX-75WN4A1 (SATA )   38 °C
Optical Drives
   ATA HL-DT-ST DVD+/-RW GU90N
Audio
   Realtek Audio

PLEASE MAKE NOTES OF YOUR CURRENT SETTINGS IN CASE YOU MUST REVERT BACK TO THEM
These are all setting I recently made to my computer.
I suggest leaving video card settings for last. But also suggest, don't go for quality as much as performance. Quality setting MAY look a little better, but they can be sending your signal through other processes that can actually slow it down and cause higher latency. In my case, it's smoother and cleaner using performance settings on my NVIDIA RTX 3060 ti.

I encourage people like Bizman and Fugitive to give input, good or bad, to these settings. These are newish fresh settings for me. Currently I'm having a better experience with these Tweaks. If you want to try them out I suggest implementing them one at a time and make sure they don't cause any havoc for your system

Ccleaner has some very useful options.
https://www.ccleaner.com/
Besides cleaning temporary files and logs, it will update your drivers and software and has a Performance Optimizer that works very well and painless.
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* If you have a Dell computer then I suggest you also use their Driver Update. it will not only update drivers from the vendor, but also firmware to update your BIOS.
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* Run Windows Troubleshooter on Connection and Hardware. Any problems here should be clear before starting tweaking.
1) Select Start menu and Settings.
2) Select System and Troubleshoot.
3) Select Other troubleshooters.
4) Select a troubleshooter based on the type of issue you are trying to resolve.


COMPLETE THE TASKS ABOVE BEFORE APPLYING ANY TWEAKS LISTED.
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* Disable or Schedule Windows 11 Automatic Update

To configure a schedule for Automatic Updates:
1) Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2) On the Automatic Updates tab, click Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify.
3) Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.

Permanently disable Windows Update
Keep in mind you will have to update your system manually and should do so every week.
1) Press "Window + R" to open the Run window.
2) Open the "Services Window" by typing services.
3) Locate and pick the "Windows Update" option from the "Services" list, then click the "Stop" button.
4) Change the "Startup Type" to "Disabled" by clicking on the "General" tab.

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* Temporarily Disable VPN
VPNs are known to slow down speeds and increase the latency (aka ping) of internet connections, which are both unideal for online gamers. However, some VPNs perform better than others. VPNs for gamers, a few that can keep up with the network performance that online games require

Unless your ISP is throttling your connection to lower your connection speed, a VPN is going to slow down your connection speed. While raw connection speed is not generally as important for gaming as ping is, a slow enough speed will start to detract from your ability to download and play games.

1) Open the Settings app.
2) Click Network & Internet.
3) On the left-hand side, click VPN.
4) Under VPN connections, select the VPN connection that you want to disconnect from.
5) Click on Disconnect.

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* Silencing your notifications
If your computer has other purposes besides gaming, you’re likely going to have a few notifications pop up on your screen mid-play. Go to Settings > System > Notifications to turn your notifications off while gaming so you can play without distractions.

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* Enable Game Mode
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 come with a built-in game optimizer tool called the Game Mode, which you can use to optimize some operating system settings for gaming. When enabled, this mode is designed to automatically allocate resources to your game while you're gaming, and it also disables background processes that might otherwise occupy your PC's resources. Notably, it also prevents Windows Update from performing driver installations and sending restart notifications while you're gaming, which is great. To ensure the Game Mode is enabled in your Windows PC:

1) Press the Win + I keys on your keyboard to open Settings.
2) Choose Gaming.
3) Choose Game Mode.
4) Click on the toggle to enable the Game Mode, if it's not already enabled.

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* Temporarily turn off your Memory Integrity and VMP
Windows 11 security measures include Memory Integrity and Virtual Machine Platform (VMP) to protect against malware, which are features that can also disrupt gaming performance. If you choose to turn these features off before gaming, it can improve your performance and help you focus on the games at hand. Afterwards, it’s important to turn them on again since you are opening your PC up to risks while it’s less protected. For short periods, you might try turning off your Memory Integrity and VMP to see if you notice a difference.

