How to Increase the Processing Power for Your Windows 11 Device
Simple, proven tweaks to make Windows 11 feel faster — from cutting startup programs to tuning visual effects and background apps.
Why Windows 11 Slows Down Over Time
Windows 11 gradually accumulates startup programs, background services, and visual eye candy that chip away at performance. The good news: you can reclaim most of that speed in under ten minutes without reinstalling anything.
Step 1 — Disable Startup Programs
Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, then click the Startup apps tab. Sort by Startup impact and right-click anything marked High that you do not need immediately when you log in — Spotify, Discord, Teams, OneDrive sync, etc. — and choose Disable. These apps still launch when you open them; they just won't slow your boot.
Step 2 — Tune Visual Effects for Performance
Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and hit Enter. Go to Advanced → Performance → Settings. Select Adjust for best performance to strip all animations, or choose Custom and keep only Smooth edges of screen fonts for readability. This can noticeably speed up older PCs.
Step 3 — Limit Background Apps
Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps, click an app, choose Advanced options, and set Background apps permissions to Never. Do this for any app you only use occasionally. Alternatively, go to Settings → Privacy & security → Background apps for a single toggle.
Step 4 — Run Storage Sense
Go to Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense and turn it on. Click Run Storage Sense now to immediately free space from temp files and the Recycle Bin. Less disk pressure means faster reads and writes.
Step 5 — Adjust Power Plan
Open Settings → System → Power & sleep → Additional power settings and select High performance (or Balanced on laptops). The default Power saver plan artificially throttles your CPU.
Step 6 — Keep Windows Updated
Driver and kernel updates often include performance improvements. Go to Settings → Windows Update and install any pending updates, then check Advanced options → Optional updates for driver updates too.
Quick Summary
- Disable high-impact startup apps in Task Manager
- Set visual effects to best performance
- Restrict background app permissions
- Run Storage Sense to clear temp files
- Switch to High performance power plan
These changes are safe, reversible, and make a real difference — especially on machines with less than 16 GB of RAM or a spinning hard drive.