How to Optimize Windows 10 for Gaming [Best Guide]

Windows 10 is an operating system that comes preconfigured to achieve the best performance by catering to an average user base. This means it is not prepared for any specific type of user and aims to be suitable for everyone. The problem arises when we want to dedicate it to a single purpose, such as playing the latest games, as the default configuration does not provide all the performance it could.

Windows is a system that includes many effects and design features that prioritize aesthetics over functionality, consuming significant system resources. Unless you have an ultra-powerful machine, it’s beneficial to disable these processes if we want to harness all available performance for gaming. We will also need to adjust a series of other parameters, so let’s take it step by step.

Compatibility and Requirements

Before starting to tweak our operating system, we must ensure 100% that we have a sufficiently powerful computer to run the game we want.

All games on the market indicate the minimum requirements to run, or at least to run smoothly, on the back cover. Obviously, if we have a latest-generation, high-power computer, we can assume it will handle any of today’s video games. However, if our computer is a few years old or not among the most powerful, we should compare the game’s minimum requirements with what we have installed on our PC.

If we don’t meet the game’s minimum requirements, it would be better to try a different title. But if we are close, we can adjust certain parameters within the game, such as resolution and image details, to manage to play, although, naturally, we won’t have a 100% optimal experience, at least visually.

Fortunately, we can accompany all this with certain changes to the computer that allow everything to run as smoothly as possible.

Game Mode in Windows 10

One of the first options we should know about our operating system is Game Mode. This mode activates automatically when running programs and games in full screen, optimizing and speeding up the operating system to achieve optimal performance.

To check if we have it activated, we should do the following:

Go to the Settings menu.
Once inside, go to the Gaming section.
You will see a section on the left labeled Game Mode.
Enter this section to see if you can activate or deactivate it. It should, of course, be active. If you are not going to play for a long time, you can deactivate it, as it consumes memory.

Now we need to configure the system to always use the most powerful graphics card by clicking on Graphics settings and adding the executable files of the games so that as soon as we start playing, they run at the highest possible performance.

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Update

Another important aspect of the system that we need to be clear about is keeping everything updated, as this ensures we have the latest features and improvements for the system.

Update Windows

The first step is to ensure we have the latest version of our operating system. This guarantees that there are no unresolved errors or issues, allowing us to play without any incidents. To check for updates, we should do the following:

Go to Settings (press Windows + i on the keyboard).
Select Update & Security and then Windows Update.
Click on Check for updates, and if there are any pending updates, we should install them.

Update Drivers

Drivers are something that the Microsoft system does not typically update on its own, which means they often aren’t very up-to-date. To solve this, there are programs we can install on our PC that analyze the drivers and take care of downloading, installing, and updating them. This way, the drivers will be up to date, which is especially important for the graphics card drivers, as this will greatly increase the chances of it functioning at 100%.

Update DirectX

DirectX is a series of resources and application programming interfaces (APIs) developed by Microsoft to aid in the development of multimedia and games on the operating system.

To check if we have the latest version of DirectX (currently version 12), we should follow these steps:

Open the Start menu and in the search box on the taskbar, type `dxdiag`.
You will see an option at the top of the window to access this tool, so click on it to open it.
A window will appear displaying a lot of information such as the date, computer name, operating system version, language, BIOS version, processor, memory, and near the bottom, you will see the DirectX Version, where it indicates the version you have.

If we need to update it, we only have to go to the website where the installer is located, choose the language, click on Download, and then run the `dxwebsetup.exe` file that is on our hard drive. Just wait for it to install, and it’s ready.

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Optimize Hardware

We need to ensure that all our hardware is functioning well, as video games tend to be very demanding on many parts of our computer.

Fans can be an essential component when gaming, as they need to run continuously to lower the temperature of the internal components when the system is under heavy load. The motherboard and everything connected to it are also heavily taxed, especially in the latest generation systems, so it must function correctly to provide a great experience. Additionally, the power supply is another crucial hardware component that should be in perfect condition since we might spend hours playing, and it will be working for extended periods.

Optimize Windows

After reviewing our PC in terms of hardware and updates, as well as knowing about Game Mode, the next steps involve configuring the system to deliver maximum performance for gaming.

Activate Maximum Performance

Power plans allow us to adjust the computer’s performance, so we need to modify it to achieve the maximum. To do this, we should follow these steps:

Go to the Control Panel by typing it in the taskbar and selecting it from the window that appears.
Then enter Hardware and Sound, and then select Power Options.
At the bottom, we need to select High Performance.

There is also a Maximum Performance plan, but it is only present on Microsoft’s operating system workstations. To access it, follow these steps:

Type CMD in the taskbar, then right-click on it and select Run as administrator.
Next, type the following and press Enter:
Copy code

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

Then go back to the power section of the control panel, and you should see this new Maximum Performance plan.

Disable Effects

We can limit the effects and transitions of the Microsoft operating system, as they consume significant resources that we need for our video game. To do this, follow these steps:

Go to the Advanced system settings by typing it in the taskbar and opening what appears.
In the Advanced tab, click on Performance Settings.
In the new window, click on Adjust for best performance. This will disable all the checkboxes at the bottom.
Finally, click on OK.

Disable Startup Programs

Many programs start as soon as the computer is turned on and consume memory, without necessarily needing to be running in the background. So, let’s deactivate them.

Open the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and go to the Startup tab.
Now, we need to disable everything that is not essential for the system to function, such as drivers and similar items. We will only deactivate those that we are completely sure about.

Disable Automatic Updates

If Microsoft software starts downloading updates, it will reduce system performance, so we should deactivate them to avoid interference with our game.