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Is Windows 11 good for gaming?

If you are a PC gamer and want to upgrade to Windows 11, here’s what to know.

Windows 11 on laptop
Image: KnowTechie

Microsoft has released the public version of Windows 11 as a free upgrade from Windows 10, giving Microsoft an install base of millions of devices. While most people can upgrade without having to worry about things breaking, what about gamers?

After all, Windows 10 broke multiple games, multiple times, especially during the transition period between Windows 7/8 and Windows 10. Did the same thing happen for the upgrade to Windows 11, or are you fine upgrading now?

So, is Windows 11 good for gaming use?

Short answer: Yes

While some earlier releases of Windows broke things for gamers when they upgraded things like DirectX, Windows 11 builds on what made gaming on Windows 10 great. The file system is unchanged, and the APIs for game use didn’t change so anything that works on Windows 10 should work on Windows 11 without issue.

Windows 11 also brings some new gaming-focused features that are awesome. Auto HDR converts SDR games to HDR if the game uses DirectX 11, giving more pop to the visuals of those older games.

When available, DirectStorage will let fast NVMe drives load things like textures directly to the GPU, removing any latency from having to send those assets through the CPU first. That’s already running on the Xbox Series consoles, and it really helps with load times.

Oh, and that’s without talking about games. Xbox Game Pass for PC now has even more first-party studios cranking out games, like Bethesda Softworks. Xbox Cloud gaming also can be streamed straight to the Xbox App for PC, bringing Xbox-only titles to your desktop.

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Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.

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