Windows 11 has enabled Memory Integrity, but gamers shouldn’t worry that much

Published Nov 11, 2026, 3:55 PM EST Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary Microsoft will enable HVCI (memory integrity) on eligible Windows 11 PCs via a recent update. On modern hardware, HVCI causes only modest gaming slowdowns — not the big hit seen on older systems. You can disable HVCI if desired; follow the Windows 11 memory integrity guide to turn it off. For a little while now, Microsoft has advertised that it would force-enable a feature called Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI) on Windows 11 PCs with the proper hardware to run it. At the time, it sounded like a potential problem for gamers, as HVCI (also known as 'memory integrity') can make a measurable impact on performance. However, if you're on modern hardware, there's a good chance you won't need to worry at all Windows 11's HVCI isn't the performance-hungry feature we featured it would be The effects are pretty modest Microsoft has pushed the November 10 (KB5132061) update to Windows 11 PCs everywhere. The update pushes everything from the October 28 (KB5127936) Preview update to the Release branch, which includes the following patch note: New! This update expands memory integrity protection across eligible devices. Supported PCs may now have memory integrity (HVCI) enabled during updates to help improve security and prepare devices for advanced Windows security features, while respecting existing user or IT administrator choices. When this feature first rolled out a few years ago, it had a pretty measurable effect on gaming performance. However, it seems that with modern hardware, the effects are far less than what we first saw. We tested memory Integrity's effect on gaming performance a month ago, and the results were very modest. The biggest difference was when we played Cyberpunk 2077 on a newer PC, where we saw it reach 116.8 FPS as its 1% low instead of 124.5 with memory integrity off. Sure, it's an impact, but it's not exactly a catastrophic one. Still, if you'd rather not have HVCI running at all, you can get rid of it. Check out our guide on how to disable HVCI on Windows 11 for all the instructions and details.