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How to disable VBS in Windows 11 to improve gaming

Windows 11's Virtualization Based Security features have been shown to have some impact on gaming performance — even if it isn't drastic. While you will be putting your system more at risk, if you're looking to min-max your gaming PC's performance, you can always disable it. Just follow these steps to disable VBS in a few quick clicks.

Note: Digital Trends does not recommend disabling any security features on your devices and takes no responsibility for any security issues that arise if you do.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

How to disable VBS in Windows 11

You can disable VBS in Windows 11 in a number of ways, but the quickest and easiest is using the Windows 11 Security center.

Step 1: Use the Windows search bar to look for "Windows Security" and select the security app.

Searching for Windows Security application.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Select Device Security from the left-hand menu.

Navigating the Windows 11 security center.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Select Core isolation details underneath the Core Isolation heading.

Windows 11 security menu.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: Use the toggle to turn Memory integrity to Off.

Disabling VBS in Windows 11.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 5: Restart your computer. When it boots up again, VBS should be disabled.

If you were looking to improve your game performance by disabling VBS, try playing one of them now to see what effect it had. Use these tips to track your frames per second.

How to check if VBS is disabled

You can check whether VBS is disabled on your system by looking in Windows 11's System Information pane.

Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to launch the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type in "msinfo32" and select OK or press Enter.

Running MSinfo32 in Windows 11.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: In the System Information window that pops up, scroll down the right-hand pane until you find Virtualization-based security. If it's disabled, it will say Not enabled.

Highlighting VBS is disabled in Windows 11.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Should you disable VBS?

Unless you need absolutely every possible frame per second for your games, then no, you probably shouldn't. We shown in our analysis that the impact on gaming performance with VBS enabled is minimal at best — less than 1% fps in most cases. VBS also serves an important security function by protecting verification process like validating drivers, and helps prevent malware from inserting itself into your applications.

Yes, if you disable memory integrity you may get a couple of extra fps in your games, but you really aren't going to notice that difference. You'd be better off using our performance guide to tweak your settings, or just saving up and buying a better graphics card.

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