Real settings tested in CoD, Valorant, CS2, and LoL: Ultimate Performance plan, XMP in BIOS, Game Bar off, and what to avoid if you don't want to break your system.
Windows 11 ships configured for an office laptop that needs to save power and update itself automatically. For gaming, half the default settings are working against you. Here are the changes that actually move the needle on my desktop (the same four games as in the other guides: CoD, Valorant, CS2, and League), the ones that come with an "only if you know what you're doing" warning, and the shortcuts you'll see everywhere that will actually screw you over.
Power Plan: Ultimate Performance (the highest-return setting per minute invested)
The Balanced plan drops CPU frequency when Windows thinks you don't need it. In games with heavy drawcalls — teamfights in LoL, drops in Apex, swings in Valorant — that translates to microstutters you'll feel.
I switched to High Performance a while back and, when I found out it existed, to Ultimate Performance. It's hidden from the default settings, but you can enable it with a quick command in PowerShell as admin:
Once enabled, select it under Settings → System → Power & sleep → Additional power settings. What do you notice? The CPU holds its boosted frequency, smoothness improves, and a lot of background processes stop stepping on you while you play. I noticed it most in League, where the bottleneck isn't the GPU but those burst load spikes. If you're only keeping one OS-level change, make it this one.
Remove Xbox Game Bar and Disable Game Mode (yes, Game Mode too)
Here's the contrarian take no YouTube channel will give you: I disabled Windows 11 Game Mode and all four games got smoother.
That sounds wrong because every guide says the opposite. The theory is that Game Mode prioritizes your game over other processes. In practice, once you have the Ultimate plan set and background processes under control, Game Mode jumps in to "help" and sometimes introduces stutter instead of preventing it. I turned it off under Settings → Gaming → Game Mode, and the difference was small but real
Xbox Game Bar is a different story: just kill it. Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar → Off. It carries background recording, achievement capture, and a background process you don't need if you're not in the Xbox ecosystem. Just disabling it makes the system breathe easier under heavy load.
If you record clips, use ShadowPlay (NVIDIA) or ReLive (AMD). They're less invasive and were built by people who actually understand gaming.
XMP in the BIOS: the "Windows setting" that isn't actually a Windows setting
I'm including this here because almost nobody enables it, and it moves the needle MORE than most OS tweaks. If you bought "DDR4 3600" or "DDR5 6000" RAM, by default it's running at the JEDEC standard speed (2666, 4800...), not the advertised speed. You paid for a speed you're not getting.
Enter the BIOS at boot (F2, Del, or F10 depending on your board) and enable XMP (Intel boards) or EXPO (AMD boards). It's a toggle, no fine-tuning required.
In games where CPU matters more than GPU — LoL, CS2, simulators — the frame jump with XMP enabled is real. If you've never touched it, this is the single change with the most free performance on the table. And the best part: set it once and it stays. No maintenance.
The "only if you know what you're doing" tier: Windows Defender and Windows Update
Something I've noticed after years of the same routine: a lot of Windows updates destabilize games for a few days after they're applied. I've seen inexplicable slowdowns in CS2 after a Patch Tuesday, erratic frametime in Valorant after a driver Windows pushed without warning, and even a Microsoft Store update that broke NVIDIA App capture for a week. So I pause updates deliberately and apply them before a long session, never after. If you're not controlling what updates and when, those microregressions you're writing off as "the game's acting weird today" are actually Windows.
Here I'll change my tone. These two changes do deliver performance gains, but I'll be straight with you: only if you know what you're doing.
Disabling Windows Defender reduces background scans and frees CPU from antimalware processes. I have it disabled on my PC. But I do NOT recommend it to anyone who doesn't have full control over what's installed, what sites they download from, and how to monitor the system without antivirus running. If that's not you, there's a safer route: add your game folders as exclusions in Windows Security. You get 80% of the benefit with none of the risk.
Disabling Windows Update has a less obvious reason: updates force restarts and sometimes push patches that re-enable VBS or other services. If you've spent time tuning your system, one bad update can silently revert three settings at once without telling you. I keep them disabled deliberately. If you're not comfortable with that: use the native pause option (up to 5 weeks under Settings → Windows Update) and apply manually when you're ready.
These two are not for everyone. If you're on the fence: leave them as-is. The FPS difference isn't worth spending a weekend restoring your system.
The shortcut you should NEVER take: activating Windows with KMS or pirated tools
I'm adding this because it comes up in EVERY "how to optimize Windows for free" thread: do not activate Windows with KMS scripts or pirated activators.
