Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallFor most gaming PCs, start with Game Mode enabled, assign demanding laptop games to the High performance GPU, test Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) rather than assuming it helps, and enable Windows 11’s Optimizations for windowed games for compatible DirectX 10 and 11 borderless games. These settings are not universal FPS boosters. They target different problems: background-resource contention, GPU scheduling, GPU selection, and frame presentation.
Windows 10 settings may still work, but Windows 10 reached end of normal support on October 14, 2025. For a new or supported gaming installation, Windows 11 is the better long-term platform. See Microsoft’s Windows 10 support notice for upgrade and Extended Security Updates details.
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The recommended baseline
| Setting | What it changes | Default recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Prioritizes gaming over competing background work | On |
| Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling | Moves much of GPU scheduling toward dedicated GPU scheduling hardware | Test on and off |
| Per-app GPU preference | Chooses between available power-saving and high-performance GPUs | High performance for demanding games on hybrid laptops |
| Optimizations for windowed games | Uses a newer presentation path for compatible DX10/DX11 windowed and borderless games | On in Windows 11, with per-game exceptions |
| Auto HDR | Changes image presentation on supported HDR displays | Optional; not an FPS tweak |
None of these settings replaces a faster CPU or GPU, fixes thermal throttling, or guarantees higher average frame rates. A setting that slightly increases FPS but produces uneven frame times is not necessarily an improvement.
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Before changing anything: establish a baseline
- Check your Windows version with
winver, or open Settings > System > About. - Record your graphics driver version in NVIDIA App, NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Software, Intel Graphics Software, or Device Manager.
- Choose one representative game and repeat the same scene or route.
- Record average FPS, 1% lows or a frame-time graph, visible stutter, responsiveness, GPU and CPU utilization, temperatures, and power behavior.
- Keep the resolution, graphics settings, refresh rate, frame cap, overlays, capture tools, and background applications unchanged.
Change one setting at a time. Restart the game after graphics-setting changes, and restart Windows whenever a system setting requests it. Average FPS describes throughput; frame-time consistency describes how evenly frames arrive. Input latency, power use, temperature, HDR, VRR, recording, overlays, and stability can matter just as much.
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Game Mode: leave it on first
Game Mode is primarily a resource-management feature. It can give a game a more consistent share of CPU, memory, storage, and other system resources when background applications, updates, indexing, browsers, recording, or other workloads compete with it. Microsoft describes it as a way to help maintain a more consistent gaming experience, not as a fixed-percentage FPS upgrade. Read Microsoft’s Game Mode explanation.
It does not overclock the CPU or GPU, change a game’s graphics preset, remove a CPU or GPU bottleneck, or automatically fix shader-compilation stutter and poor game optimization.
How to enable Game Mode
The path is the same on current Windows 10 and Windows 11 releases:
- Open Settings.
- Select Gaming.
- Select Game Mode.
- Turn Game Mode on.
Leave it on for the normal baseline. If you are investigating unusual stutter or a game-specific regression, test it off using the same scene and conditions. If nothing changes, it was probably not the limiting factor. If turning it off helps, investigate the background workload and overlays rather than treating Game Mode as the root cause.
Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling: a system-wide experiment
HAGS changes how GPU work is scheduled. Instead of leaving most high-frequency scheduling work to the CPU and software stack, compatible systems can move more of that work toward dedicated scheduling hardware on the GPU. Microsoft introduced HAGS as an optional feature intended to reduce CPU scheduling overhead; its DirectX documentation does not promise a universal gaming gain.
HAGS is normally global rather than per-game. It can affect games, desktop GPU acceleration, video applications, streaming, capture software, VR, overlays, and drivers. The correct test is therefore broader than average FPS: check frame-time consistency, responsiveness, stability, capture compatibility, and whether a particular game develops new problems.
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HAGS path in Windows 11
- Open Settings.
- Go to System > Display > Graphics.
- Select Change default graphics settings.
- Find Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling.
- Turn it on or off, then restart Windows if prompted.
HAGS path in Windows 10
- Open Settings > System > Display.
- Select Graphics settings or Advanced graphics settings.
- Find Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling.
- Change the toggle and restart Windows if requested.
Labels and placement vary by Windows build. If the option is missing, run winver, install available updates for a supported release, install a current stable driver from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel, and reboot. The setting can also be absent on unsupported hardware, virtual or remote graphics environments, and unusual hybrid-GPU configurations. Do not force it through undocumented registry edits.
