Fix Game Stuttering and FPS Drops on Windows

Games stuttering despite having good hardware? Windows settings like fullscreen optimizations, Xbox Game Bar, and memory integrity could be the cause.

Published 2026-02-04 by TechNet New England

Your PC has a solid graphics card and plenty of RAM, but games still stutter, hitch, or drop frames at random. The hardware isn't the problem. In many cases, Windows features that were designed to "help" your gaming experience are actually hurting it. Here are the settings to check and disable.

Fix 1: Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Windows applies a compatibility layer called "fullscreen optimizations" to games by default. It's meant to make alt-tabbing smoother, but for many games it introduces micro-stuttering and input lag.

  1. Find the game's .exe file (right-click the game in Steam > Manage > Browse local files, or check the game's install folder)
  2. Right-click the .exe file and select "Properties"
  3. Go to the "Compatibility" tab
  4. Check "Disable fullscreen optimizations"
  5. Click Apply, then OK

You'll need to do this for each game individually, but it's worth checking if it helps with the game that's giving you trouble.

Fix 2: Disable Xbox Game Bar and Game DVR

The Xbox Game Bar runs in the background and records game clips, monitors performance, and provides overlay features. Even if you never use it, it consumes system resources.

  1. Open Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar
  2. Turn off "Open Xbox Game Bar using this button on a controller"
  3. Go to Settings > Gaming > Captures
  4. Turn off "Record what happened" (this is the background recording feature)

You can also disable it fully through the registry or Group Policy, but turning off these two settings addresses the main performance impact.

Fix 3: Disable VBS / Memory Integrity

Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and its component "Memory Integrity" (also called HVCI) are security features that run a hypervisor in the background. On some systems, this causes a measurable FPS drop in games, sometimes 5-10% or more.

  1. Open Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security
  2. Click "Device security"
  3. Click "Core isolation details"
  4. Turn off "Memory integrity"
  5. Restart your computer

Note: Memory Integrity is a legitimate security feature that protects against certain types of malware. Disabling it slightly reduces your security posture. On a personal gaming PC, this trade-off is often acceptable. On a work computer, leave it enabled and talk to your IT team about performance concerns.

Fix 4: Set Your Power Plan to High Performance

The default "Balanced" power plan can throttle your CPU during gaming:

  1. Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options
  2. Select "High performance"
  3. If you don't see it, click "Show additional plans"

On laptops, this will use more battery when unplugged, so you may want to switch back to Balanced when you're not gaming.

Fix 5: Update Your GPU Drivers

This is basic but important. Outdated graphics drivers cause stuttering, crashes, and poor performance, especially in newer games:

Always do a clean install when updating GPU drivers. Both NVIDIA and AMD installers have a "clean install" or "factory reset" option during setup. This removes old driver files that can conflict with the new version.

Fix 6: Close Background Programs

Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for programs using high CPU, memory, or disk in the background. Common offenders include:

Close anything you don't need while gaming to free up system resources.

If these steps don't resolve the issue, or if you'd like professional help, our team is here. Contact TechNet New England for IT support.