Is Windows 10 or Windows 11 faster for gaming? We revisit this question using four hardware setups benchmarked with fresh OS installations in 13 games, with updated drivers and testing software.
Which is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?
- Thread starter Steve
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i like foxes
Posts: 274 +198
deathspeed
Posts: 587 +449
Nice balanced and thorough comparison. I like how you went out of your way with multiple reinstalls of Windows to confirm some of the differences you were seeing.
It's good to know about the Memory Integrity performance hit; I would not have known to disable this otherwise. I'm still clinging to Windows 10 because it works well enough for me, and I don't want to jump thru the hoops to make Windows 11 work on my i5-6600K. But for my next build I will be going to 11 or 12 or whatever they are calling the most recent version of Windows.
It's good to know about the Memory Integrity performance hit; I would not have known to disable this otherwise. I'm still clinging to Windows 10 because it works well enough for me, and I don't want to jump thru the hoops to make Windows 11 work on my i5-6600K. But for my next build I will be going to 11 or 12 or whatever they are calling the most recent version of Windows.
i like foxes
Posts: 274 +198
Mrtraver , we d be lucky if it s not called Windows Subscription .
RudyBob
Posts: 1,673 +1,816
And everybody was saying Windows 11 is better at gaming, if it is better it is by a couple of % only.
Still staying on Win10 for this and other reasons (I am looking at you "Start menu")
Still staying on Win10 for this and other reasons (I am looking at you "Start menu")
MasterAce
Posts: 76 +74
Branch
Posts: 43 +42
No! Don't even joke about it.They're watching!Windows 365 cloud AI, maybe
godrilla
Posts: 1,480 +992
Time to upgrade from windows 11 to win 10 
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.
WhiteLeaff
Posts: 554 +1,008
dangh
Posts: 1,355 +2,165
Nobina
Posts: 4,542 +5,579
i like foxes
Posts: 274 +198
Unfortunately this bliss would be short lastingTime to upgrade from windows 11 to win 10
I like 11 more because has better page file/memory management at least on me .
Linux.
The answer is Linux is faster.
Linux is always the answer to which PC operating system is better for any given end user's purposes.
The answer is Linux is faster.
Linux is always the answer to which PC operating system is better for any given end user's purposes.
I have to agree with this, changed to Linux 3 months ago due to Microsofts odd choices and priorities, and it's been a great time. Much better than in the past and only seems to be getting better.
I truly believe Linux is the future, and I hope more people will join in on using it so more developers can show it more love. The only thing I'm missing is discord making me able to share my sound while screensharing (this can be done with vesktop/vencord though, but official support for this would be preferable).
Everyone saying it's not that much slower so it doesn't matter... call me crazy buut shouldn't the new OS they are forcing people on to be faster and better in every way? And being worse at something as popular as gaming.. pretty much makes the OS a huge failure if you ask me.. we should be seeing better performance in gaming; especially by now since 11 has been out for a while. Not to mention the countless other issues with 11.. Sorry, I worked in IT for 5 years if it sounds like I'm bitter, I probably am lol
axiomatic13
Posts: 707 +915
I think Win/Linux is at parity right now. I think Linux kernel 6.12 with its new CPU Frequency Polling code will finally push it out in front of Windows.
Sorry but no. The fact that 5 games ran slightly faster on Win10 does not make Win11 a huge failure. Better does not always mean "faster" when it comes to software. And, if the software (games) were developed on a prior version of the OS, it could have some impact on gaming performance. Normally you wouldn't expect that from one release to another, but I don't know enough about what changes were made to Win11 to know if that's a factor here or not.
My experience with Win11 is good. I can't remember the last time the OS crashed. Apps crash, but I haven't had a BSOD or Windows crash in ages.
godrilla
Posts: 1,480 +992
Yeah plus the delta difference is probably insignificant at 1440p and at 4k.
