Microsoft is enabling a Windows 11 security feature that can hurt gaming performance
Microsoft is preparing to roll out its "memory integrity" security feature more widely on Windows 11 devices from next month, though the kernel-level protection can reduce PC gaming performance on some hardware. The feature, which forms part of Virtualization-based Security (VBS), blocks untrusted kernel-mode code and drivers from running, helping guard against malicious software, but Microsoft has acknowledged the trade-off in performance and is proceeding regardless as part of a push to make Windows "secure by default".
According to Peter Waxman, group program manager at Microsoft, forthcoming Windows quality updates will enable memory integrity, and VBS alongside it, on eligible devices. The performance impact is expected to be smaller on newer processors but more noticeable in certain games on older CPUs. Users who have already switched the feature off will not have it re-enabled automatically, and anyone wanting to check or adjust the setting can search "Core Isolation" in Windows and toggle memory integrity via the Windows Security app; Microsoft suggests re-enabling it after gaming sessions if disabled for performance reasons.
In short
- Microsoft to enable memory integrity security on more Windows 11 PCs from next month
- Feature can lower gaming performance, especially on older CPUs
- Users can check or toggle it via "Core Isolation" in Windows Security
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The case for
Enabling memory integrity by default can protect more users from malicious or vulnerable kernel-level drivers, which can otherwise undermine a computer’s security. Most users may not know the feature exists or how to assess the risk, so making it standard reflects a reasonable “secure by default” approach, especially where the performance cost is small on newer hardware.
The case against
A security default should account for the people who bear its costs: on some older systems, reduced performance can make games less smooth and diminish hardware users have already paid for. Users may reasonably expect a Windows update not to change that experience without a clear choice, and switching the feature off and back on around gaming adds friction; they may prefer to decide for themselves whether the security benefit outweighs the impact on their device.
Explained simply
Windows uses a central part of its software, called the kernel, to manage hardware and running programmes. Memory integrity is a security setting that uses virtualisation, which separates this work from other software, to stop untrusted code and drivers from running at this level.
Microsoft develops Windows, while PC makers and other companies provide the hardware and drivers that run on it. The setting can help protect against malicious software, but the extra checks may slow some games, particularly on older processors.
The issue matters because stronger protection can come with a performance cost, and the size of that cost varies between computers. Windows 11 users can find the setting in the Windows Security app under “Core Isolation”.
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