Ah, the thrill of loosening the security a little for a few extra framerates! Well, that’s what Microsoft is suggesting Windows 11 users do if they want to run their gaming hardware at its absolute peak.
It is not very often we are told to disable security features on your system — certainly not by Microsoft.
Usually, it is the other way around, as we either enable certain options or leave things as they are to ensure that our system is safe from threats.
But in this particular case, Microsoft has issued some advice about improving game performance in Windows 11. And it involves turning off a bunch of security features in the operating system that apparently drain the hardware resources of your PC.
This surprising advice comes in the form of a support document conveniently titled Options to Optimize Gaming Performance in Windows 11.
And it outlines two settings that the software titan says can impact gaming performance: Memory Integrity and Virtual Machine Platform.
As the company explains:
“As part of continued testing and feedback from users, Microsoft has seen that in some scenarios and some configurations of gaming devices there may be a performance impact with Memory Integrity and VMP on.
Windows provides choice and control for users to configure their PCs to meet their specific needs, including the ability to turn Windows features like Memory Integrity and VMP on and off. Gamers who want to prioritize performance have the option to turn off these features while gaming and turn them back on when finished playing. However, if turned off, the device may be vulnerable to threats.”
Instructions to disable these options are provided in the document itself.
By switching both off, you should be able to enjoy a notably better gaming experience, albeit on a less secure machine. This is exactly why Microsoft points out that this is meant to be done only when gaming, and the security should be reenabled afterward.
Hopefully, now that this secret is out in the open, the company can automate this process by integrating it into a special dedicated Game Mode that gamers can turn on when they sit down to play.
One can hope!
