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Thousands upon thousands of people get a new desktop or laptop computer this holiday season. Many of these new systems will run the Windows 11 operating system, and more than a few of these computers will be designated for gaming. Unfortunately, this is where so many people make the mistake of believing that default settings and configurations are sufficient for gaming performance.
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Whether you buy your new Windows 11 computer from Best Buy, Dell, or an online boutique, it needs to be optimized and optimized for gaming. Taking a few simple but important steps early on to prepare your new PC for gaming will turn an ordinary PC into a stunning one that reaches its full performance potential.
Top 7 Windows 11 gaming computer recommendations
The following tips and tricks have been covered individually before on TechRepublic, but the real benefit of these ideas comes when they are applied together.
1. Activate game mode
Windows game mode will devote significantly more resources to a game application, mute notifications, and stop or slow down most background tasks, thereby improving performance. CPU-stealing background apps like file indexing, feature updates, and malware scans will have to wait while you play.
Open the Windows 11 Settings menu, then click the Gaming entry in the left navigation bar. On the Game Settings screen, open the Game Mode item and move the switch to the On position, as shown in Figure A.
Figure A
2. Prioritize GPU in specific games
While on the Game Mode screen, click on the Graphics item to bring up another preset that you may want to change. For graphically intensive games, you’ll probably want to specify that you always want to use the high-performance GPU when gaming.
As shown in Figure BClick the Change default graphics settings option and then turn on Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling.
Figure B
3. Turn off advanced pointer accuracy
The next gaming performance tip is probably the most obscure. Through advanced pointer precision setting, Windows 11 seeks to improve the user experience with a specific set of mouse improvements. However, many games do the same thing and can conflict with each other, causing the mouse pointer to move less efficiently, the opposite of intended.
For gaming computers, it’s best to turn off the improved pointer accuracy. Search for “mouse properties” in desktop search, then select Additional Mouse Settings from the Related Settings section, as shown in Figure C. On the Mouse Properties screen, select the Pointer Options tab and turn off advanced pointer precision.
Figure C
4. Update the GPU driver
GPU drivers, regardless of manufacturer, are constantly updated and improved for better, more reliable performance. Graphics cards from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel run at peak performance when using the most up-to-date drivers, so you should update your gaming computer regularly.
Your factory-installed graphics card drivers are likely to be several versions behind, so it’s imperative that you take a few moments before you start installing games to update your drivers.
5. Update Windows
Likewise, it’s important to update Windows 11 before you start installing apps and games on your new gaming computer. The factory version of Windows 11 is probably several versions behind the current version, and new security protocols need to be implemented for your protection.
Also remember to check for additional and optional updates, as drivers for chipsets, network adapters, and other hardware may be several versions behind. To achieve maximum performance, all systems must be up-to-date and secure.
6. Disable non-gaming and unnecessary startup apps
Depending on the company that put together your new Windows 11 gaming computer, you may only have a few unnecessary or promotional applications, or you may have a dozen or more. While these apps are generally mostly harmless, they can hamper the performance of a gaming PC if not removed.
Open the Start menu and find your apps. While scrolling through the list of apps, right-click the ones you want to uninstall. Start with the obvious promotional apps from third-party developers, then consider other applications that aren’t practical for a gaming computer. The removable candidate list will be personal to you and your situation.
7. Enable the High Performance and Optimized power plan
The final performance tip for a new Windows 11 gaming computer requires you to bypass the normal Settings menus and open the Control Panel. Type “control panel” in the desktop search box and select the appropriate item from the results. From the list of settings in Control Panel, shown in Figure Dselect Power Options.
Figure D
On laptops, you’ll probably only have the Balanced option by default. To see more options, click Create a power plan from the list in the left navigation bar.
As you can see inside Figure E, now you have a few more options. For a gaming PC, choose the option that gives you the best performance, but keep in mind that the setting will use more power and drain your battery faster.
Figure E
There is a potential power setting called Ultimate mode, which would be ideal for a desktop gaming computer running Windows 11, but that setting requires a special procedure and a Windows registry file hack.
Optimize for gaming
Getting a new computer is an exciting event for most people. Getting a new computer that will be used for gaming is even more exciting, but preparing that computer for the performance demands of modern games takes some preparation and optimization. Take a few moments to prepare your new computer before you start loading games and other applications onto your new computer.