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- Test the game with HAGS off and record the result.
- Enable HAGS and restart Windows.
- Use the same game version, scene, settings, display mode, overlays, capture software, and background processes.
- Compare frame-time behavior, latency, crashes, black screens, driver resets, VR, streaming, and recording—not just average FPS.
Keep HAGS enabled if it is stable and beneficial on your hardware. Disable it if it introduces microstutter, crashes, driver resets, black screens, capture problems, overlay conflicts, or VR issues. Since it is not normally per-game, choose the globally more stable setting when different games behave differently.
Per-app GPU preference: stop games using the wrong GPU
Windows can assign an application to Let Windows decide, Power saving, or High performance. On a hybrid laptop, Power saving usually corresponds to the integrated GPU and High performance usually corresponds to the discrete GPU, although the exact hardware depends on the system.
This setting matters most when a demanding game launches on the integrated GPU. It may have little or no effect on a desktop with only one usable GPU, and High performance can increase heat, fan noise, power use, and battery drain. NVIDIA notes that, beginning with Windows 10 version 20H1, Windows controls preferred GPU selection for applications and can override older per-application preferences in NVIDIA Control Panel. Configure Windows Graphics settings first; see NVIDIA’s documentation.
Set a game to High performance in Windows 11
- Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
- Under Custom options for apps, locate the game.
- If it is absent, choose the option to add a desktop app and browse to the game’s executable.
- Select the game and choose Options.
- Choose High performance, then select Save.
- Close and restart the game.
Windows 10 uses the same general Graphics settings area, although the labels and layout may differ by release.
Add the rendering executable, not just the launcher
A common mistake is assigning Steam, Epic Games Launcher, Battle.net, or Xbox instead of the executable that actually renders the game. If the setting appears ineffective:
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- Start the game and open Task Manager.
- Identify the running game process and use Open file location where available.
- Add that game executable under Graphics settings.
- If the launcher starts a second process, configure the rendering process as well.
- Restart the game after saving the preference.
Verify the result with Task Manager’s GPU engine information or the vendor’s monitoring software. On laptops, also check the manufacturer’s hybrid, MUX, discrete-only, or optimized graphics mode. On desktops, make sure the monitor cable is connected to the intended GPU.
Use High performance for demanding games when the laptop is plugged in and the game is demonstrably using the wrong GPU. Use Power saving for browsers, office programs, video playback, and lightweight games where battery life matters. Intel provides additional per-application GPU guidance.
Optimizations for windowed games in Windows 11
This setting targets compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games running in windowed or borderless-windowed modes. Microsoft says it transitions those games from the older blit presentation model to a newer flip model, which can reduce frame latency and improve compatibility with features such as Auto HDR and variable refresh rate on supported displays. It is not a universal optimization for every graphics API or display mode.
It may not materially affect DirectX 12, Vulkan, OpenGL, or true exclusive-fullscreen games. It is also different from the older Fullscreen optimizations option found in an executable’s Compatibility tab.
Enable it globally
- Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
- Under Default settings, enable Optimizations for windowed games.
- Restart the game.
Disable it for one game
- Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
- Select the game under Custom options for apps.
- Choose Options.
- Turn off Optimizations for windowed games.
- Select Save and restart the game.
Use a per-game opt-out if borderless mode develops flicker, incorrect HDR, worse-feeling latency, capture or overlay conflicts, alt-tab problems, visual corruption, or changed frame pacing. Compare borderless and fullscreen on the affected game rather than assuming fullscreen is always faster.
Auto HDR is related, but not a performance setting
Auto HDR is primarily an image-quality feature. It can improve the appearance of supported older games on a compatible HDR display, but results depend on the game, display, Windows calibration, and tone mapping. Microsoft’s HDR guidance requires an HDR-capable display and current graphics drivers for the best experience.
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Microsoft also notes that enabling Auto HDR automatically enables windowed-game optimizations. If you cannot disable the optimization globally, turn Auto HDR off first, then check the Graphics settings again.
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Desktop and laptop recommendations
Single-GPU desktop
- Leave Game Mode on.
- Test HAGS with the games and capture tools you actually use.
- Enable windowed-game optimizations for compatible Windows 11 DX10/DX11 borderless games.
- Per-app GPU selection usually has little value when there is only one relevant GPU.
