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Windows 10 Getting a Game Mode That Would Improve Game Performance - Report (gamespot.com)

Microsoft may have plans to improve gaming experience on Windows 10. The speculation comes after long time watcher @h0x0d found a new "gamemode.dll" in the latest Windows 10 developer build, reports GameSpot. The feature appears to allow Windows 10 to adjust CPU and GPU resources when running a game to allocate more power for the game that's running instead of toward any background apps. From the article: The feature will reportedly launch as part of the Creators update and will be enabled for Windows Insider users soon. What's unclear is exactly which games this is compatible with. It's possible it could be limited to only to those downloaded from the Windows Store, or it might be much more far-reaching. We should know more once Windows Insiders testers get their hands on the feature.

78 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. This is needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Becaus Windows wants all the resources for itself.

    1. Re:This is needed by NotInHere · · Score: 3, Funny

      And the remainder is the battleground between the antivirus and the bloatware.

    2. Re:This is needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      So I need an I7 with 32gigs of RAM only to run the fucking OS?

    3. Re:This is needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Which means the OS is a bloated piece of crap.

    4. Re:This is needed by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

      So I need an I7 with 32gigs of RAM only to run the fucking OS?

      I ran Windows Vista and Win7 on an AMD quad-core processor and 4GB RAM for nine years without problems. I'm currently running Win10 on an AMD eight-core processor and 8GB RAM without problems.

    5. Re:This is needed by christurkel · · Score: 1

      Woooooosh!

      --

      CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/
    6. Re:This is needed by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Woooooosh!

      I should have added a note that you don't necessarily need a eight-core processor for Win10. After nine years with the same configuration, I was able to double the performance for $200 with a new processor, motherboard and ram.

    7. Re:This is needed by bondsbw · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you're running bloatware, or need on-access antivirus that would inhibit gaming performance... you're doing it wrong.

      Run a nightly scan and don't open crap you shouldn't.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    8. Re: This is needed by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Funny you should say that. Even in the Windows 95 days, while Microsoft didn't do much in the internationization front, they sure made sure Arabic was supported - since the MidEast was a big market for them

    9. Re: This is needed by unixisc · · Score: 2

      In this context, when people say Linux, they mean the kernel plus the GNU userland plus X11/Wayland plus the DEs.

    10. Re:This is needed by Entropius · · Score: 2

      Very definitely not true. I have a dual-boot laptop with Win10 (running Classic Shell) and Lubuntu. Guess which one uses more resources?

    11. Re:This is needed by sydbarrett74 · · Score: 2

      Bullshit. I have a 2005-vintage Pentium D box with 1GB of RAM running the latest copy of Linux Mint (xfce as desktop environment) and it absolutely flies. Granted, as a NetBurst machine it consumes quite a bit of power and serves as a pretty effective space-heater, but try running anything newer than Windows XP on such hardware -- I bet the fucking thing would take at least five minutes to boot to a barely usable desktop. However, with Linux on there, I can actually do some productive work on it if I so choose, and have the benefit of a recent OS release with modern features and security.

      --
      'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
    12. Re:This is needed by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      An 8 core AMD CPU is about on par with a dual core Intel CPU performance-wise.

      I have Windows 10 on an inexpensive Dell laptop with an Intel dual-core processor. I can easily max out both cores and wait five minutes by opening 15 tabs in Chrome. If I do that on my PC with the AMD eight-core processor, everything loads quickly.

  2. Delay Windows Update? by archer,+the · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will it also delay Windows Update so that it doesn't download and install packages while I'm multiplayer-gaming?

    1. Re:Delay Windows Update? by organgtool · · Score: 3, Informative

      I came here to make that same comment. I've seen a number of streams that abruptly ended because Windows 10 thought it would be a great time to update. At first people laughed it off but it's quickly losing its charm.

    2. Re:Delay Windows Update? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Set your wifi/ethernet connection to metered, and you'll only be broken out of your full screen games for it to whine at you that it couldn't download updates.

    3. Re:Delay Windows Update? by sinij · · Score: 2

      If BSM losing its charm, then you need to escalate. Take denial and withholding to the next level - refuse to allow any games unless you show deference to the patching mistress.

      On other hand, many people might not be into that at all.

