By default on a new system, Windows 11 will hinder gaming performance.

Despite Microsoft's boasts that "if you're a gamer, Windows 11 was made for you," you should be on the lookout for prebuilt PCs that come preloaded with the new operating system. 

Microsoft is enabling more security features (which necessitates the usage of TPM 2.0) in PCs by default, and one, in particular, has the potential to significantly reduce gaming performance by up to 30%. The problem is caused by Virtualization-Based Security (VBS), a feature introduced in Windows 10 that makes use of hardware and software virtualization to improve the security of your operating system. The basic concept is that it creates an isolated subsystem that helps prevent viruses from causing damage to your computer. According to Microsoft's explanation:

Virtualization-based security, or VBS, uses hardware virtualization features to create and isolate a secure region of memory from the normal operating system. Windows can use this "virtual secure mode" to host a number of security solutions, providing them with greatly increased protection from vulnerabilities in the operating system, and preventing the use of malicious exploits which attempt to defeat protections. One such example security solution is Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity (HVCI), commonly referred to as Memory integrity, which uses VBS to significantly strengthen code integrity policy enforcement. Kernel mode code integrity checks all kernel mode drivers and binaries before they're started, and prevents unsigned drivers or system files from being loaded into system memory. VBS uses the Windows hypervisor to create this virtual secure mode, and to enforce restrictions which protect vital system and operating system resources, or to protect security assets such as authenticated user credentials. With the increased protections offered by VBS, even if malware gains access to the OS kernel the possible exploits can be greatly limited and contained, because the hypervisor can prevent the malware from executing code or accessing platform secrets.

It has been highlighted that VBS can have an impact on performance, particularly when it comes to gaming workloads, according to UL benchmarks, the creator of the popular 3DMark and other benchmarks. In its report, the company noted that a component known as Virtualization-based Security (VBS) causes performance to degrade when tested with pre-release releases of Windows 11. While installing Windows 11 for the first time, VBS is enabled by default; however, when upgrading from Windows 10, VBS is not enabled by default. This means that the same system can produce very different benchmark results depending on how Windows 11 was installed and whether or not VBS is enabled.

It is evident that this is a feature meant primarily for enterprise customers who want to be able to secure the corporate PCs that they bring into their offices and ensure that they do not become compromised. In addition, if you're upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you won't have to worry about VBS being activated; that is, unless you were already using an enterprise version of the previous operating system.

The problem arises when you receive a machine that has been pre-loaded with an OEM build of Windows 11 installed on it. You may easily determine whether VBS is enabled or disabled by pressing the 'Win' key and typing 'MSInfo32'; the result will be displayed at the bottom of the system report, indicating whether VBS is enabled or disabled.

In other news, we've performed early game and CPU benchmarks (VBS disbled), and do not see any performance benefits or deficiencies between Windows 10 and 11.