It's not just the legal issue (though that matters too). It's that you lock yourself into that activation: you can't drop a legit license on top without fighting with the registry, anti-cheat software can flag the system as suspicious (with real consequences in competitive games), and any official support will ignore you because your system isn't in a clean state.
If you need Windows 11 Pro for certain settings, an OEM license is cheap. If you're going to invest time optimizing your PC, don't build on a foundation that'll come back to bite you.
What I haven't tested: VBS and HVCI
There's a huge debate around disabling VBS (Virtualization-Based Security) and HVCI (Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity) in Windows 11 to gain FPS. The theory says yes, especially on mid-range CPUs. I haven't touched it on my system, so I can't tell you how much you'd gain, and this site doesn't regurgitate theory I haven't tested myself.
Two things to know if you go looking:
Some anti-cheats — Valorant Vanguard especially — require VBS to be enabled or they may not launch. If you play Valorant, research this before touching anything.
If you disable it and then a Windows Update re-enables it without warning, you'll lose two hours on a Sunday trying to figure out why your PC is slower without having changed anything.
When I've tested it thoroughly, I'll write a dedicated guide. Not before.
How to measure whether your changes are actually working (because almost nobody does)
Other guides put this first; I put it last because people skip it anyway. Before touching anything, open a game you know well and measure FPS and frametime using NVIDIA App Overlay, MSI Afterburner, or the game's built-in benchmark. Write down the numbers.
Apply one change. Measure again.
1-2 FPS difference: statistical noise, not your change.
5-10 FPS sustained: that change stays.
Worse frametime (more chaotic line), even if the average goes up: that change does NOT stay.
Change one thing at a time, never a batch. If you do everything at once you won't know what helped and what hurt.
And for the next level: clean install + playbook
If you've done all this and want to go further, there's a more aggressive path: clean Windows install + a playbook like ReviOS, AtlasOS, or KernelOS. I cover it in detail in this other guide, but the short version:
Don't apply a playbook on top of a Windows install that's been tweaked for months. The conflicts are unpredictable, the logs won't help you, and you'll spend more time reverting than you would have on a clean install. Do the clean install first, apply the playbook as a single layer, then build on top: NVIDIA panel settings next (in this other guide) and per-game settings after that.
Order matters: BIOS (XMP) → Clean Windows → Playbook → Drivers → Graphics panel → Per-game settings.
This guide is the foundation. It's what any gaming setup should have — the safe stuff. Playbooks are the next floor up. And a clean install is the only sensible way to start that floor.
Xbox Game Bar OFF. Game Mode OFF (counterintuitive, but it works).
BIOS → XMP/EXPO enabled. The most gains per minute invested.
Defender: add game folders as exclusions for everyone; disable entirely only if you know what you're doing.
Windows Update: deliberately paused or disabled if you can handle the consequences.
VBS: worth researching if you're interested — I haven't tested it myself.
KMS: never.
Measure before and after or you won't know what you're doing.
If you're only keeping two changes from this entire guide: Ultimate Performance plan + XMP in the BIOS. Those two get you 70% of the benefit. Everything else is fine-tuning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Ultimate Performance plan do and how much does it improve gaming on Windows 11?
The Ultimate Performance plan keeps the CPU at its boosted frequency at all times, instead of stepping it down when Windows thinks it isn't needed. This reduces microstutters in games with heavy drawcalls, like teamfights in LoL or drops in Apex. If you're only keeping one OS-level change, make it this one.
Does Windows 11 Game Mode improve or hurt performance?
Counterintuitively, disabling it improved smoothness across all four test games. Once you have the Ultimate Performance plan set and background processes under control, Game Mode jumps in to "help" and sometimes introduces stutter instead of preventing it. The difference was small but real in frametime, especially in Valorant.
What is XMP and how do you enable it for more FPS?
XMP (on Intel boards) or EXPO (on AMD boards) is a BIOS toggle that makes your RAM run at the advertised speed instead of the default JEDEC speed. If you bought DDR4 3600 or DDR5 6000 RAM, without XMP it's running at 2666 or 4800 respectively. In games where CPU matters more than GPU, like LoL or CS2, the frame jump with XMP enabled is real.
Why not use KMS activators or pirated tools to optimize Windows for gaming?
It's not just the legal problem: anti-cheat software can flag your system as suspicious, with direct consequences in competitive games. On top of that, you can't add a legitimate license on top without fighting with the registry, and any official support will ignore you because the system isn't in a clean state. If you're going to invest time optimizing your PC, don't build on a foundation that'll come back to bite you.