    4. Re:Delay Windows Update? by JazzXP · · Score: 1

      It wouldn't be so bad if we got incremental updates rather than the massive download every time. Absolutely kills my net connection for a good hour (Aussie internet, yay :/) every time.

    5. Re:Delay Windows Update? by Solandri · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Just disable the Windows Update service. That's how we deal with the problem on security camera computers which need to be running 24/7 with no reboots. For bonus points, you can disable BITS too to prevent it from exchanging downloaded data with other Windows computers on your network.

      What's more annoying to me is how Microsoft blithely ignores your customized configuration and resets stuff after certain updates. Like re-enabling Cortana, and pinning Edge and the Windows Store back to your taskbar. It's a PITA to have to disable and unpin those all over again on dozens of computers after an update.

    6. Re:Delay Windows Update? by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      just shut off updates, cause we all know there's not a time you wont be playing multiplayer games :p

    7. Re:Delay Windows Update? by mukinrestak · · Score: 1

      Seriously? God I'm glad I avoided Windows extra-shitty edition.

    8. Re: Delay Windows Update? by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      You either are resetting your date, or you have never rebooted - the insider preview does have a 90 day kill switch in it. Found it after not using my laptop for 4 months and then trying to boot up.

      the only way i got past the switch was by resetting my bios time and then booting. I then got my files off of it and loaded win 7 pro instead.

      the ONLY reason they have that kill switch in there is because at some point it'll be a rent a os.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    9. Re:Delay Windows Update? by Yeff · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A recent leak of the Windows 10 Creators Update build 14997 suggest an option to "pause" updates for up to 35 days is coming. It's not yet clear, though, whether this will be an Enterprise only update or if it'll also be coming to the consumer versions.

      --
      "Freedom Through Vigilance"
    10. Re: Delay Windows Update? by thegarbz · · Score: 1, Insightful

      the ONLY reason they have that kill switch in there is because at some point it'll be a rent a os.

      Or it's because it's an insider build, a beta OS that is not meant to stick around, and by agreeing to the insider program you sign up to be testing the latest build.

      The fact this widely known part of being on the insider program came as a surprise to you really just shows that you should never have been using an insider build in the first place.

    11. Re: Delay Windows Update? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Because you might need to pull files off from a remote location? Maybe you would like to bring up a live feed to see if anything is wrong?

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    12. Re:Delay Windows Update? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      No but it will spy on your gaming. You know username name, friends, playstyle, what games you play and how long you play them, how much you are spending on gaming what social media ties to your gaming. Not to forget tracking all that online chatting, every comment, every purchase, every marketing manipulation that works. It is you that is being gamed.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    13. Re: Delay Windows Update? by Ash-Fox · · Score: 2

      You'd think people on Slashdot would know the Windows Update and BITS GPOs...

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    14. Re: Delay Windows Update? by brxndxn · · Score: 1

      You don't know where to begin because you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Merely stating a person is doing it wrong while not offering any kind of advice as to your opinion of the right way to do things does nothing but show you like complaining about the way people get things done. You don't know how locked down the system is. You don't know how they set it up nor anything else about their IT infrastructure other than they disabled Microsoft's services that are proven to compromise the reliability of a system because they needed a more reliable system. But, you offered a pretty fucking outspoken opinion and I'm calling you out. I work in industrial control systems - an industry where we need things running 24/7 until scheduled downtimes under our control. Microsoft's current direction of assuming everyone connects their systems directly to the Internet and assuming they should get to reboot after applying bloatloads of updates is a disaster waiting to happen. I am tired of people criticizing our solutions and workarounds for Microsoft's combination of arrogance and ineptitude.

      --
      --- We need more Ron Paul!
    15. Re: Delay Windows Update? by adolf · · Score: 1

      Mom, someone on the Internet was mean to me!

    16. Re:Delay Windows Update? by wicka_wicka · · Score: 1

      I don't understand how this happens to people. I frequently have to force Windows 10 to install updates because it's gone in the opposite direction and steadfastly refuses to do a damn thing while I'm using the computer.

      --
      hi
    17. Re:Delay Windows Update? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You can't set ethernet to metered.

    18. Re: Delay Windows Update? by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      the ONLY reason they have that kill switch in there is because at some point it'll be a rent a os.

      Remember when they said that the final Windows version would not have a number? It will be a forced update to Windows 10.

