16 tweaks · each one reversible
These are all the Windows gaming tweaks LeanFPS can apply, copied from the list inside the app. Each entry says what setting it touches, how risky it is, whether it needs a restart and how it is undone.
Balanced plan: the CPU drops to power-saving clocks between frames and needs time to ramp back up. Frames that start during the ramp take longer.
Details and sourcesIllustration of how the setting works, not a measurement.
These Windows gaming tweaks change a system setting once. LeanFPS stores the value you had before and restores exactly that value when you turn the tweak off, one at a time or all together.
Stops the CPU from dropping into low clocks between frames. Switches the active Windows power plan to High performance. Your previous plan is saved and restored when you turn this off. Not offered on laptops, where it costs battery and heat.
Source: learn.microsoft.com
Turns off core parking on AC power so threads don't wait for a parked core. Sets 'Processor performance core parking min cores' to 100% on the active power plan while plugged in. Battery value is unchanged.
Source: learn.microsoft.com
Windows pauses update installs and some background work while you play. Turns on Game Mode (HKCU\Software\Microsoft\GameBar AutoGameModeEnabled = 1). It is on by default in Windows 11; this makes sure it was not turned off.
Stops Game Bar from constantly recording the last minutes of gameplay. Turns off Game DVR / background capture (HKCU\System\GameConfigStore GameDVR_Enabled = 0, AppCaptureEnabled = 0). Background recording encodes video while you play. Manual screenshots still work.
Source: raw.githubusercontent.com
Lets the GPU manage its own memory scheduling. Needed for DLSS Frame Generation. Sets HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers HwSchMode = 2. Takes effect after a restart. Results vary by GPU and driver: measure before and after.
Source: devblogs.microsoft.com
Fixes flicker and stutter some multi-monitor setups get with MPO. Sets HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm OverlayTestMode = 5. Only useful if you see flicker or stutter on a second monitor. Takes effect after a restart.
Session tweaks start when LeanFPS detects a game in the foreground and are reversed in the opposite order when the game exits. If the PC crashes mid-game, they are reversed the next time LeanFPS starts.
No sleep or screen-off during long loading screens or cutscenes. Holds a Windows execution-state request while the game runs. Released as soon as the game exits.
The game gets CPU time before ordinary background apps. Sets the game's CPU priority class to Above normal while it runs. Never uses Realtime. Some anti-cheat protected games refuse this; LeanFPS then skips it.
Windows won't move the game to efficiency cores or slow it down to save power. Opts the game process out of EcoQoS power throttling while it runs. Matters most on Intel hybrid CPUs and laptops.
Source: learn.microsoft.com
Browsers, cloud sync and launchers drop to below-normal priority while you play. Lowers the CPU priority of known background apps (browsers, OneDrive, Dropbox, game launchers) while the game runs, and restores them when it exits. Voice chat apps are left alone.
Laptops: switches Windows to its Best performance power mode while you play. Sets the Windows power mode (Settings > System > Power) to Best performance while the game runs and puts your previous mode back when it exits.
Source: learn.microsoft.com
Laptops with two GPUs: games run on the dedicated GPU instead of the integrated one. Sets the game's Windows graphics preference to High performance (HKCU\Software\Microsoft\DirectX\UserGpuPreferences, GpuPreference=2), the same setting as Settings > Display > Graphics. Windows reads it when the game starts, so it stays after the game exits; Restore all removes it. Other values in that setting (such as Auto HDR) are kept.
Source: www.ninjaone.com
Stronger than above-normal. Can make other apps feel slow while you play. Sets every detected game to High priority while it runs. The genre profiles already do this for competitive games.
Some Windows gaming tweaks only make sense for one kind of game. LeanFPS turns these on when the detected game belongs to that genre. See which games map to which genre on the game profiles page.
The same hand movement always turns the same distance. Turns off 'Enhance pointer precision' while the game runs and restores your desktop setting when it exits. Most shooters use raw input already; this covers the ones that don't and menus.
Shooters and MOBAs get CPU time ahead of everything except system tasks. Sets the game to High priority (never Realtime) while it runs.
Clears cached standby memory when free RAM runs low, to avoid stutter in big worlds. While the game runs, if free memory drops below 1 GB, LeanFPS asks Windows to purge the standby list (at most once every 5 minutes). Cached files are reloaded from disk when needed.
Many FPS boosters include the items below. We do not, and here is the reason for each. The full reasoning is on the safety page.
It lowers your protection against malware for a gain that is small or zero on most systems.
Same trade: security for a few percent in some workloads. The PC-Tuning guide also advises against it.
These are repair or privacy actions, not gaming tweaks, and they can leave the PC exposed.
Since Windows 10 version 2004 a timer request only affects the process that makes it, so an optimizer requesting it cannot speed up your game.
No measurable FPS benefit, and each can cause crashes or higher temperatures.
Recommended holds low-risk Windows gaming tweaks that need no restart. Competitive adds high priority for every game, which can make other apps feel slow while you play. Laptop balanced keeps your power plan and only optimizes while a game runs, so battery life and fan noise stay the same on the desktop.
You can start from any preset and then switch single tweaks on or off. The app remembers your choices, and the FPS measurement tells you whether a change made the game smoother on your hardware. Back to the LeanFPS game optimizer overview.
Only the Recommended preset: low-risk tweaks that need no restart. Tweaks marked medium risk or needing a restart stay off until you switch them on.
Yes, LeanFPS supports both. Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling needs a supported GPU and driver, and the laptop tweaks only appear on laptops.
Run Restore all, or leanfps.exe --restore-all, before deleting the exe. Every persistent tweak is put back to the value it had before LeanFPS changed it.
Because each one has to have a real mechanism and a safe way back. Lists of hundreds of tweaks are mostly repeats, placebo, or changes that trade security for nothing measurable.
Free to use with no account. The first three games you play get every Pro tweak, so you can compare your own FPS before you decide.
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