Windows 10 users will soon be able to direct more of their machine’s CPU and GPU power to gaming activities – and now Microsoft has explained how it’ll work
The new Game Mode within Windows 10’s Creative Studio will roll out tomorrow for Windows Insiders (build 15019) and is expected to arrive on consumer PCs in April.
Speaking to Windows Central, Kevin Gammill of the Xbox Platform Team said the mode is designed to prevent Windows 10 from stealing resources from games to conduct other tasks.
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It will eke out a little more performance from games, but should also result in more consistent frame rates.
Game Mode “makes gaming your PCs top priority to improve your game’s quality,” and users will be enable it for use with individual titles. All gamers will need to do to enable the feature is press Win + G to access the Xbox Game Bar and tick “Use Game mode for this game.”
Windows 10 will remember which games have been assigned priority over other tasks and it’ll be easy to disable the setting.
PC gaming enthusiasts will be heartened to know Game Mode works with both Universal Windows Platform games purchased from the Microsoft Store and also Win32 titles from outlets like Steam. However, UWP games will see the biggest boost.
Microsoft also explained why this mode isn’t automatically enabled. Gammill said users may wish to continue resource-heavy takes like rendering in Adobe Lightroom, while enjoying a quick game in the meantime.
Notifications and Cortana will continue to function while Game Mode is enabled.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.