How to Optimize Windows 10 and 11 for Gaming in 2026

Windows has dozens of settings that affect gaming performance. Here's what actually matters.

Game Mode

# Enable Game Mode
Set-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\GameBar" -Name "AllowAutoGameMode" -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\GameBar" -Name "AutoGameModeEnabled" -Value 1 -Type DWord

Or: Win + I → Gaming → Game Mode → On

Game Mode reduces background CPU and GPU activity when a game is in focus.

Power Plan for Gaming

# Ultimate Performance (eliminates CPU idle states)
powercfg /duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61
powercfg /setactive e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

# Verify
powercfg /getactivescheme

Disable Xbox Game Bar (if you don't use it)

# Disable Game Bar
Set-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR" `
  -Name "AppCaptureEnabled" -Value 0 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\GameBar" `
  -Name "UseNexusForGameBarEnabled" -Value 0 -Type DWord

# Disable via Settings
# Win + I → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar → Off

GPU Settings (NVIDIA)

For NVIDIA GPUs via NVIDIA Control Panel:

Power Management Mode → Prefer maximum performance
Texture filtering Quality → Performance
Vertical sync → Off (use in-game V-Sync or G-Sync instead)
Threaded optimization → On
Low Latency Mode → Ultra (for competitive games)

# Check GPU driver version
(Get-WmiObject Win32_VideoController).DriverVersion

# Force GPU driver update check
# Download from nvidia.com/drivers

GPU Settings (AMD)

For AMD GPUs via AMD Adrenalin software:

Radeon Anti-Lag → Enabled (reduces input latency)
Radeon Chill → Disabled (for max FPS)
Image Sharpening → as preferred
Enhanced Sync → as preferred

Reduce Input Lag

# Disable fullscreen optimization (can help some games)
$gamePath = "C:\Games\GameName.exe"
Set-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers" `
  -Name $gamePath -Value "DISABLEDXMAXIMIZEDWINDOWEDMODE"

# High resolution timer for lower latency
# bcdedit /set useplatformtick yes  # careful — test before permanent

Disable Background Processes

# Stop telemetry (reduces background CPU)
Stop-Service DiagTrack -Force -EA 0
Set-Service DiagTrack -StartupType Disabled -EA 0

# Disable SysMain (unnecessary on SSD)
Stop-Service SysMain -Force
Set-Service SysMain -StartupType Disabled

# Check what's using CPU while gaming
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending | Select-Object -First 10 Name, CPU

Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)

# Enable HAGS (requires Windows 11 + recent GPU)
Set-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" `
  -Name "HwSchMode" -Value 2 -Type DWord

# Verify (2 = enabled)
(Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers").HwSchMode

Storage Optimization for Games

# DirectStorage check (Windows 11, NVMe required)
(Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Storage\DirectStorage" -EA 0).GpuDecompressionSupported

# Keep game drive with 15%+ free space for shader compilation
Get-PSDrive D | Select-Object @{n='Free %';e={[math]::Round($_.Free/($_.Free+$_.Used)*100)}}

Summary

Enable Game Mode and Ultimate Performance power plan. Update GPU drivers. Disable Game Bar if unused. Enable HAGS on supported hardware. Disable DiagTrack and SysMain. Keep GPU drivers current — they have the biggest FPS impact after hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does disabling Xbox Game Bar improve FPS?

Slightly — 1-3% in some games. The bigger gain is disabling background recording if it was on. Not worth it if you use clips/screenshots regularly.

Should I use Full Screen or Borderless Windowed mode?

Exclusive Full Screen: lowest input lag, game has direct GPU access. Borderless Windowed: easier Alt+Tab, but slightly higher input lag. For competitive play — Full Screen. For streaming or multiple monitors — Borderless.

My GPU is at 100% but FPS is low — what's wrong?

You're GPU-bound at your current settings — lower resolution or graphics quality to get more FPS. 100% GPU is actually the goal in GPU-limited games. CPU bottleneck is different: CPU at 100% with GPU below 90%.