How Can You Optimize Windows 10 For Gaming?

June 15, 2022February 15, 2022 Kamal Kaur

Windows 10 is the best device to play games of all kinds. Because of its large screen, outstanding OS, sound system and graphics you can play not only casino games like pokies or table games but can experience retro games or stream with Xbox. For better performance and to get the best gaming experience Windows 10 can be further optimized with few tips and tricks.

1. The Gaming Mode

Game Mode is one of the key Windows settings for gaming. To find out more:

Press Windows key + I
Type game mode
Click Game Mode settings or Turn on Game Mode
On the Gaming screen, click Game Mode
Switch to On to use Game Mode

If your PC supports Game Mode, resources will be managed to achieve the optimum frame rate. Though note that Windows Update will be suspended.

2. Disable Nagle’s Algorithm

Nagle’s algorithm essentially bundles data packets at the cost of a smoother internet connection. It’s useful but having Nagle’s algorithm enabled on your computer may contribute to latency issues when playing games online.

To disable this and improve gaming performance on Windows 10, start by checking your IP address:

Hit Windows key + X
Select Windows PowerShell
Enter ipconfig
Look for “IPv4 address” to identify your PC’s IP address
With the IP address noted, edit the Windows Registry:
Click Start
Type regedit
Click Yes

3. Select Registry Editor

In the address bar, copy and paste the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces

In the left-hand pane, you’ll see a collection of folders, with filenames comprised of letters and numbers. To access the correct file, match your IP address with the one listed against DhcpIPAddress in one of these folders.

When you find your matching folder Right-click on the folder

Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
Name this TcpAckFrequency
Click OK
Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value again
Name this one TCPNoDelay.
Double-click on each and set their parameters to 1

Doing so disables Nagle’s Algorithm. If you run into any problems, reset the parameter values to 0, and they will be disabled.

4. Get Faster DNS

When playing live casino game or streaming a game specially when you are relying on a remote server for Windows 10 gaming, network traffic can cause problems. While upgrading to faster internet can help, it’s quicker and cheaper to just make some networking tweaks.

Hit Windows + I to open Settings
Find Network and Internet > Change Adapter Settings
Right-click on your wireless network
Select Properties
Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4
Make a note of the two DNS entries for future reference
Replace them with 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
Click OK, then Close
Restart your default browser

Your internet should now be faster, which will help with online gaming.

5. Disable Automatic Updates

Suppose you are in the middle of the game and Windows starts automatic update? Windows 10 will automatically update your OS and schedule a restart without your permission. While this feature doesn’t activate often, you never want to be caught unaware and risk your game save.

Not only can automatic updates restart Windows without warning, downloading updates in the background will limit your network connectivity.

While you cannot disable automatic restart, it can be delayed. To reduce the chance of Windows Update downloads interrupting your gaming performance:

Open Settings with Windows key + I
Click Update and Security > Windows Update
Look for Advanced options then click Update Options
Disable Restart this device as soon as possible when a restart is required to install an update
Enable Show a notification as Windows will give plenty of warning when the system is going to restart following an update
Use Pause updates to delay installation of updates for up to 7 days

By specifying when you’ll be using Windows 10, you can prevent Windows Updates downloading and installing during active hours.

6. Disable Notifications

The Focus Assist feature in Windows 10 lets you specify how and when you receive notifications.

Popups usually accompany notifications, but these can interrupt games. Focus Assist lets you manage what level of focus you devote to your work.

Hit Windows + I to open Settings
Click System > Focus Assist
Select Alarms Only to hide all other notifications
Ensure When I’m playing a game is set to On
Close the Settings screen

This will minimize the impact of notifications, making them available to check later.

7. Prevent Steam Auto-Updating Games

When you play games on Windows and buy and install games via Steam, one of the largest annoyances with Steam is its update feature. This blocks you from preventing automatic updates across all your games. This may eat up memory by updating games you don’t play or limit your network connectivity with background updates. thus again for to optimize Windows 10 for gaming:

To prevent Steam from updating games in the background:

Launch the Steam client
Open Steam > Settings > Downloads
Uncheck Allow downloads during gameplay
You can also prevent Steam from downloading updates for largely unused games:
Open the Steam Library
Right-click an underused but installed game
Select Properties then Updates
Under Automatic Updates change Always keep this game up to date to Only update this game when I launch it
Ensure Pause background downloads while I’m playing is selected under Background Downloads

With Steam correctly optimized, Windows 10 will be ready for AAA gaming.

8. Tweak Windows 10 Visual Effects

Your computer’s graphical user interface (GUI) can be a hindrance to your processing power. By default, your Windows 10 appearance settings are set to impress.

Games running in the foreground may conflict with a shiny GUI running in the background. Adjust these settings to optimize Windows 10 for gaming performance.

Open Settings with Windows key + I
Type performance
Select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows
In the settings box, select Adjust for best performance
Click Apply
Click the Advanced tab
Ensure that Adjust the best performance of is set to Programs
Apply again, then OK to confirm

9. Tune Your Mouse Settings

To Optimize Windows 10 for gaming, you can optimize your mouse settings for better game performance. A feature called pointer precision (AKA mouse acceleration) can impact how your mouse performs in games. Disabling this can help to optimize gaming in Windows 10.

Open Settings
Click Devices > Mouse
View the Pointer Options tab
Clear the Enhance pointer precision checkmark
Click Apply
Click OK to exit—you might also adjust the pointer speed to suit

If gaming has improved, your mouse was almost certainly slowing things down.

10. Maximize Power Plan

Power options are often ignored due to their supposedly negligible effect. So to Optimize Windows 10 For Gaming, some gamers claim adjusting for higher performance works, while others fail to notice any difference changing their PC power settings.

The only way to know for sure is to test it out on your PC. To change your power settings:

Open Settings
Type power
Click Power & sleep settings > Additional power settings
Select the high-performance option
If none is available, use Create a power plan to configure a new, custom power plan

This option will allow your PC to perform better at the cost of higher energy consumption and temperature levels. For this reason, it’s better to activate this Windows 10 optimization on the desktop rather than laptop PCs.

11. Keep Your Windows 10 Drivers Updated

Your GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is the core of your PC gaming experience. However, to Optimize Windows 10 For Gaming, the GPU requires the latest Windows driver to keep it working faster and better.

All graphics cards, no matter how old or new, benefit from continually updated drivers.

To check your GPU name and specs:
Right-click Desktop
Select Display settings > Advanced display settings
At the bottom, find Display adapter properties
You can download driver updates through this window under Properties > Driver > Update Driver. Alternatively, visit the manufacturer’s website to ensure the driver is up-to-date.

Manufacturers will often provide free gaming and update software to keep your drivers up to date automatically. For optimal performance, it is highly recommended that you install the chipset and LAN drivers for your motherboard as well. Since these are crucial for optimal gaming performance, this makes sense.

The easiest method to check chipset drivers is to open Windows PowerShell (right-click Start to find it) and enter:

wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber

Your motherboard’s manufacturer and the product name will appear in the command prompt.

List your manufacturer and product name to search for your drivers online. You should find the necessary software on the Support page of the manufacturer’s website.

Along with the chipset drivers, you will also find your on-board LAN drivers for an optimal internet connection.

12. Install DirectX 12

Another way to Optimize Windows 10 For Gaming is the DirectX 12, the latest version of Microsoft’s popular gaming API technology, which is a key element of Windows 10 gaming.

It delivers support for multiple GPU and CPU cores, better frame rates, lowered power consumption and enhanced graphical effects.

To check if you have the latest version of DirectX: