Why Gamers Shouldn’t Disable VBS on Windows

Gamers have been trying to get the best performance out of their PC games since the beginning of the hobby. Many are now turning to the internet to try and find ways to improve their FPS (frames per second) and achieve smoother gaming experiences. Starting with Windows 11 , we saw a new gaming performance “fix”: the recommendation to disable VBS.

While the prospect of turning off performance-hungry settings in Windows isn’t exactly new, not every setting that someone on the Internet tells you to turn off is actually something you should turn off. In fact, you shouldn’t disable VBS , as this feature helps protect your computer’s core functions, and disabling it doesn’t actually provide much of a performance boost.

What is VBS?

VBS stands for Virtualization Based Security. Essentially, it uses hardware virtualization to create an isolated environment for the root of your operating system. This is designed to protect the kernel—one of the most important parts of your PC—from being compromised if a virus or malware is accidentally downloaded.

One of the main ways that VBS helps protect your computer is through the use of a solution called memory integrity. This feature essentially forces Windows to run kernel code in an isolated environment to ensure it is safe and legal. This prevents unsigned and untrusted drivers from changing the very kernel of your PC, thereby protecting you from attackers.

Since it plays such an important role in protecting your PC’s core, you should not mess with VBS as turning it off could leave your PC vulnerable to malware and virus attacks.

How to check if VBS is enabled

Unfortunately, not all Windows 11 computers have VBS enabled by default. Users who have upgraded unsupported computers to Windows 11 will likely see VBS disabled by default because VBS has certain requirements that must be met before it can be enabled. Most new PCs must meet all of these requirements, so some older PCs may not have VBS, although VBS actually predates Windows 11. (This is why VBS is so associated with Windows 11). You can learn a little more about the requirements for VBS by reading Microsoft’s detailed description. Please note that the requirements are very technical jargon-heavy, so they can be a little difficult to understand if you don’t have a working knowledge of the basic systems that computers need to operate and stay safe.

To check if VBS is enabled on your computer, open the Start menu and search for System Information . A new window will open with a long list of different features and functions that are currently used on your system. Find the line that says “Virtualization Based Security” .

Another way to easily check if VBS is enabled is to search for Core Isolation in the Start menu. From here, check whether the Memory Integrity feature is enabled or disabled. When enabled, memory integrity and VBS are enabled, giving your computer a little more protection. If you really want to disable it, you can disable it to disable VBS and remove the extra layer of security.

Should I disable VBS to improve performance?

Not really. VBS offers significant additional protection, and in most cases you won’t see more than a five percent increase in Windows and application performance. Some users report up to a 15 percent increase in performance when turning this feature off, although your mileage may vary.

However, as I noted above, VBS is a really important security feature. If you are not very knowledgeable about how to use the Internet, I recommend leaving it turned on for added protection. If you’re having performance issues, you can try these tips to help improve gaming performance before disabling VBS:

• Free up storage space . If you’re using an SSD, it’s always a good idea to leave the operating system drive as empty as possible. This is because SSD drives can slow down as they fill up. For this reason, I recommend keeping your OS and all important applications separate from other things, such as games and applications that you don’t need, directly on the main drive. If you have too many apps or games installed on your main drive, try removing some of them to see if that improves your performance.

• Disable startup applications . If your main performance issues occur at startup, try disabling applications that automatically start when you turn on your computer. Many apps have a “run at logon” option, and while you can disable them individually within the apps, the easiest way to do this is to open the task manager with Control + Alt + Delete , find the startup apps page, and set as many disabled ones as possible .

• Disable Xbox Game Bar . Ever since Microsoft started combining Xbox and Windows to create its gaming ecosystem, the Xbox Game Bar has been causing problems. Sometimes called Game DVR, this service allows you to record game clips and take screenshots. This all sounds convenient, but can also cause some performance issues. To turn it off, go to Games > Game Bar and turn the feature off. If you can’t disable it this way, you can also disable it in the registry by following this forum post , although this will require a little more knowledge about the inner workings of your computer. Do not make changes to the registry unless you are sure you know what you are doing, as these types of changes may break your computer’s operating system.

• Lower gaming settings . Of course, the least pleasant option for improving PC gaming performance is to lower some of the more intensive settings. While they can make your games look beautiful, many games aren’t as well optimized as you might hope, especially with all the cool tech advancements we have these days. Try turning down heavy settings like shadows and post-processing as these can often cause your system to freeze depending on how the developer optimized them. In many cases, you may not even notice any visual performance degradation, but your game performance will skyrocket.

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