Microsoft advised that Windows 11 contains some tweaks to security settings that can help PC gamers get smoother frame rates.
In a blog post (Opens in a new tab) Spotted by Tom’s Hardware (Opens in a new tab)In this article, Microsoft provides instructions on how to turn off two features that provide better security for Windows 11 PCs, and therefore better performance in games – with the trade-off that your system is more vulnerable to attack with this functionality disabled.
The features in question are Memory Integrity (in Windows Security and Core Isolation) and Virtual Machine Platform, known as VMP (under Windows Features). Both are simple switches (well, a slider and a checkbox respectively) that can be turned off if you wish.
Microsoft notes: “As part of ongoing testing and feedback from users, Microsoft has noted that in some scenarios and some gaming hardware configurations, there may be an impact on performance with Memory Integrity and VMP turned on.”
As the company notes: “Gamers who want to prioritize performance have the option to turn these features off during gameplay and turn them back on when they are finished playing. However, if the device is turned off, it may be vulnerable to threats.”
As Microsoft explains, Memory Integrity helps ensure that all installed drivers are fully signed and trustworthy, blocking a single path of malicious code injection that nefarious types might use.
Analysis: How much performance success are we talking about here?
Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t say what kind of effect these two mentioned security features can have on frame rates, and how much you might gain by turning them off (roughly – no doubt this will vary somewhat based on all sorts of factors).
All this may not be much on average, judging by what we see online. (Tom thinks there might be a 5% to 10% slowdown, though the latter end of that guess would be more worrisome – and the fact that Microsoft has acknowledged a problem here also seems to suggest that any effect isn’t entirely trivial.)
However, as mentioned, be careful about leaving these features turned off permanently, even if it’s a little tricky to turn VMP and Memory Integrity off and then back on again. This task may seem like a simple matter of a few clicks in settings on the face of it, but the caveat is that you may have to restart your computer – at which time it can be a bit annoying to keep these features turned off and on.
However, if you’ve been playing a competitive shooter, say, once a week, and absolutely crave the looser frame rates of those gaming sessions, it’s helpful to know these actions you can take in Windows 11. Just don’t forget to get things back afterwards. .