Memory Integrity or HVCI (Hypervisor-protected code integrity) is a built-in Windows 11 security feature to protect your kernel from high-level malware attacks that can introduce malicious codes into high-security processes. It's one of the many security features in Windows 11 that runs in the background, but it can take up a lot of CPU resources which you could use to run games on your computer. Thankfully, you can disable this particular security feature to free up some resources for your games.

!) Open the Windows 11 Start Menu and search for Core Isolation.
2) Select Core isolation to open a new window, and locate a toggle under Memory integrity option.
3) Click the toggle to turn it off. Turn the toggle switch to Off and restart your PC.

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* Disable Virtual Machine Platform
Another security feature that hogs system resources

Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) is a virtualization security feature that's known to have pretty drastic effects on system performance. This particular feature, in case you are wondering, uses hardware virtualization features to secure and isolate part of the memory from the OS. This isn't exclusive to Windows 11 as it was also implemented in Windows 10. Disabling it could free up a lot of system resources that you can use to get a better performance in games. To disable it:

1) Search for Windows features on the Windows Start menu, and select Turn Windows features on or off.
2) Locate the Virtual Machine Platform option within the Turn Windows features on or off window, and uncheck it.
3) Restart your PC.

[Animl-AW]

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* Adjust display and graphics settings
Ensuring your games run and look the best they can

It's also recommended that you adjust your display and graphics settings to ensure the games you're trying to run are using the right display driver, and are optimised to look the best on your monitor. There are a few settings to change here, starting with the display settings.
Tweaking display settings

1) Press Win + I key on your keyboard to open the Settings app, and then choose System.
2) Choose the Display option and ensure you've selected the recommended display resolution from the drop-down menu.
3) Enable the HDR option too, if your monitor supports it, and also make sure Auto HDR is enabled.
4) Go back to the main Display settings page, and choose Advanced Display.
5) Locate the Choose a refresh rate option and select the highest refresh rate from the drop-down menu.

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* Tweak graphics settings

1) Open the Windows 11 Settings app and choose System, then Display.
2) Choose Graphics, and then select an app on the list, or search for the name of your game.
3) Choose Options, and then click on High Performance, followed by Save.
4) Go back to the main Graphics settings page, and choose Change default graphics settings.
5) Make sure the switch for Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling is on.

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* Change the power plan
Power plans are no more than a set of settings that controls how your PC consumes/saves power. And in Windows 10, Microsoft introduced a power plan for workstation called Ultimate Performance, which can be a safe and easy-to-get performance boost.

By default this power plan is a hidden feature, but you can use the following steps to enable it:

1) On your keyboard, press Win+R (the Windows logo key and the r key) at the same time. Type or paste powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
2) Select Ultimate Performance. If you don’t see this power plan, simply continue to the next step to unhide it.
3) On your keyboard, press Win (the Windows logo key) and type cmd. Select Run as Administrator.
4) In the command prompt, type or paste the following command and press Enter.
 " powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61" no quote marks.

If you see a prompt similar to this, return to step 2 to enable the Ultimate Performance power plan.

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* Turn Off Enhanced Pointer Precision
Mouse acceleration is no good for gaming
Another important setting to pay attention to is called the 'Enhance Pointer Precession.' This is essentially a form of mouse acceleration, which is enabled by default on Windows to either speed up or slow down how your cursor moves based on how fast you're moving the mouse. It's better to disable this to improve mouse accuracy while you're playing games. To disable it:

1) Type Mouse in Windows Start menu and select Mouse Settings.
2) Located the Additional mouse settings under the Related settings tab, and select it.
3) In the Mouse Properties menu choose Pointer Options tab and then uncheck Enhanced pointer precision.
4) Click Apply and then OK.