Microsoft are on a terrible trajectory with Windows. A recent video with Wendell from Level1Tech described Windows11 as 'Adversarial Computing' which I thought sums up the OS now perfectly. It's a constant battle to keep it from doing things you really don't want and didn't ask for and that are purely for MS's benefit.
nitebird
Posts: 86 +92
Two questions Techspot:
1. Have you tried a de-bloated W11 build, perhaps on just one or two games with a large difference? I'm curious if the core code of W11 is the problem or it's just too much bloatware
2. In your testing methodology, do you drop the first run results? I checked an earlier TS methodology article on 2/2023 and it doesn't say. Shader cache stutter can throw a curve-ball but really only the first run of a set, I'm 99% sure you're not affected but might as well ask.
I always thought W11 was a reskinned W10 with different default settings (security related), so I'm surprised to see the results here. I'm just wondering what the cause is.
1. Have you tried a de-bloated W11 build, perhaps on just one or two games with a large difference? I'm curious if the core code of W11 is the problem or it's just too much bloatware
2. In your testing methodology, do you drop the first run results? I checked an earlier TS methodology article on 2/2023 and it doesn't say. Shader cache stutter can throw a curve-ball but really only the first run of a set, I'm 99% sure you're not affected but might as well ask.
I always thought W11 was a reskinned W10 with different default settings (security related), so I'm surprised to see the results here. I'm just wondering what the cause is.
erickmendes
Posts: 1,150 +637
If you need that inch of extra performance, I think frame generation/upscaling can give bigger gains even on quality settings, with minimal image quality degradation. Well, that's a tradeoff I could live with.
LimyG
Posts: 78 +38
One word, BLOAT. Make that two, more BLOAT. On win 10 it's possible to disable and shut down the store totally with group policy - in other words it's legit - not sure if W11 allows this.
That aside, with some tweaking, W10 sitting at desk top, task manager shows, 99% "system idle process."
Pretty much all the time.
I have tried W11 twice, but although it does have some nice modern features, there is just so much useless background crud going on. With W10 there is less, but the main thing is that W10 can still be made to use only essential OS and Security features with some tweaks, GPO etc.
Seems to me W11 is part OS, part advertising, and part obligatory new features that no one wants and are hard to turn off. (Correct me if I'm wrong - I didn't waste much time trying to de-bloat W11 as bloat is deeply integrated it seemed to me.)
But out the box W11 is at least 50% useless code, telemetry and forced new features. No new features on W10 which is a godsend!!
I'll stick with it, now that there is a way to continue security updating past retirement date. (I bet that will be extended as with XP and W7 - people like to keep using good OS.)
For basic computing tasks and gaming, I am pretty sure W10 is better, simply because it's not too hard to cut it down to just a core OS with security - leaving the CPU, GPU, Memory etc almost entirely free to let games use all that hardware goodness.
W11 - just a guess, would probably be better if it wasn't ruined by MS absurd bloat and forced buggy features.
That aside, with some tweaking, W10 sitting at desk top, task manager shows, 99% "system idle process."
Pretty much all the time.
I have tried W11 twice, but although it does have some nice modern features, there is just so much useless background crud going on. With W10 there is less, but the main thing is that W10 can still be made to use only essential OS and Security features with some tweaks, GPO etc.
Seems to me W11 is part OS, part advertising, and part obligatory new features that no one wants and are hard to turn off. (Correct me if I'm wrong - I didn't waste much time trying to de-bloat W11 as bloat is deeply integrated it seemed to me.)
But out the box W11 is at least 50% useless code, telemetry and forced new features. No new features on W10 which is a godsend!!
I'll stick with it, now that there is a way to continue security updating past retirement date. (I bet that will be extended as with XP and W7 - people like to keep using good OS.)
For basic computing tasks and gaming, I am pretty sure W10 is better, simply because it's not too hard to cut it down to just a core OS with security - leaving the CPU, GPU, Memory etc almost entirely free to let games use all that hardware goodness.
W11 - just a guess, would probably be better if it wasn't ruined by MS absurd bloat and forced buggy features.
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