  3. Can we finally remove / disable the Game Bar? by decipher_saint · · Score: 1

    Oh you can turn it off after you log into the XBox app, don't have an XBox account? Well then I guess you are creating one or hacking the registry to break it so it stops running.

    --
    crazy dynamite monkey
    1. Re: Can we finally remove / disable the Game Bar? by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      You'd think people on Slashdot would know how to use applocker...

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  4. Fuck Win 10 by Kernel+Krumpit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Fuck Windows 10 and everything to do with it. Forever....

    --
    May the lies we live by make us strong, healthy, happy and wise - Kurt Vonnegut.
    1. Re:Fuck Win 10 by Cley+Faye · · Score: 4, Funny

      He was lying. Win 7 doesn't collect telemetry...at least it didn't originally, maybe a Windows update put it in.

      You posted as AC, but from that quote it will be easy to find who you are, simply by listing people that lived in a cave for the last year or so.

    2. Re:Fuck Win 10 by Aereus · · Score: 1, Interesting

      It's a trojan horse. They added the telemetry to 7/8 as a recommended update at some point. Now he wants to upsell you on Win10 offering some level of user control over the telemetry. Thing is, you don't have to download the telemetry update. I certainly didn't. And the "user control over telemetry" is percentage-based, certainly not an absolute value.

      IE: Users can control 25% of the 1000 points of telemetry data MS collects about you Vs. 0% control of the 20 points of telemetry data in 7/8.
      You're still getting spied on way more than before.

    3. Re:Fuck Win 10 by Holi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Update No Description
      KB971033 Windows Activation Technologies
      KB3139929 Security update for Internet Explorer
      KB3083710 Windows Update Client
      KB3083324 Windows Update Client
      KB3080149 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
      KB3080149 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
      KB3065987 Windows Update Client
      KB3050267 Windows Update Client
      KB3050265 Windows Update Client
      KB3035583 Update installs Get Windows 10 app
      KB3022345 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
      KB3021917 Update to Windows 7 SP1 for performance improvements
      KB2952664 Compatibility update
      KB3146449 Updated Internet Explorer 11 capabilities to upgrade to Windows 10


      Yeah there have been a few that shoehorned telemetry in.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    4. Re:Fuck Win 10 by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      So which KB number is the telemetry update?

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  5. GNU/Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Linux doesn't need this because Linux has no games.

    1. Re:GNU/Linux by ogdenk · · Score: 1

      We have battalion, Doom, Quake II and Xlander! What more do you need?!

    2. Re:GNU/Linux by BlueStrat · · Score: 2
      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    3. Re:GNU/Linux by dbIII · · Score: 1

      World of Warcrack runs on linux. Put it on there and there's nothing else you need the computer for. Someone emailed? Who cares, who needs an email program, there's a raid coming up.

    4. Re:GNU/Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And if that's not enough, there are for instance a bunch of Paradox games, should keep you busy for a while.

    5. Re:GNU/Linux by operagost · · Score: 1

      Marathon. Breakout. Umm... and Breakout 2.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    6. Re: GNU/Linux by ogdenk · · Score: 1

      Doom and quake 1/2/3 have native Linux builds, just use them and swipe the data files from the Windows version. It's not rocket science. I was playing native Doom on Linux back in '94.

  6. Re:Simple to do yourself by Kernel+Krumpit · · Score: 2

    Sorry, will never ever use Google Search because, well ya know, just because...

    --
    May the lies we live by make us strong, healthy, happy and wise - Kurt Vonnegut.
  7. Game mode for active window. by sims+2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Next up someone will write a program to keep whatever the current active window is in game mode.

    Because whatever the user is interacting with should pretty much always take precedence over what isn't even visible on screen.

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    1. Re:Game mode for active window. by sims+2 · · Score: 2

      Priority one critical system stuff like NTFS
      Priority two whatever the user wants to do.
      Priority tree whatever else needs to be done indexing can go fk itself if a user is active.

      These are priorities stuff still runs just a bit slower than it normally does IIRC windows already does this to a point.
      *checks*
      Yeah it's done this since at least as far back as windows XP
      https://www.microsoft.com/reso...

      Although It's only a slight priority difference so it's not usually noticeable.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    2. Re:Game mode for active window. by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Next up someone will write a program to keep whatever the current active window is in game mode.

