Windows 11 24H2 Gaming Optimization Guide (2026)

Windows 11 24H2 (the 2024 update, released late 2024 and now the dominant version in 2026) made several changes that affect gaming performance. Some are positive. Some introduced new overhead that users on clean installs never experienced before. If you upgraded from 22H2 or 23H2 and noticed performance changes, this is why.

What 24H2 Changed for Gamers

HVCI Enabled by Default on Compatible Hardware

The most significant performance-relevant change in 24H2: Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI) is now enabled by default on hardware that supports it.

HVCI uses the CPU's virtualization extension to protect the Windows kernel from modification. It's a legitimate security improvement. The performance cost on gaming workloads is 5–15% in CPU-bound scenarios.

This is the main reason users upgrading to 24H2 see FPS drops compared to 23H2 on the same hardware.

How to check if HVCI is on: Windows Security → Device Security → Core Isolation → Memory Integrity → On/Off

Whether to disable it for gaming: This is a personal security vs performance tradeoff. HVCI protects against a specific class of kernel-level exploits — relevant if you're worried about drivers-as-malware scenarios, less relevant for an air-gapped gaming PC.

If you're a competitive player prioritizing FPS over security hardening: turning it off recovers the performance. If security matters for your use case: leave it on and accept the tradeoff.

After changing HVCI, restart is required.

Recall (and Its Background Services)

24H2 shipped with Windows Recall — an AI feature that takes regular screenshots and indexes them for semantic search. The continuous screenshot and indexing process runs background processes that consume CPU and disk I/O.

If Recall was enabled on your system (it's opt-in but some OEM builds enabled it automatically): Settings → Privacy & Security → Recall & Snapshots → turn it off, then delete existing snapshots.

DirectStorage 1.2 Improvements

24H2 includes DirectStorage 1.2 with improved GPU decompression. In games that support it, asset loading from NVMe is faster and puts less load on the CPU during streaming.

This is an unconditional improvement — no tradeoffs, just better asset loading in compatible games. Forza Horizon 5, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and several 2025 releases benefit noticeably.

Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) Behavior Change

24H2 changed how Dynamic Refresh Rate works with certain monitors. Some monitors that previously ran at their maximum refresh rate are now dropping to 60Hz in desktop mode and switching to full refresh only in games. This is correct DRR behavior but confuses users who see 60Hz in Windows and think something broke.

Check: Settings → System → Display → Advanced display → Refresh rate. If it shows a range (e.g., "120Hz adaptive"), that's DRR working correctly.

The Full 24H2 Gaming Optimization Checklist

Beyond the 24H2-specific changes above, the same Windows optimization principles apply:

1. Power Plan

24H2 doesn't reset your power plan during upgrade, but clean installs default to Balanced. Check and set:

Control Panel → Power Options → High Performance or Ultimate Performance.

If Ultimate Performance isn't listed, enable it:

powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

2. Game Mode

24H2 improved Game Mode's resource allocation. It now more aggressively reduces Windows Update activity and background service scheduling while games run. It's worth keeping on.

Settings → Gaming → Game Mode → On.

3. Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling

Same advice as before 24H2 — but check it again after upgrading since Windows updates occasionally reset it:

RTX 30/40 series or RX 6000/7000 series: On
Older hardware: Off

Settings → System → Display → Graphics → Default graphics settings → HAGS.

4. Xbox Game Bar and Captures

Xbox Game Bar's background capture was expanded in 24H2. Confirm it's off:

Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar → Off
Settings → Gaming → Captures → Record in the background while I'm playing a game → Off

5. Storage Sense and Temp Files

24H2 made Storage Sense more aggressive by default. During active gaming sessions, Storage Sense can run disk cleanup operations that cause brief stutter.

Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense → scheduled cleanup → "During free disk space cleanup" rather than "During active hours."

6. Background Apps Permissions

24H2 continues to allow apps to run in the background by default. Audit what's enabled:

Settings → Apps → Installed apps → [App] → Advanced options → Background app permissions → Never (for apps you don't need receiving background data).

HVCI Performance Impact: How Much Does It Actually Cost?

Community benchmarks from post-24H2 testing show:

CPU-bound games (CS2, LoL, Valorant at high FPS): 5–15% FPS loss with HVCI on vs off.

GPU-bound games (Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2 at medium-high settings): 0–5% difference. When the GPU is the bottleneck, HVCI's CPU overhead is less relevant.

1% lows: HVCI tends to affect 1% low FPS more than average FPS, making frame timing less consistent.

If you play competitive games at high framerates and your CPU usage is often above 60% while gaming, HVCI off is the meaningful optimization. If you play mostly GPU-limited single-player games, it's not worth disabling for security tradeoffs.

Keeping Your Optimizations After 24H2 Updates

The frustrating reality with Windows 11 is that major updates (and some minor cumulative updates) reset optimization settings. After any significant update:

Re-check power plan
Re-check HAGS
Re-check Xbox Game Bar and captures
Re-check GPU driver power mode in NVIDIA Control Panel or Radeon Software

SageTweaks monitors and reapplies these settings automatically after Windows updates, which is the main reason manual optimization doesn't stay permanent on 24H2 without maintenance.

For the full Windows optimization stack that builds on top of the 24H2-specific changes above, see the Windows 11 optimization guide for gamers. To understand how much FPS these changes actually deliver, see realistic FPS gains from Windows optimization.