Borderless windowed mode has become the default way many PC gamers play. It is convenient for Alt-Tab, multi-monitor setups and overlays, but older Windows presentation paths were not always as efficient as exclusive fullscreen. Windows 11 includes a setting called Optimizations for windowed games that is designed to improve that situation for compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 titles.
The setting is not a universal FPS booster, and it does not rewrite the game engine. Its main job is to change how compatible windowed and borderless games present frames to Windows.
What Windows changes
Microsoft says the feature moves compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games from the older blt-model presentation path to the newer flip model. The practical benefit is lower frame latency in supported scenarios and access to modern display features such as variable refresh rate and Auto HDR on compatible hardware.
That means the setting is more about the frame-delivery path than raw GPU rendering power. A game that is already GPU-limited will not suddenly gain a large amount of rendering throughput just because presentation is handled differently.
Why borderless mode benefits from a newer presentation model
Older PC advice often said that exclusive fullscreen was always faster and lower latency than borderless windowed. That advice came from a time when windowed presentation more often involved additional composition work. Modern Windows flip-model presentation narrows that gap and makes borderless mode a much more practical choice.
For users with two monitors, the convenience is significant. You can move the mouse to another display, use a browser or chat app, then return to the game without the same display-mode transition that older exclusive fullscreen games could trigger.
How to enable or disable it
Open Settings > System > Display > Graphics. Under the default graphics settings, Windows exposes the toggle for Optimizations for windowed games. Restart the game after changing the setting so you are comparing clean runs.
Windows also allows graphics preferences to be configured per application. That is useful when one older title behaves badly while everything else works correctly. Avoid turning off a system-wide feature because of one game until you know whether a per-game setting can isolate the exception.
Do not expect the same result from every game
The feature specifically targets compatible DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games in windowed and borderless windowed modes. A native DirectX 12 game already uses newer presentation patterns and should not be treated as the same test case. Older OpenGL or unusual wrapper-based games can also behave differently.
If you benchmark the setting, use a repeatable scene and measure frame time as well as average FPS. Because Microsoft highlights frame latency as a benefit, a smoother delivery pattern can matter even when the average frame rate barely changes.
VRR and Auto HDR are part of the reason the setting exists
Microsoft notes that the flip-model path allows compatible games to use features such as variable refresh rate and Auto HDR. If you have a VRR-capable monitor and spend most of your time in borderless mode, that integration can be more useful than a small benchmark difference.
There is also an interaction with Auto HDR: Microsoft states that enabling Auto HDR automatically enables Optimizations for windowed games. If you are troubleshooting one of the two features, remember that changing Auto HDR can affect the windowed-game optimization state as well.
When should you turn it off for testing?
If a specific older game develops flicker, capture problems, overlay issues or unusual frame pacing in borderless mode, temporarily disabling the optimization for that title is a reasonable A/B test. The same applies if a capture application or mod relies on an old presentation behavior.
Change only this setting, restart the game and compare. If nothing improves, turn it back on instead of leaving a random compatibility workaround disabled forever. Troubleshooting is most useful when every change has a measured reason.
What about exclusive fullscreen?
Exclusive fullscreen still exists in many games, but it is no longer automatically the only “serious” performance option. On a modern Windows 11 system, borderless windowed mode can offer low-latency presentation with much easier multitasking. The right choice is the one that gives your particular game stable frame pacing, expected HDR behavior and reliable VRR.
For most players, I would leave Optimizations for windowed games enabled and only disable it when a specific title gives you a repeatable reason. It is a compatibility and presentation feature, not a magic performance preset — and it is easiest to evaluate one game at a time.
