You’d be surprised how much small adjustments to your Windows settings can improve your computer speed. Things like adjusting power plans or getting rid of unneeded startup apps can be helpful, especially if your PC has been slow lately.
I’ll walk you through simple Windows tweaks I’ve tried myself in this article. These changes may not seem much, but they can make a great impact.
After all, it is the little things that make big things happen! Let’s begin.
Also read: [Simple Tweaks] How to Make Windows 11 Look Like Windows 10
Can Tweaking Windows Improve Your PC’s Performance?
Yes, tweaking Windows settings can boost your computer’s performance. These are small adjustments you can make to your system settings to improve its efficiency, maximize output, or customize your user experience.
Even though Windows tweaks are simple to implement and can speed up your Windows system, most users still overlook them.
Every minute change, like disabling visual effects or tweaking system memory, can make a noticeable difference.
In the next section, I’ll detail the best tweaks on Windows 10 and 11!
TOP Windows Tweaks to Apply Now
Let’s go through the Windows tweaks that can help make your PC much faster and boost its performance. Let’s begin with a tool that makes everything easy.
Tweak 1: Use third-party software
One of the most efficient ways to tweak your Windows without the hassle of a manual adjustment is to use a third-party tool. These tools, if you choose the right one, can streamline the optimization process, allowing you to make changes in one place.
Below is a list of popular software options that can help you tweak your Windows. After that, I’ll choose one and talk about it:
| Software | Functions | Pros/Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Auslogics BoostSpeed |
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Pros:
Cons:
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| CCleaner |
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Pros:
Cons:
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| Advanced SystemCare |
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Pros:
Cons:
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| IObit Uninstaller |
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Pros:
Cons:
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| Wise Disk Cleaner |
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Pros:
Cons:
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We have listed a few options above, but let’s see in practice how third-party apps work, using the example of Auslogics BoostSpeed, which is trusted by many users.
Auslogics BoostSpeed takes the guesswork out of system optimization by finding potential performance issues and giving you one-click solutions.
You can automatically:
- Disable unnecessary background processes.
- Disable unnecessary startup programs.
- Manage memory usage.
- Clean out junk files.
- Delete duplicate files, and much more.
This saves you time and effort while increasing your PC’s speed and efficiency.
Enough talking. Here’s how to use Auslogics BoostSpeed to explore and implement various Windows performance tweaks:
- Download Auslogics BoostSpeed from the official website and install it.
- After opening the program, go to Tools, click System Tools, and select Tweak Manager. Alternatively, you can search on the Tool slider for Tweak Manager and click on it.
- When the window opens, you’ll see all kinds of tweaks you can adjust. Just go through them and make the changes you want.
- But what if you don’t know anything about the tweak? Don’t worry; Auslogics thought of that. Just hover your mouse on a tweak, and you’ll instantly get all the information you need to know. For example, it’ll show you what the tweak will do and let you know if it’ll affect system performance or not.
- Let’s go through one example. I rarely use the search bar. To deactivate it, I click on Search bar under Taskbar.
- Then, I click on Remove search from taskbar and select Apply to complete the change.
Before:
My PC was sluggish, and switching between tabs was really laggy. System scans and manually optimizing my PC are usually time-consuming, and frankly, I don’t have time for that.
After:
Since I’ve been using Auslogics BoostSpeed for a while now, all I had to do was run a general scan to make sure I didn’t miss anything. After that, I used the Tweak Manager to disable or stop any program or process I didn’t need. And it worked.
However, I would recommend that you schedule this tweak to run on a regular basis. Just click on File > Automatic Maintenance > Scheduler > My Scanner. From here, you can check Windows Tweaks and set the time and how often to run the maintenance.
From cleaning junk files to repairing registry and optimizing disks, it’s an all-in-one solution that helps your system maintain peak performance.
And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, you can use the tool to its maximum capacity. If using a third-party app to tweak your Windows isn’t the solution, you can still opt for the tried-and-true, though lengthy and tedious, built-in Windows solutions.
Tweak 2: Turn off your startup apps
Windows starts some programs when you boot your PC. This allows the selected apps to launch automatically.
But these startup apps take a considerable amount of memory, which can consume plenty of resources if they are too many.
Also, since most of these apps keep running in the background, it continues to take a toll on your system resources. So the best thing you can do is tweak startup settings and disable the apps you don’t want running at bootup.
Follow the steps below:
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + Escto open the Task Manager. - Go to the Startup apps (Startup in Windows 10) tab, select the program you want to disable, and tap the Disable button.
Remember that it doesn’t end with startup applications. There are some third-party services that only run in the background. But the below steps should help you fix the problem:
- Type “msconfig” in the search window and click on System Configuration.
- When the application opens, switch to the Services tab
- Then, check the box beside Hide all Microsoft services. This way, you’ll avoid your operating system malfunctioning since these services are critical to Windows.
