Microsoft released a massive update for Windows 11 on Halloween this year. If the naming convention isn't apparent, 23H2 is a substantial annual update for the OS, replacing 22H2 from last year. Given the spooky release date, it fittingly included numerous treats in the form of new features for Windows. Unfortunately, it also had a trick inside: Some users report terrible gaming performance since upgrading. Microsoft has responded to these reports with a workaround, but the fix is no walk in the park, so only advanced users should attempt it.
Reports of gaming performance taking a nosedive in 23H2 have been popping up online, with users saying CPU performance is degraded, causing games to be collateral damage when using the latest version of Windows. One user on the Microsoft forums complained about games like GTA V, Valorant, and CS: GO running like butter previously on their HP gaming laptop but being unplayable after the update, thanks to stuttering and sporadic drops in frame rates. Another user on Reddit with a Ryzen 5 5800X3D gaming desktop complained about similar issues, stating they were seeing drastically decreased CPU performance with the 23H2 update. This user wrote benchmarks had become 5-8% slower and that rolling back to last year's 22H2 update resolved the issue. In both threads, other users said they had a similar experience with the 23H2 update.
Microsoft responded to both users with a detailed workaround, as noted by TechSpot. The workaround's first step is resetting Windows Defender through several Powershell commands, so you have to be comfortable using the command line. Once that's done, you must reboot and enable CPU Virtualization in BIOS. With those two hurdles out of the way, you'll need to head to the Windows Security area in Settings and enable Memory Integrity under the Core Isolation settings. Once you reboot after making those changes, Hypervisor and Virtualization Security will be Enabled, which resolves the issue according to the original threads.
For now, the issue seems to primarily affect AMD CPUs, including both older models and newer chips, including the Ryzen 7000-series. It's unclear what the specific problem is, but it's conceivable that AMD will release a microcode update to resolve this situation soon. If you're experiencing degraded CPU performance in games or apps, apply the workaround listed above and say a silent prayer to the silicon deities. If you have an AMD CPU and have not upgraded yet, hold off until the coast is clear.
As Albert Einstein said, "I could have done so much more with a Big Al's Computer!".
