If you don’t want to buy a console or prefer the PC gaming experience, you’ll probably need a device running Windows. Apple is yet to embrace gaming on macOS, while most AAA titles won’t run on Chrome OS. 

Windows 10 offers a solid gaming experience and will be supported until October 2025, but Microsoft has specifically advertised Windows 11 as a great operating system for gaming. 

The latter adds a couple of extra features you won’t find on Windows 10, but there are some extra steps you can take to get the most out of your games on Windows 11. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Enable Auto HDR

Auto HDR is a feature that’s only available on Windows 11 (and Xbox consoles), adding high dynamic range (HDR) to all games – including those which don’t support it. 

Essentially, this means you get a brighter image and more vibrant colours than standard dynamic range (SDR), which should make for a more immersive gaming experience. The only catch is that you’ll need an HDR-capable monitor – it’s worth checking if you’re not sure. 

Head to Settings > System > Display, then scroll down and choose ‘HDR’. From here, you should see a screen which looks like the below. 

Choose your display from the drop-down menu (if you have more than one connected), then check under ‘Display capabilities’ if ‘Use HDR’ is supported. If the answer is yes, make sure toggles for ‘Use HDR’ and ‘Auto HDR’ are set to the on positions. 

Enable default graphics settings

Graphics play a huge role in gaming performance, and there are some useful settings which help maximise that. Both are available via Settings > Display > Graphics > Change default graphics settings. 

The first is when playing windowed games (as opposed to full screen), which would usually see increased latency and some restricted features. Turning on ‘optimizations for windowed games’ should improve that.

Whether you see more options will depend on the specs of your device.  

On displays which can dynamically adjust refresh rate (usually between 60-120Hz or higher), there will be a toggle for ‘Variable refresh rate’. For devices with discrete GPUs from the likes of AMD or Nvidia, you’ll see ‘Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling’. It’s worth turning on both. 

Turn on Game Mode

Did you know all Windows 11 devices have a ‘Game Mode’? Each time you launch a game, this will stop Windows Update from running in the background and help to achieve a more stable frame rate. 

It’s often on by default, but head to Settings > Gaming > Game Mode to make sure.

Use the Xbox Game Bar

Once you’ve launched a title, the pre-installed Xbox Game Bar is a useful tool. It provides quick access to screen capture and sharing tools, plus Spotify integration and messaging with Xbox friends.

You can open it like any other app, but the Windows Key + G shortcut is worth knowing for when you’re in a game. 

Keep CPU and GPU drivers up to date

All the major chip manufacturers regularly update the drivers for their CPUs and GPUs to keep everything running smoothly. Out-of-date drivers usually don’t present a big security risk, but they do mean some newer games won’t be fully supported. 

Updates will usually be delivered via Windows Update like any other, but it’s also worth checking manually. Open the Device Manager, then right-click any relevant driver and choose ‘Update driver’. 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for or it’s proving to be a lot of hassle, third-party software such as Obit’s free Driver Booster can check and perform any updates for you. 

Manage Windows paging file

On devices with limited RAM (usually 4GB or less), Windows 11 often relies on extra virtual memory known as a ‘paging file’. This takes up around 10GB of the hard drive or SSD, preventing issues on entry-level devices. 

But if you regularly have RAM to spare (even while gaming), disabling or reducing the size of the paging file can improve performance and slow the wear of your SSD. To find out, check the ‘Memory’ section of the Task Manager app while running your most demanding app or game.

If you’re sure you have extra capacity, head to Settings > System > About and choose ‘Advanced system settings’ from the ‘Related links’ section. 

From the window that appears, select the ‘Advanced’ tab, then ‘Settings…’ under the Performance section. Choose the advanced tab again, then ‘Change…’ within the Virtual memory section. 

Uncheck the box next to ‘Automatically manage paging file size for all drives’, then either choose a ‘Custom size’ in Mb or select ‘No paging file’. Click ‘OK’ from both screens, then restart to apply changes.

After this change, monitor games for any issues and adjust the paging file settings if you encounter any issues. 

Upgrade internals

The final two steps are totally optional, and involve making changes to the hardware rather than Windows 11 itself. 

Upgrading your CPU, GPU, RAM and/or SSD can all have a significant effect on gaming performance, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with the process – provided you have a desktop PC. 

The situation is much more complicated on a gaming laptop, where upgrading components isn’t recommended (even if it is possible). In most cases, opening up a laptop will void the warranty, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it working again unless you know what you’re doing.

Try overclocking

Overclocking is also worth considering. It can boost the clock speed of the CPU and GPU above what they’re normally capable of, increasing the overall performance. The likes of MSI and Gigabyte provide their own overclocking tools, which work for both laptops and desktop PCs.

However, a word of warning: overclocking can often lead to reduced stability, so proceed with caution.

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