Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 work pretty similarly for gaming, though we do recommend you use Windows 11 on new PCs to take full advantage of your modern hardware. Upgrading to Windows 11 won't dramatically improve your game performance overnight.

Windows 11 has been designed to be more efficient, which could mean better performance in games. However, Windows 10 is also a solid choice for gaming, and many users report that it runs games smoothly. It might come down to personal preference and the specific games you play.

The general consensus across the board is that Windows 11 performance matches, and in some cases, outperforms Windows 10 thanks to DirectStorage and Auto HDR. This isn’t the boost in performance we’ve seen from upgrading Windows 10 some years ago, but it’s not a mark against Microsofts name either.

Across our 14-game test suite, the overall performance difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11 at three resolutions was less than one percent. There was one instance where Win10 was 4% faster (RTX 3080 Ti in Far Cry 6), and Assassin's Creed Valhalla was consistently 3% faster, but a few minor anomalies are to be expected.