      Because whatever the user is interacting with should pretty much always take precedence over what isn't even visible on screen.

      Except when you're doing a processing-heavy task that does not require your interaction and you're just playing around on something else on the computer to waste time while that job is completing.

    3. Re:Game mode for active window. by LinuxInDallas · · Score: 2

      Don't forget priority 4: security. lol.

    4. Re: Game mode for active window. by tepples · · Score: 1

      With the exception that far more PC games support mods.

    5. Re:Game mode for active window. by brxndxn · · Score: 1

      Well.. let's just make sure the user has control over the priorities.. unless we want the equivalent of Bing to decide where the computer devotes its resources.

      --
      --- We need more Ron Paul!
  8. So what your saying is... by r2rknot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...you found a .dll. And you HOPE this is what its for? Ok, cool story bro. ALIENS!!!!

    --
    "...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
    1. Re:So what your saying is... by sims+2 · · Score: 2

      Hahaha what's next are they going to claim the windows NT _NSAKEY is for use by the nsa?

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
  9. Game Mode On! by iTrawl · · Score: 1

    Can we get an option where Game Mode is always on? The user experience should be greatly improved without even running any games.

    --
    "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
    1. Re:Game Mode On! by gravewax · · Score: 2

      NO the user experience would be greatly diminished, but it can be valuable for some and is already available. If you want an always on game mode just disable all the services in the OS you think you don't need like search etc.

  10. I hope this will only concern games from the store by Cley+Faye · · Score: 1

    ...or that it will be possible to disable it.

    Right now, I can play my games, while recording the whole audio/video output, AND record a secondary audio through a third program. All of this without performance issue. I'm fairly certain if MS implement any sort of "better" scheduling for gaming this will not work as well anymore.
    Call me a pessimist if you want, but at this point it's more akin to experience.

  11. Reduced Imaging? by richardkettle4 · · Score: 1

    This is a good step in the right direction. If it is a clean install it may reduce the need for imaging, just join the domain and let the servers push the rest.

  12. So let me see if I understand by johannesg · · Score: 1

    Normally Windows runs in an inefficient mode where it prioritizes background tasks, the OS, and other things that are not in the immediate interest of the user, but if a game is running it can now optionally decide to play nice and prioritize the user's chosen activity?

    Gee, that's nice. Maybe a little late - I mean, I sort of expected my personal computer to prioritize the f'ing work I'm actually trying to do _at all times_, and I've pretty much done that since I first encountered multitasking back in 1985, but it's still nice.

    1. Re:So let me see if I understand by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      Disk io has had priority, such that in NT 4 and above, you can watch controls get painted line by line, if io is happening. Even if no swapping is taking place.

      This was discounted in NT 4 as underpowered servers, in W2K as cheap memory or HDD, and in Vista as shitty coding. But the problem remains in 7 at least.

      Heavy io with minimal CPU means nearly zero CPU to spend at all. Even if io is only intermittently heavy.

    2. Re:So let me see if I understand by NotAPK · · Score: 1

      It's also almost impossible to monitor IO on Windows with the standard tools.

    3. Re:So let me see if I understand by operagost · · Score: 1

      I've complained for 15 years that Microsoft doesn't understand these two concepts:
      1. Locking out the TERMINAL (i.e., network address) instead of the USER ACCOUNT in an attempted breach so people can't DOS all your users or continue an attack by simply trying different usernames.
      2. Prioritizing I/O

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    4. Re:So let me see if I understand by NotAPK · · Score: 1

      Thanks APK, you made me chuckle this morning.

      Happy New Year!

  13. Shut down all background processes by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

    Does it provide a "pure" environment for just the game? That would be something.

  14. Ah! Taking Us Back To The Good Old Days by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 1

    This takes me back to the days of having a special DR DOS boot disk for each game. Each one was set up to tweak high memory, video parameters, etc. optimally for each game while not loading anything not needed for the game. Part of the fun really.

    --
    Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
  15. Windows 10 Game Mode, code name "Windows 7"... by urbanriot · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is preparing it's release of Windows 10 Game Mode which has been in testing since 2009 under the code name "Windows 7". Testers have reported that this revolutionary new version of Windows will allow you to control the Windows Update experience, it won't download apps or transmit telemetry in the background, and it will have a menu that's easier to manage.