- After that, click on Disable all.
Before:
I use the NVMe ADATA 256GB model, meaning my boot time should be around 10-20 seconds or even faster. However, a few months ago, my computer took nearly two minutes to boot, and programs were slow to respond.
After:
After disabling the apps I don’t need, my boot time dropped to under a minute. It’s not the best or what I would expect, but there were meaningful changes. This only showed that something else was going on, which I needed to check. But the main point is that I saw some changes.
Related read: How to Speed Up Windows 10 Startup
If you don’t know what a service does, launch BoostSpeed, go to All Tools > Startup Manager, locate and right-click the relevant process, and select Google It to get all the information you need.
You can also select Properties, and you’ll know if a process is trustworthy or malware.
Tweak 3: Disable visual effects
Without a doubt, visual effects can make your screen pop but can also affect your system performance. If you don’t need the visual effects, you can tone them down to reduce the GPU load.
Let’s go through how this tweak can work for you:
- Type “View advanced system settings” in the search box and select the relevant result to open.
- Click Settings under Performance in the Advanced tab.
- When a window opens, click on Adjust for best performance.
- Finally, click OK and select Apply.
Before:
I am an anime fan. So, my PC was crawling with anime themes and visual effects all day long. When my computer began running slow, one of the first things I suspected was these fancy themes.
My suspicions? Sometimes, my desktop would turn black, and I usually had to reactivate the themes. Initially, I didn’t think it was a big deal until I started experiencing the slow performance.
After:
I disabled the feature, and truth be told, it did improve my PC performance. Of course, I had to implement other Windows tweaks like disabling startup apps and using BoostSpeed to tweak some settings to get my PC working as usual.
Tweak 4: Tweak your power plan
You can adjust your power plan to manage how your computer uses power. If you play demanding games or edit videos, tweaking the power plan can make a huge difference.
Follow the steps below to implement this hidden tweak:
Windows 10
- Press
Windows + Ito open the Settings window. - Then, click on System.
- Then, click on Power & sleep and select Additional power settings.
- Once the Control Panel window opens, click on Create a power plan.
- Now, select High performance and go to Next.
- You can customize the settings on the next page to your preference. After that, you can save and apply the settings.
Windows 11
- Launch Control Panel and click on System and Security.
- Click on Power Options.
- You’ll see several power plans listed. Click on High performance. If you don’t find it, click on Show additional plans and click on High performance.
In fact, your PC may generate more heat, and keeping it on for long may generate loud noises. So, use this option if you have to do some high-demand tasks, and quickly switch back when you’re done.
Tweak 5: Disable virtualization-based security (VBS)
Virtualization-based security uses hardware virtualization in Windows to create a secure area of memory. This is secluded from the rest of the operating system and used to host security solutions.
In simple words, it’s an additional security layer designed to protect your system against malware and other threats.
So, why disable it? Well, if you’re a gamer, switching off this system tweak on Windows 10 or 11 can boost your performance. And it can free up system resources, which can make your PC run smoother.
Here’s how to turn it off:
- Type “core isolation” in the search bar and click on it to open.
- Toggle the switch under Memory integrity to disable it.
You can now restart your computer to apply the changes.
So, keep it enabled unless you have specific performance needs that outweigh the security benefits. Or when you have good antivirus protection that doesn’t need advanced virtualization.
TOP Windows Tweaks to Apply: The Summary
Here’s a simple breakdown of everything I’ve discussed.
But if you use your PC for everyday tasks like me, turning off startup apps and disabling visual effects should keep things running smoothly without overburdening your system.
| Tweak | Difficulty | Steps | Time to apply | Best for | Pros/Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use Auslogics BoostSpeed | Easiest | Install software
Use Tweak Manager for one-click optimization |
Fast | Beginners and everyday users | Pros:
Cons:
|
| Turn off startup apps | Easy | Open Task Manager
Go to the Startup apps tab Disable unnecessary apps |
Fast | Users experiencing slow startup | Pros:
Cons:
|
| Disable visual effects | Easy | Open system settings
Adjust visual effects for best performance |
Fast | Users searching for fast visual improvement | Pros:
Cons:
|
| Tweak the power plan | Moderate | Adjust power settings through Control Panel to High performance | Moderate | Users with demanding tasks | Pros:
Cons:
|
| Disable VBS | Advanced | Disable Memory integrity via core isolation settings | Moderate | Gamers and users who need maximum performance
|
Pros:
Cons:
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I’ve detailed the top tweaks for Windows 10 and 11 that produce the best results. You can go through and implement the ones that work best in your situation. That said, while it’s all doable manually, using a third-party tool can save you a ton of time and effort.
But whatever route you take, your PC will definitely feel faster than before! Let us know what you think in the comments below, and share with your friends!
