7 Windows 11/10 Gaming PC Optimization Tips for Better Gaming

Unlike consoles, Windows 11/10 PCs aren’t just for playing games. Gaming performance on PCs, otherwise how well the games play and their general stability, can be affected by many variables. If your Windows games generally feel slow to play, choppy, laggy, and frequently crash, you need to optimize your PC for better gaming performance. Here are several gaming PC optimization tips for enhancing general Windows 11/10 game performance.

Close Third-Party Background Programs and Services

Maximizing system resources for games is one of the most important gaming PC optimization methods. There could be many third-party programs and services running in the background consuming RAM (Random Access Memory) and increasing CPU utilization on your PC. Ending unnecessary programs and services with Task Manager before playing a game is an effective PC gaming optimization method. You can end tasks for background programs and services with Windows Task Manager like this.

1. Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc hotkey that activates Task Manager.
2. Click Processes to view all background processes and apps.
3. Select unneeded programs shown under Background processes and Apps and click End task to terminate them.

The Processes tab in Task Manager

Ending tasks for background programs running as outlined above may only temporarily close them. Some programs may start running again after a restart if they’re enabled startup items. So, I also recommend disabling programs that automatically start by selecting the Startup tab in Task Manager. Select safe programs to remove from the Windows startup on that tab and click Disable.

Aside from that, you can also utilize game booster software packages to close unneeded programs and services that affect gaming performance. Game boosters are software packages that provide options for quickly optimizing system resources. This KeenGamer page tells you about some of the best gaming PC optimization software for Windows.

Turn on Game Mode

Game Mode is a specific option in Windows 11/10 for gaming PC optimization. When enabled, that option automatically turns things off in the background (such as Windows updates and notifiers). Microsoft has also said that option can enhance gaming frame rates. This is how you can turn on Game Mode.

1. To access the search tool, hold the Windows logo key and press S at the same time.
2. Type Game mode into the search box.
3. Select Game Mode settings in the search results.
   
   

   The Game Mode option

4. Click the Game Mode option to turn it on if it’s not enabled.

Adjust In-Game Graphical Settings

All Windows PC games include graphical settings that can considerably affect gaming performance if not set optimally for your PC. Of course, you want games to look as good as they can on your PC. However, setting overly high in-game graphical settings that are somewhat beyond what your PC can adequately handle will impact the gameplay performance of your Windows games.

Graphics settings in Fortnite

So, you must aim to set reasonably balanced graphical settings for your PC. Most games include general graphical preset options you can select. Consider lowering the graphics quality preset setting for a game by at least one level if the gameplay feels too slow and unresponsive.

Resolution is one of the most important graphical settings that makes a noticeable difference to a game’s frame rate. If you prefer a higher frame rate, select a lower resolution setting. Your games won’t look so good when played at a lower resolution, but they’ll probably play noticeably better.

Update Your PC’s Graphics Drivers

I’ll spare you extensive technical details about what a graphics driver is. Drivers are important software for graphics cards that NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD frequently update. If your graphics card has an old driver, that can cause game stability issues, otherwise crashing and error messages. For that reason, it’s often recommended to update graphics drivers to resolve gaming issues. New graphics drivers can also improve game frame rates and enhance gaming performance in other ways.

There are different ways you can update the graphics driver for your PC. You can update drivers with the NVIDIA GeForce Experience, AMD Auto-Detect and Install Tool, and Intel Drive & Support Assistant software. Alternatively, manually download the latest driver for your PC’s graphics card and install it like this.

1. Bring up the NVIDIA or AMD driver download webpage.
2. Select your PC’s graphics card mode and platform, and click either Search or Submit.
   
   

   NVIDIA driver download page

3. Click Download for the latest GPU driver you need.
   
   

   A driver download option

4. Press the Windows logo + E keyboard buttons to access the folder containing the downloaded driver package.
5. Double-click the driver package file downloaded and select Install in its installer window.

Select a Higher Refresh Rate

You might be able to select a higher and lower monitor refresh rate for gaming via advanced display settings in Windows. So, make sure your monitor is set at its highest refresh rate for the best possible frame rate. You can select the refresh rate setting in Windows 11/10 as follows.

1. Activate the Windows search utility by clicking on its taskbar button or box.
2. Type advanced display info into the search box.
3. Click View advanced display info.
   
   

   The Refresh Rate setting

4. Select the highest option on the Refresh Rate drop-down menu.

Enable Focus Assist for Playing Games

Focus assist is a feature that disables notifications for specific activities. You can turn on focus assist for playing games to ensure no annoying Windows notifications appear when you’re playing games. This is how you can enable focus assist for playing PC games.

1. Activate the file and app search tool on your Windows PC.
2. Type focus assist in the search box.
3. Select Focus assist to access settings for that feature.
   
   

   The Focus assist settings

4. Turn on the When I’m playing games setting.

Disable Memory Integrity

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 11’s Memory Integrity feature can have an adverse effect on gaming performance. So, the big M recommends you disable that feature for better gaming. This Microsoft support page includes instructions for disabling Memory Integrity.

Those gaming PC optimization tips will likely improve Windows 11/10 game performance to some extent. However, much depends on your PC hardware. You’ll never get top-notch gaming performance on an old, low-specification Windows PC. Applying the optimization methods above will enhance gaming performance, but don’t expect too much if your PC barely meets the minimum system requirements for many games.