- Check for frame caps, V-Sync, VRR, CPU limits, temperatures, and background workloads before changing more toggles.
Hybrid gaming laptop
- Assign demanding games to High performance when Windows selects the integrated GPU.
- Test while connected to AC power.
- Monitor temperatures, clock speeds, fan noise, and battery drain.
- Check the manufacturer’s MUX or hybrid graphics mode.
- Remember that a physically iGPU-connected display can affect how frames are routed and what performance is possible.
Troubleshooting matrix
| Symptom | What to check | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| HAGS is missing | Windows build, supported driver, GPU, virtual/remote graphics, hybrid configuration | Run winver, update Windows and the GPU driver, reboot, and leave HAGS unsupported rather than forcing it through the registry. |
| The game uses the wrong GPU | Actual rendering executable, laptop MUX mode, Task Manager GPU engine, desktop monitor cable | Add the game executable, select High performance, save, restart, and verify the active GPU. |
| There is no FPS change | GPU or CPU bottleneck, frame cap, V-Sync, VRR, thermal throttling, API scope, shader compilation | Diagnose utilization, temperatures, frame times, RAM/VRAM, and disk activity before changing another toggle. |
| Stutter starts after HAGS | Driver, overlay, capture, VR, shader compilation, asset streaming, temperatures | Disable HAGS, restart Windows, retest, temporarily disable overlays and capture, and consider a driver rollback if the regression began immediately after an update. |
| Crashes or black screens | HAGS, driver, overlays, capture software, unstable overclock, thermal limits | Return HAGS to its previous state, restart, test without overlays, and use a known-stable driver if necessary. |
| HDR or borderless visuals are wrong | Auto HDR dependency, display capability, game HDR implementation, windowed optimization | Disable the game’s Auto HDR option and per-game windowed optimization, restart, and compare borderless with fullscreen. |
| Laptop runs hot after GPU selection | Discrete-GPU power use, cooling, plugged-in mode, frame rate | Use High performance only for demanding games, cap FPS where appropriate, improve cooling, or return less demanding apps to Power saving. |
What not to do
- Do not turn on every toggle and assume the combined result must be faster.
- Do not use registry hacks to force a missing feature.
- Do not disable security features for an unverified FPS claim.
- Do not assign the discrete GPU to every application on a laptop.
- Do not install several driver tweakers or one-click “optimizer” utilities at once.
- Do not measure only average FPS; watch frame times, latency, temperatures, and stability.
- Do not change Windows settings, drivers, in-game graphics, overlays, and power modes simultaneously.
Official driver and control software from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel can be useful for monitoring and profiles, but third-party registry cleaners, RAM cleaners, and broad “gaming booster” scripts make troubleshooting harder.
When a hardware upgrade is the real answer
If monitoring shows a sustained GPU bottleneck, a graphics-card upgrade may help more than any Windows toggle. Choose based on resolution, refresh rate, VRAM, ray tracing, upscaling, power supply, case clearance, CPU balance, and the games you play. Official product information is available from NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. Do not buy a new GPU solely because HAGS or Game Mode produced no improvement; the actual issue may be CPU limitation, wrong GPU selection, thermal throttling, shader compilation, insufficient RAM, or a driver regression.
A VRR monitor can make frame delivery feel smoother, but it is not a substitute for adequate performance. Check the monitor’s native refresh rate, VRR range, Adaptive-Sync compatibility, response behavior, HDR quality, resolution, and connection requirements. See NVIDIA G-SYNC, AMD FreeSync, and VESA DisplayHDR.
For Windows 10 systems that cannot meet Windows 11 requirements, a supported Windows 11 PC may be more appropriate than chasing small gains from system tweaks. An eligible Windows 10 22H2 device may qualify for a free upgrade, while some consumer systems can use Extended Security Updates. Check Microsoft’s Windows 11 download and upgrade information before buying hardware.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Practical recommendation
Use Game Mode on as the baseline. On a hybrid laptop, assign each demanding game’s actual rendering executable to High performance, then verify that the discrete GPU is active. Treat HAGS as an A/B-tested global option: keep it only when it is stable and improves the experience or required workflow. In Windows 11, enable Optimizations for windowed games for compatible DX10/DX11 borderless titles, but use per-game exceptions when HDR, overlays, capture, latency, or frame pacing becomes worse. If a change does nothing, that is useful diagnostic information—not a reason to stack on more unsupported tweaks.
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