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*  Disable/Remove Xbox Game Bar
There are much better overlays out there if you really need one
On paper, the Xbox Game Bar is a one-stop destination for gamers on Windows with all the right tools and settings. But on top of being a severely lackluster overlay, the Xbox Game Bar is borderline distracting, in my opinion. Seriously, there's nothing more annoying than accidentally triggering it in the middle of the game, and having your entire screen taken over by a cluttered overlay. There are few ways Microsoft can improve the Xbox Game Bar on PC, but it's best to completely uninstall it until then as it doesn't add much value to the experience in any way and hogs system resources by running in the background. Don't worry, you can always bring back the Xbox Game Bar by simply reinstalling it from the Microsoft Store.
To remove:

1) Search for Terminal on the Start Menu and open Windows Terminal.
2) Enter the following command and press Enter.
" Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay | Remove-AppxPackage " no quote marks.
3) The process should only take a few seconds, but it will completely remove the Game Bar from your computer.

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LAN Connection Tweaks
* Reboot your ISP router every 2 weeks.

Tweaks
Right click on Start button and select Device Manager. Look for Network adapters and double click it. Right click on a network adapter listed in this category and select Properties. Click on Advanced tab.

* Disable Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing
* Disable all power saving settings (Green, Eco, Power Saving etc)
* Disable Flow Control
* Disable Interrupt Moderation
* Set Interrupt Moderation Rate to OFF
* Set Enable PME to DISABLED
* Disable all features with “Offload” in the name
* Disable Packet Priority & VLAN
* Disable Jumbo Packet

Most of options in this category ensure reliability, but cause delay in network traffic, resulting in game network data being late when it should have already been processed, meaning kills you were suppose to make in a game never happen in time, which is always bad.

* Set Receive Buffers and Transmit buffers to 96

Connection buffers are a different beast. In one way they help prevent data loss if data can’t be processed in time by your system, but having data in the buffers means it will have a delay again before it actually reaches the game engine (because it’s sitting in the buffers, waiting to get through). If you have a really fast system, using very low values will help reducing the delay because network adapter will be forced to “flush” them faster. With low end systems it may cause packet loss because network adapter will simply drop/reject packets that can’t be fit into the buffers. My Intel Pro LAN only goes as low as 80, but I know Realtek Gigabit LAN goes even below 32. If adapter allows even lower values, experiment with them.

* Set Receive Side Scaling (RSS) to ENABLED
* Set number of RSS Queues to a higher value value (2 in my case)

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* Flushing the DNS is useful in the removal of bad caches since the flush completely removes all the information stored within the cache.
To Flush the DNS Cache:
1) At the bottom left corner, type 'cmd' in the Start menu's search bar, and press Enter.
2) Type 'ipconfig /flushdns' in the Command Prompt, and press Enter.
3) The user has now flushed the DNS Cache and will receive a message that they have successfully done so.

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Ping/Lag Issues

Here are some tried and tested strategies to reduce your Ping and level up your gaming experience:
Use a Wired Connection

Moving from a wireless to a wired connection can be a game-changer when it comes to online gaming. Wi-Fi, despite its convenience, can’t match the speed and stability of a wired connection. Making the switch can significantly reduce fluctuations in Ping, delivering a smoother and more reliable gaming experience.

Get your hands on an Ethernet cable if you don’t already own one.
Plug one end of the cable into your router and the other into your computer.
Make sure to configure your computer’s network settings to use the wired connection instead of Wi-Fi, if it doesn’t switch automatically.
Close Unnecessary Applications

It’s easy to overlook the impact of background applications on your bandwidth. Often, numerous programs run simultaneously on your computer, quietly eating up bandwidth. Shutting these applications can free up resources, thereby improving your game’s speed and reducing Ping.

Close Unnecessary Applications

Open your computer’s task manager. This can be done by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc on Windows, or Command + Space and typing “Activity Monitor” on Mac.
Review the list of applications currently running on your system.
Close any applications that aren’t necessary during your gaming session.

Optimize Your Network Settings

Often, the key to reducing Ping lies in your network settings. These settings govern how your computer interacts with your network. Tweaking them to optimize for speed and performance can reduce Ping, leading to more responsive gaming.

Navigate to your computer’s network settings. You’ll find these in the Control Panel
Look for settings that could improve connection speed. One such setting could be to disable network throttling. The exact settings will depend on your operating system.
Apply the changes and restart your computer, if required.

