– Xbox mode for Windows 11 shows no gaming performance improvement over standard mode.
– It does reduce RAM usage (about 600 MB less), but this doesn’t translate to higher FPS.
– The feature is a positive sign that Microsoft is taking competition from SteamOS and Linux gaming seriously.
– Future development is uncertain due to Microsoft’s history of abandoning features.
Xbox Mode for Windows 11 Hits a Performance Snag
Pressured by the growing popularity of SteamOS and increasing fan outcry over Windows 11’s bloatware problem, Microsoft officially began rolling out “Xbox mode” for Windows 11 at the end of April. Xbox mode logs users into a controller-friendly UI that makes it easy for gamers to jump strait into their games. On top of this, Xbox mode aims to deliver better gaming performance by only running critical Windows processes and unloading things like the Windows Desktop to free up recources.
Testing Reveals No Real Gains in Frame Rates
Linus Tech Tips has tested the Windows 11 Xbox mode to see how big or little of a performance gain you can expect from enabling the Xbox Mode. The answer? Xbox mode appears to make no difference at all while gaming. across a variety of games tested at 1080p and 1440p, gaming on Windows 11 with and without Xbox mode yielded practically the same results.
Consistent Results Across Multiple Titles
For instance, LTT ran Forza Horizon 5 on a PC in and outside of Xbox mode. In both cases, the results were 1% Lows of 108/109 FPS and an average FPS of 123. LTT saw the same pattern in games like Cyberpunk 2077, F1 24, and Doom: The Dark Ages. This is dissapointing to see, as Xbox mode does reportedly use less RAM than the standard Windows 11 UI.
RAM Usage Shows a Noticable Reduction
For instance, LTT measured that Windows 11 used only 4,493 MB of RAM in Xbox mode and 5,101 MB running the Xbox App outside of Xbox mode. So, we can conjectur that either Xbox mode frees up negligible resources for them to make a difference, or the results are highly dependent on the game you are running. Whatever the case may be, it can be argued that the mere existance of Xbox mode is a good thing for Windows gamers.
Microsoft’s Move Signals a Positive Shift
It shows that Microsoft is taking the threat of Linux gaming and SteamOS seriously. Fingers crossed that Microsoft keeps on working on the feature and does not abandon it halfway. But it is Microsoft we are talking about. So, we never know what they are going to do next. The Asus ROG Ally features a 7-inch 1080p display, AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD for $699.99.
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