Trying to defuse a bomb in slow motion while your Counter Strike game lags on your Windows 10 PC? It’s exactly like being stuck in a slow-motion apocalypse where your mouse cursor moves like a zombie. The solution: You need to optimize Windows 10 for gaming. Now, any seasoned gamer knows that every millisecond counts between a triumphant victory and a faceplant. That’s why you must optimize Windows 10 to make most of its hardware’s abilities and achieve best result from your gameplay. In this post, we’ve laid out nine approaches to do just that. So, let’s begin!
Part 1: Is Windows 10 Optimized for Gaming?
Yes, Windows 10 is optimized for gaming. In fact, it has many features that boost its performance and provide captivating gameplay. Here are some of these optimizing features:
- DirectX 12 – It enhances gaming performance by optimizing the computer’s hardware usage.
- Auto HDR Support – It automatically improves appearance, colors, contrast, and brightness of games on HDR-supported screens.
- Enhanced Graphics and Performance – Utilizes superior graphics technology to make games visually stunning and run without lags.
- Cross-Platform Play – It makes it possible for Windows 10 gamers to play with others on different devices such as Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.
- DirectStorage Integration – It enables game to use computer’s hard disk directly, skipping CPU which in turn makes games load faster.
- Xbox Game Pass Integration – It enables games to load faster by accessing the computer’s hard disk directly.
- Driver Support – Make sure your computer’s hardware is always up to date with latest drivers to optimize performance in games on Windows 10.
- Gaming Mode and Game Bar – A Game Mode makes games run better by reducing distractions. While a Game Bar allows you to record your gameplay or chat with friends while you play.
Part 2: How to Optimize Windows 10 for Gaming?
With above info, you’ve now learned there are various features to optimize PC for gaming on Windows 10. But how to utilize these features and what’s the process of using them, let’s find out in detail:
Fix 1: Game Mode
Enabling Game Mode can improve Windows 10 gaming performance on your PC. This is because it focuses more on smooth gameplay by optimizing resources and frame rate. This means less delay when you press buttons and overall better gaming performance. Here’s how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming by enabling Game Mode:
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time. This will open “Settings.”
Step 2: Choose “Gaming” and following that click “Game Mode.” Switch on “Game Mode.”
Fix 2: Increase C Drive Space
To make Windows 10 optimized for gaming, one smart move is to make more space on your C drive. If your C drive is full, games might run slowly and take forever to load. Therefore, if your computer’s C drive does not have an adequate amount of free space your gameplay will experience performance problems. The most effective option is to add extra space to your drive C with help of 4DDiG Partition Manager. Have a look at this tool’s key features:
- Make, resize, delete, format, or break partitions into one or more spaces with different file systems like NTFS or FAT32.
- Convert different partition and disk types, such as MBR, and GPT partitions, and basic or dynamic disks.
- Repair, recover, and restore partitions from your computer or storage devices.
Here’s how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming with help of this tool:
Step 1: Download and launch Partition Manager on your computer. Choose “Partition Management.”
Step 2: Right-click on C drive you want to add space to and hit “Extend/Shrink.”
Step 3: Drag borders of partition to increase its size or drag adjacent partitions to allocate space. Click “OK.”
Step 4: Press “Execute 1 Task(s)” to apply changes and wait for process to finish.
Fix 3: Turn off Game Bar
Game Bar is an in-built feature in Windows 10 that lets you capture screenshots, record your games, etc while you play. But if your computer isn’t very powerful, your games might run slower due to Game Bar. If that happens, you can turn off “Game Bar” to optimize Windows 10 for gaming. To do so:
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time. This will open “Settings.”
Step 2: Click “Gaming” and following that hit “Game Bar.”
Step 3: Toggle off option that states something like “Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game Bar.”
Fix 4: Silence Notifications
Notifications in Windows 10 frequently appear in form of intrusive pop-ups and sounds, which can distract you while gaming. But there’s a feature called “Focus Assist” in Windows 10 that aids you in controlling when and how you receive these notifications. This enables you to concentrate more on your gameplay. Here’s how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming with Focus Assist’s help:
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time. This will open “Settings.”
Step 2: Go to “System,” click “Focus Assist,” and following that select “Alarms Only” to hide other notifications.
