Windows 11 will soon have an option to boost your PC's performance... but you'll never be able to use it

Microsoft is currently testing a new option in the latest Insider builds of Windows 11. Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) will allow certain PCs equipped with an Intel processor to reduce their exchanges with RAM while obtaining better performance.

Windows 11 performance could soon benefit from a new boost. After deploying its 26H2 update which boosted the performance of many PCs, Microsoft is working on a new option which could further improve the speed of its operating system.

In a recent Insider build of Windows 11 (29695), potentially destined to become the next major 27H2 update, Microsoft introduced a new option called "Let Windows use APX for better performance." APX for “Advanced Performance Extensions” is a major new extension to the instruction set of the 64-bit x86 architecture introduced by Intel in 2023. Its goal is to improve capacities and increase performance while maintaining restricted energy consumption.

Here is how the new "Advanced Performance Extensions (APX)" setting would appear on compatible hardware on 29695 pic.twitter.com/o5wrhnruJH

Simply put, APX should allow your PC's processor to double the number of registers from 16 to 32, allowing it to hold more data in registers rather than having to access memory multiple times. According to Intel, APX can reduce memory loads by 10%, writes by more than 20% and reduce the overall number of instructions by 10%. Roughly speaking, APX modernizes the internal organization of the processor to make it work optimally.

Unfortunately, your PC will not be able to benefit from this improvement. And for good reason, no software update can modify the very architecture of your processor. APX support indeed requires a hardware change. The processor must be physically designed to accommodate these 32 registers, which is not the case with current Intel generations, even the most recent. You will have to wait until the next generation of Intel chip, Nova Lake, to benefit from it.

In addition to a compatible processor, APX support is also limited from a software perspective. Because activating the option in Windows Settings will not be enough to speed up your existing applications. Developers will also have to get their hands dirty by recompiling their applications so that they take advantage of the APX instruction set. As the end of Windows 10 approaches, and with these new hardware requirements to come, Microsoft will therefore have a new string to its bow to encourage you to renew your PC.

Windows 11 26H2: Does Rufus really reduce RAM usage?

Windows 11: Microsoft is working on a less intrusive alternative to Recall

Microsoft PowerToys introduce two new functions for your mouse

Machine-translated from French