Windows 11 23H2 Faces Gaming Performance Losses: Activate Your CPU Virtualization to Fix It

When Microsoft launched Windows 11 in 2020, many users chose to stick with Windows 10, as upgrading to a new operating system often causes issues. Especially shortly after its release, it is common to see errors, bugs, and things that need to change for proper functioning. Now that a few years have passed since the launch of Windows 11, it seemed like the perfect time to switch and settle on this operating system. However, the reality is that Windows 11 23H2 is causing performance losses in games, and Microsoft has agreed to provide a solution.

Windows 10 quickly became one of Microsoft’s most popular operating systems. They had managed to create an improved version of Windows 8 and 8.1, leaving behind the Modern UI (Metro) interface and some ideas that did not catch on in other operating systems. Years have passed, and for some time now, Windows 10 has stopped receiving updates, as Microsoft has announced the end of its useful life and it is time to focus on Windows 11.

Windows 11 23H2 causes FPS drops and stuttering in games

This latest Microsoft operating system is receiving all the improvements, prompting more and more people to switch to the new OS. Some time ago, we saw that Microsoft released an update called 23H2 for Windows 11, which brought more than 150 changes. Among the most notable were the addition of generative AI in programs like Paint, completely changing them. Changes were also implemented in typical Windows tools such as the photo cropping tool, which gained photo recognition (OCR). Speaking of photos, the photo viewer app that comes with Windows 11 implemented AI background blur with the 23H2 update.

This caught the attention of many people with Windows 11 who decided to update and even those with Windows 10 who chose to switch to the new operating system. However, several users have reported a performance drop in games with Windows 11 23H2. In the official Microsoft forums, we see one of the affected users with a 2020 HP Pavilion laptop. This user managed to achieve over 130 FPS in games like Valorant, CS:GO, and GTA 5 on ultra graphics. However, after updating to Windows 11 23H2, they began to experience stuttering and significant FPS drops. After verifying that temperature was not an issue, everything pointed to Windows.

The solution involves enabling virtualization and memory integrity

On Reddit, another user was found who indicated that after installing 23H2 and comparing it to 22H2, they experienced a performance loss of between 5 and 8% in benchmarks. This user also suffered from stuttering and FPS drops in games, stating that the only way to recover the lost performance was to revert to version 22H2. Seeing that there are several cases and the reports are increasing, Microsoft decided to announce a solution for all affected users.

The company mentioned that Microsoft Defender needs to be reset using PowerShell commands. Then, the PC must be restarted and CPU virtualization enabled in the BIOS. Finally, go to the security menu and activate Memory Integrity in the core isolation section. The affected Reddit user tried the solution and assures that the PC works better. Now, they get between 3 and 5% in benchmarks and games that use the GPU, and in those that use the CPU, performance is on par with the Windows 11 22H2 version.

The post, “Windows 11 23H2 suffers performance losses in games, and to fix it, you will have to enable your CPU virtualization,” first appeared on El Chapuzas Informático.