Prioritize Gaming Traffic

Quality of Service (QoS) is a feature available in most routers that can give your gaming traffic the VIP treatment. By prioritizing gaming data over other types of traffic, you ensure that your game gets the majority of your bandwidth, reducing Ping and enhancing your gaming experience.

Log into your router’s settings. The specific process may vary depending on your router’s manufacturer.
Locate the QoS settings in the router’s menu.
Adjust the settings to prioritize gaming traffic. This may involve specifying your game’s name or the type of traffic it uses (typically UDP). Don’t forget to save and apply changes.

Reduce Network Congestion

Network congestion can result from having too many devices connected to your network at once. This can hog your bandwidth, leading to a higher Ping. Disconnecting devices not in use can free up more bandwidth for your game.

Identify all the devices connected to your network.
Disconnect any devices that aren’t in use or don’t require an internet connection at that time.
Monitor your Ping to see if there’s an improvement.

Choose Servers Wisely
Choosing the right server can have a substantial impact on your Ping. If possible, select a server that’s geographically close to you as the further the server, the higher the Ping.

Check if the game you’re playing offers the option to select a server.
If so, choose a server that’s geographically closest to your location.
Monitor your Ping after changing servers to see if there’s a noticeable improvement.

Check for Background Downloads

Check your PC for background downloads

Background downloads can consume a significant amount of your bandwidth without you realizing it. Regularly checking and managing these downloads can prevent them from increasing your Ping.

Regularly check your device for any ongoing background downloads. This includes updates, file downloads, or streaming services.
Pause or schedule these downloads for a time when you’re not gaming.
Regularly clearing your download queue can help prevent unexpected bandwidth consumption.

[Animl-AW]

Fugitive, or anyone else,
You’re more than welcome to reorganize and use on your site if you find them credible and useful. If you don’t already have them.

[Bizman]

Now that was an exhaustive list! Thanks for taking your time to explain what the things to be tweaked actually do, I must admit I learned something I didn't actually know.

My approach is more towards lean than trimmed - similar to a person in good physical condition compared to a fitness competitor. Too low a fat percentage can lead to issues, or as you said some tweaks should be put back on for safety reasons after gaming.

Regarding ping my location has pretty much dictated how much I want to tweak my network settings. For AH the game server is in Texas and there's so many variables along the route that tweaking a millisecond or two off on my side doesn't make any difference. Less than 200 is ideal here but would it make any difference if it were 185 instead of 188? Back in the day it was hard to play AH at 7-9 PM because that was the time when British and West European banks sent their daily data, nothing we could do. Optical cables have reduced that issue so it doesn't affect gaming much. But then there's Netflix who hog the sub-Atlantic bandwidth. Anyhow, this lengthy rant was to tell that tweaking LAN settings may have a positive affect if the gained percentage is bigger than normal fluctuation.

Same with graphics settings, I tend to set them to default (which mostly is "application controlled") and use the settings within each game. Recently a fellow struggled with his frame rate and finally it appeared that Nvidia Experience had changed his settings to worse. Yet another fellow highly believes it improves his gaming. Goes to show automatic optimizations don't work for every single system out there.

But yes, good information and clearly enough explained how to perform the tweaks. If someone can't follow those instructions they'd better not to try until having gained some basic knowledge.

[Animl-AW]

It looks overwhelming.
1) if its not broke don’t fix it
2) I never put anything out I didn’t use myself.
3) don’t include mythical settings that do nothing.

When I had a website I would categorize them all. My gaming machine was streamlined and ran like melted butter.

That closed under WinXP. These are Win11 specific, some work in Win10.

This habit started during Air Warrior, when some people had slow machines and dome had fast. The idea was to get most on the same level to compete. Or as close to as possible. In thr dsy, maybe r rn today, the smoother running machine would win. The guy lagging all i er the placr lost. Kind of  bridging the gap concept.

When I made XP Game Launcher it was designed to make 4 levels of automatic implementation, OR you could manually make the settings.