Step 3: Toggle on “When I’m playing a game.” This will reduce notifications during gaming, so you can check them later.
Fix 5: Tweak Visual Effects
The visual effects in your Windows 10 by default rely on your graphics card for rendering. But having them running in background while you play games can eat up your PC’s resources. Thus, you can tweak those visual effects for Windows 10 optimization for gaming. This will give more breathing space to your graphics card so it can handle demanding visuals of games. To improve Windows 10 gaming performance by tweaking visual effects, follow steps below:
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time. This will open “Settings.”
Step 2: Type “performance” in search bar and head to “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.”
Step 3: Pick “Adjust for best performance” and following that click “Apply.”
Step 4: Next, head to “Advanced tab” and remember to set “Adjust for best performance of” to “Programs.”
Step 5: Click “Apply.” Then. hit “OK” to confirm.
Fix 6: Update GPU Drivers
Your GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is most crucial part of gameplay on your PC and it needs latest graphics driver to optimize PC for gaming Windows 10. If your graphics driver is old, your game may not perform well. So, you can update GPU drivers right from your Windows settings. Here’s how to do that:
Step 1: Write “Device Manager” in Windows search bar and right-click to pop it open.
Step 2: After you’ve selected “Display adapters,” expand it, and right-click on graphics driver.
Step 3: Select “Update driver.” Then choose Windows to update driver automatically. Or you can download driver from manufacturer’s site and then browse your computer to locate and install it manually to do Windows 10 optimization for gaming.
Fix 7: Install DirectX 12
DirectX 12 application holds huge importance if you want to play games on Windows 10. It communicates between your game and your computer, instructing your games how to work. Without DirectX 12, your games might not run smoothly. But you can install DirectX 12 to optimize PC for gaming on Windows 10. Here’s how:
Step 1: Press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time. This will open “Settings.”
Step 2: Select “Update & Security.” Following that open “Windows Update” tab.
Step 3: Click “Check for updates.” Install DirectX 12 update if you find it.
Fix 8: Disable Mouse Acceleration
The mouse acceleration feature in Windows 10 changes your cursor speed depending on how fast you move your mouse. In gaming, it can misdirect your mouse movements, making them less precise because it adds an additional factor to them. If you mainly play FPS games like Counter-Strike or Call of Duty where precise aiming is important, mouse acceleration can make you miss your shot. Therefore, you should disable mouse acceleration. It won’t make Windows 10 optimized for gaming but will help you play better. Here’s to turn off mouse acceleration:
Step 1: To launch “Settings” window, press “Windows + I” hotkeys at same time.
Step 2: Move to “Devices” and following that, select “Mouse.”
Step 3: Next go to “Additional mouse options” and following that uncheck “Enhance pointer precision” in “Pointer Options” tab.
Fix 9: Use a High Power Plan
Using a higher power plan won’t be of any help to you if you’re gaming on a desktop. However, it may improve Windows 10 gaming performance if you own a laptop. Here’s how to switch to a higher power plan:
Step 1: Type “Control Panel” in “Windows search bar,” and right-click on it to open. Choose “System and Security.”
Step 2: Pick “Power Options” and then, switch to “High performance.” If your laptop doesn’t have this, create a custom power plan instead.
FAQs
Q1: Is Windows 10 good enough for gaming?
Yes, Windows 10 is capable of gaming because of “Game Mode” feature that makes games run faster by suspending background tasks. Furthermore, you can also modify other settings or use other software to make games run better. In addition, most recent version of Windows 10 also supports older games and enables you to stream games from an Xbox One console.
Q2: How do I clean up Windows 10 to make it run faster?
You can delete temporary files to clean up Windows 10 in order to enhance its overall performance. To begin, write “disk cleanup” in Windows search bar and select Disk Cleanup.” Choose storage drive you want to clean and then press “OK.” Next, select file types to delete under “Files to delete” and hit “OK” to confirm.
Conclusion
Getting Windows 10 to run at its most efficient level is essential for its gaming performance and to avoid slow loading or laggy gameplay. There are various features available like Game Mode and Focus Assist and by adjusting them you can optimize Windows 10 for gaming.
And if you need more space on your C drive to improve gameplay, consider using 4DDiG Partition Manager. It’s an effective tool to provide Windows 10 optimization for gaming by adding space to your C drive without losing any data.