  16. background apps? by citizenr · · Score: 1

    What background apps? do they mean keylogging spyware^^^Customer Experience Improvement Program? ETL tracing running 24/7 and writing ~1GB to disk per day? Cortana calling home once per hour no matter what? Metro garbage?

    all uninstalled/blocked/deleted

    https://github.com/W4RH4WK/Deb...
    http://win10epicfail.proboards...
    https://www.hwinfo.com/misc/Re...

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  17. Re:Yes it does (e.g. implemented in Object Pascal) by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    APK, serious question: most software I write does work on background threads and the interface thread just waits for updates. Your code seems to put just the GUI thread into "real time mode" which will not help the actual task running on the background threads. Any comments on this?

  18. Linux has had this feature for ages .. by khz6955 · · Score: 1

    nice: Runs a command with a modified scheduling priority.

  19. Sadly... by fbobraga · · Score: 1

    ... one of the slashvertisements of today (the only on, up to now)

    1. Re:Sadly... by fbobraga · · Score: 1
      Fixing my own typo:

      ... one of the slashvertisements of today (the only one, up to now)

  20. Re:You make ME laugh, bs artist... apk by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    APK, my friend, the whole point is you can't. The non-deterministic nature of multi-threaded tasks makes any sort of general optimization impossible. I think you know this, since you somewhat allude to it in your post. Any given parallel task can only be made more efficient in parallel through domain specific optimizations. This is why we don't have a magic "parallel" tick box in the compiler options. For anyone else who's reading, and is interested in these kinds of things, it all comes down to how you can partition the work amongst processes/threads and then how much communication has to occur between the threads to get through the workload. Some tasks can be partitioned really easily and benefit trivially from parallel processing. Others (most? ...we need a CS PhD to comment here) show a reasonable trade off between task partitioning and inter-process communications. While others, the "trouble makers" require so much inter-process communications that a parallel task can actually be slower than a linear task.

    The whole root cause of this tirade with APK was simply about whether making the current form (on Windows? It wouldn't actually matter) have real-time priority on the CPU would make it run any faster. All I did was point out that most well-written parallel tasks run the actual work-load on background threads, and any attempt to give the current form thread priority would also have to apply the same priority to the entire process and even then, the benefit would be marginal. APK actually agrees with me, since he points out that he tried this and found no benefit, as expected: "& I suggested it as I tried it - no gain"

    So I think we're in agreement, which is good, but APK wants to harass me for some reason, possibly for my handle, who knows...Happy New Year everyone!

  21. Re:More "blowing u away" Mr. 'NotAPK' by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    Hi APK, see my other post. I think we're in agreement, which is cool. Have a happy new year mate, all the best,

    NotAPK

  22. Re:The form receives all messages via by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    It sounds good, but you run the risk of over-optimization, which means your code runs fast on your system, but there is no guarantee that it will do so on any general system. In other words: your users may be seeing worse performance than you are.

  23. Re:Optimizations I do work universally by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    "Multithreading you suggest (that I do albeit only on things benefitting concurrent ops) can backfire - how?"

    Any one process is not universally aware of the load from other processes on the system. By over-optimizing you have tweaked your code execution to be as fast as possible under the exact same conditions at the time of optimization: this relates to CPU workload, memory bandwidth, memory fragmentation, slower IO to storage, and even bus communications such as streaming 10Gbit/s LAN packets through to memory and/or disk, for example.

    All I'm saying is that when that code is executed on a different system under different circumstances you no longer have any claim that your over-optimized solution will run any better. In general, I would argue (from experience, no citations here) that it will run worse.

    As such, and as frustrating as it sounds, for a general purpose program, designed to be run on millions (or more) work stations, you are best leaving the OS-interaction tweaks to the OS developers, and focus instead on your application logic.

    You're a smart guy APK, though obviously with a few screws loose, and I think you know all this and are probably arguing from the same position.

    The only reason I've bothered to reply to you here is in case some young developers are wondering what all the fuss is about and may even learn a little by reading through our argument.

    Happy NYE!

  24. Re:I've done shareware/freeware for ages by NotAPK · · Score: 1

    "they don't impress me @ all - they're just men too man"

    Agree 100%!!!