In fact, if some principles have not changed since the origin, many improvements have been made in the appearance, especially thanks to visual effects. Some of them are valuable, to the point of seeming natural, such as the one that displays the content of windows while they are moving. Others, despite the touch of elegance they give to Windows, are of more questionable interest. This is the case, for example, with the shadow cast under the mouse pointer or the animation of windows when they are minimized and maximized… The problem is that these effects draw on the computer’s hardware resources. Just open the Task Manager – right-click on the taskbar – and look in the Performance tab to see that simply moving a window really puts a strain on the processor.
Of course, with the powerful chips that equip today’s PCs, the impact is minimal and almost insensitive on a daily basis. But it can be detrimental on older computers with slower processors. And these effects can reduce the computer’s performance when they are active, especially when using software that requires a lot of parallel processing – for real-time audio processing, for example – even on relatively powerful PCs. And on older models, they affect the reactivity of the interface on a daily basis, by slowing down the display even for common actions.
Fortunately, it is possible to deactivate them, in whole or in part, to improve responsiveness. This is a risk-free operation that can be perfectly reversed.
How to Disable Visual Effects and Animations on Windows 11
- Open a window in Windows 10 File Explorer and, in the left-hand column, right-click on the icon representing your PC.
- In the context menu that appears, click Properties.
- TheSystem window appears. In the left-hand column, click Advanced System Settings.
- TheSystem Properties window opens. Click on the Advanced System Properties tab at the top.
- In thePerformance section, click on the Settings… button.
- The Performance Options window opens. Click the Visual Effects tab at the top if it is not already selected by default.
- A list of options is displayed. Normally, the box Let Windows choose the best configuration is checked by default.
- The list of visual effects is displayed below with very clear headings. Uncheck all the ones you don’t really need. You can always restore them later if you change your mind. Note that the first time you make a change, the Custom settings box will automatically become checked. This is normal.
- When you are done, click the OK button to confirm. The changes are immediately taken into account.
In any case, don’t hesitate to test by activating and deactivating certain Visual effects to measure the impact on the performance of your PC and on the Windows interface.