Make Windows 11 Faster: Adjust Visual Effects and Set Best Performance Power Mode

Windows 11 feels heavy — windows fade and slide, menus animate, and on a modest or older PC the whole interface feels a half-second behind every click.

Why: Windows 11 ships with animations, shadows, and transparency turned on for looks. On capable hardware they’re free; on integrated graphics or an older machine they cost real responsiveness. Separately, the power mode can be throttling the CPU to save energy. These are the two settings that give the biggest, safest speed-up without touching anything risky.

Fix 1: Adjust visual effects for best performance (fastest)

This is Microsoft’s own first recommendation for a snappier interface.

1. Press Win, type Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows, and open it.
2. On the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance.
3. Click Apply, then OK.

Everything snaps instantly instead of animating. If the result looks too bare, switch to Custom and re-tick just two boxes — Smooth edges of screen fonts (keeps text readable) and Show thumbnails instead of icons (keeps file previews). Leave the rest off.

You can also kill transparency, which the GPU has to redraw constantly: Settings → Personalization → Colors, and turn Transparency effects Off.

Fix 2: Set the power mode to Best performance

Especially on laptops, Windows may be running the CPU in a power-saving state that caps speed.

1. Open Settings → System → Power & battery.
2. Under Power mode, choose Best performance.

The three options are Best power efficiency (saves battery), Balanced (the default), and Best performance (maximizes performance). On a desktop, set it to Best performance and leave it. On a laptop you can set it per state — Best performance when plugged in, Balanced or Best power efficiency on battery.

Fix 3: Free up disk space and trim startup

Two background factors quietly slow everything down: a nearly full drive and a crowded startup.

1. Low disk space: open Settings → System → Storage. Turn on Storage Sense to auto-clear temp files, or use the cleanup recommendations to remove them now. Aim to keep at least ~10–15% of the drive free.
2. Startup clutter: press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, select Startup apps, and Disable the high-impact apps you don’t need at sign-in. Fewer programs loading means more CPU and RAM free for what you’re actually doing.

Fix 4: Restart, then open only what you need

If the machine has been on for days, a restart clears leaked memory and stuck background tasks.

1. Select Start → Power → Restart.
2. After it’s back, open only the apps you need — and close them when you’re done rather than leaving everything running.

FAQ

Will “Adjust for best performance” make Windows ugly? It removes animations and shadows, so it looks flatter and a little plainer — but it’s noticeably faster. Use the Custom option to keep font smoothing and thumbnails if the bare look bothers you.

Does Best performance power mode drain my laptop battery? Yes, more than Balanced. That’s why you can set it only for “Plugged in” and leave battery mode on Balanced.

I did all this and it’s still slow. On very old hardware the biggest single upgrade is a solid-state drive (SSD) and more RAM. Software tweaks help, but they can’t beat a mechanical hard disk that’s the real bottleneck.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Tips to improve PC performance in Windows, Microsoft Support — Change the power mode for your Windows PC