Windows 11 vs. 10 - Is Windows 11 worth it for gamers?

Windows 11 has been on the market since October 2021 and is gradually being offered as a free update for Windows 10 PCs. If you meet the system requirements set by Windows but have not yet been offered the update, you can also download it manually directly from Microsoft. The download can actually be worthwhile, as the new operating system brings some exciting features for gamers. These include, for example, general performance in games, Auto HDR and Direct Storage.

Does Windows 11 really make games faster?

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How much faster Windows 11 is compared to its predecessor is not yet fully clear. However, various independent comparisons have shown that significant improvements have been achieved. Especially with demanding games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Forza Horizon and F1 2021, improvements of up to 3.3 % were achieved. This is mainly due to the following factors:

Auto HDR is available with Windows 11 in almost every game

Windows 11 makes your games look better thanks to Auto HDR, provided of course that you have a screen that supports HDR. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and brings out the best in colors and contrasts. Normally, HDR has to be integrated into the game by the developers, but with Auto HDR this is not necessary. Windows itself calculates where extended colors and stronger contrasts make sense and even makes it possible in games that do not actually support this.

Direct Storage: Fast loading times like on the Xbox

Vor kurzem wurde mit Direct Storage ein weiteres tolles Feature vorgestellt. Seit dem Release gibt es dieses bereits für die Xbox, allerdings war es für PCs weitaus schwieriger umzusetzen, daher kommt es jetzt erst. Direct Storage gibt es übrigens auch für Windows 10, doch laut Microsoft läuft es unter Windows 11 weitaus besser. Kurz gesagt sorgt es für schnellere Ladezeiten in den Spielen, da die Daten direkt von der SSD in die Grafikkarte geladen werden und man somit den Prozessor umgeht. Allerdings muss auch diese Technik von den Entwicklern im Spiel integriert werden. Hier gilt es also, auf neue Spiele zu setzen oder auf Updates zu warten.

Optimize Windows 11 for games

Um die tollen neuen Features von Windows 11 zu nutzen, sollte man bestimmte Änderungen vornehmen, um wirklich das Beste aus dem Betriebssystem sowie der Hardware herauszuholen:

Activate game mode

By activating the "Game mode" option, Windows optimizes the PC for gaming so that you can enjoy a smooth visual experience. The frame rate in the game is increased. To activate the gaming mode, first click on the Windows button, then on "Settings" and then select "Gaming" in the Windows settings. Now you can click on the game mode on the left and switch it on.

Switch on high-performance mode of the battery plan

If the energy-saving plan is not set correctly, games on the PC can sometimes only be run at low FPS. To make the most of the hardware's potential, the high-performance mode of the battery plan should therefore be activated.

To do this, enter "Energy saving plan" in the search bar and select "Edit energy saving plan". You can now edit the energy saving plan settings by selecting "Change advanced energy settings". In the following window, check the "Maximum performance" box and then click on "OK".

Enlarge drive C

For an optimal gaming experience, you should always ensure that there is sufficient storage space on the system drive. If the drive is full, some video games will experience low frame rates or even frequent system crashes. It is therefore essential to allocate more free space to the drive. When it comes to enlarging partitions, you can use the disk management utility integrated in Windows 11. This helps under certain circumstances, but has limitations: Partitions can only be extended or reduced in NTFS or RAW.

In addition, this can only be expanded if there is unallocated storage space next to it. Therefore, there is third-party software that is free of the above restrictions. With this powerful freeware, the C drive can be enlarged by merging unallocated space on it or resizing it directly with just a few clicks.