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1 ACTIVATE AND TWEAK GAME MODE

According to the Xbox website, the Windows-dedicated ‘Game Mode’ is designed to ‘prioritze your gaming experience’. This means that while activated, Windows won’t perform driver installations or send any restart notifications.

» To get started, simply open Settings via the Windows search bar. From here, select ‘Gaming’ from the left-hand tab, then click ‘Game Mode’.

» You can then enable Game Mode using the rocker switch. As the XBox website states, Game Mode is in fact enabled by default, so you may not have to do anything further.

» While Game Mode is enabled, any running games should be prioritized by your device’s CPU and GPU. System resources for background processes will also be deprioritized.

» To fine-tune Game Mode further, hit ‘Graphics’. From here, you can configure graphics performance for selected apps, such as your games.

» To get started, simply click the drop-down menu under ‘Add an App’ to choose either a Desktop or Microsoft Store program.

» Next, click ‘Browse’ to navigate to your chosen game, which will now appear in the list of apps at the bottom of the screen. Choose ‘Options’ to fine-tune settings. Unsurprisingly, [Image A] you’re likely to achieve the best results by choosing ‘High Performance’, as well as leaving ‘Don’t use optimization for windowed games’ unchecked. Click ‘Save’ to continue.

THERE’S NO BETTER WAY to experience gaming than on a dedicated PC with a high-end graphics card, liquid cooling system and RAM to spare. Still, even the very best hardware can have issues running the latest games. You may find that textures don’t live up to the promise of those 4K YouTube previews. Gameplay itself sometimes can be glitchy or the controls don’t respond in the way you want them to. Such bugs can often be patched simply by updating the game itself. Even when a game seems to be operating at peak performance, though, you want to know that it and your operating system are making the very best use of the hardware available.

In this guide, you’ll discover how to tweak Windows 11’s settings to optimize your gaming experience. Some of these steps are straightforward, such as activating Windows’ ‘Game Mode’ and enabling AutoHDR. You’ll also learn how to check you’re running the very latest drivers for all hardware components, as well as how to monitor game performance to measure the effectiveness of any changes via the Xbox Game Bar.

Some of these optimizations come at the expense of other system resources, such as background processes, so we always recommend using a dedicated gaming PC. –NATE DRAKE