Regardless, reboot the machine and its s tweaked gaming machine.
Hit restore and reboot it reversed everything and went back to an office machine the settings you had before. That was 15k to 20k lines of code.

Had a Microsoft guy playing AH, pretty sure that's where Windows Game Mode came from, a stripped down version. In other words, its possible they stole my concept lol. XPGL was way more advanced. MS always plays it too safe. Mine would even flush/clear memory to get that whole chip freed up.

I still have the software but it would need to be updated to Win11, and frankly, I don’t think newer machines need it anymore. I could be wrong. I probably won’t update it, it was last updated 2010, when I left gaming.

Basically I took my whole tech web site and put it to software so the non-geek could get the same streamline settings without having to learn it all. It had a very extensive help system to explain it all. Basically, you could turn an office machine into s gaming machine, then go back to your office machine ad it was.

Some of these tweaks in security areas should be reversed when not gaming so it get its guards back.

If these tweaks don’t help a slower machine, ya probably need to update hardware, or new machine.

When it cones down to it, gaming on wifi is not the best of ideas, a cable connection will solve a lot of lag and latency issues all by itself. With wifi, your mileage will vary.


I’m a live sound concert engineer. Several years ago I pulled away from concerts some, and went to corporate/ industrial events side of things. Way more money. Microsoft had their convention in Chicago. Besides the main stage, the had 150 breakout/conference rooms, where I had to recorded their private meetings, under an NDA. They showed their code on screens to debate it. It was great for me, because I could read it and know where they were going with it. Basically I got a MS college course in 7 days and watched Windows 10 being made.

In my stuff I chose snd learned LUA, its s Brazilian code language. Many know how to hack VB and C++ scripts. LUA was too rare snd less likely. Everything I did went through memory encrypted, every file was encrypted, closing as many backdoors as possible. Give me s little time, I can learn most code languages.

I left out older tweaks like QoS, which should really be done in the router, along with Port Forwarding. In many cases, with the connection speeds mist have today, those would yield less results. But still streamlines flow. Back in the day, those yielded better improvements in their time.

ANYWAY, this is what I have on Win11 for gaming.
If its not broke, don’t fix it.

Odd things players see in the game and call hacks, are really connection issues, lag. Pay more attention to connection or vid card tweaks. If ya want it streamlined from ine end to snother go to town with it. My machine us now 90% streamlined, it runs very smooth.

Again, I don’t offer what I don’t use myself. I just compiled them all into one post.

You and a few others are more hardware experts. If you see something that counters what you know, throw out a red flag. It will be changed or omitted. There’s a lot of bogus tweaks out there. These SHOULD actually yield positive results.

[Animl-AW]

I believe I accidentally left this tweak off the list.
Probably a few others like router setup.

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* Set the Priority Level for a Game/Program in Windows 11

Windows 11 has introduced an enhanced priority level, allowing users to determine the priority of programs running on their system, enabling more control over system resources. Choosing the appropriate priority level for a program is essential to optimize the performance of your system, and this article will guide you through the process of selecting the right priority level for your program.

First, it’s crucial to understand that priority level determines the amount of system resources a program can access. There are six priority levels in Windows 11, ranging from the highest priority level of “Realtime” down to the lowest priority levels of “Below Normal” and “Low.” Increasing the priority level for a program will allow it to access more resources while reducing priority levels will give other programs more resources.

Now, select the appropriate priority level for the program. If you want the program to have the highest priority, select “Realtime.” However, be careful when setting programs to Realtime, as it may affect the stability of the system. If you want the program to have the lowest priority, select “Low.” For most programs, the “Normal” priority level is probably the best option.

To select the priority level for a program, follow these simple steps:

The first step is to open the Task Manager, which can be done by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager” from the context menu or pressing the “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” keys on your keyboard.

1) Open the Task Manager
2) Go to the Details tab
3) Select the program to prioritize
4) Right click the program to choose the Priority Level
5) Confirm Priority Level
6) Click “Change Priority” to confirm your choice.