How to Optimize your Laptop for MAXIMIUM Performance

Doing the initial setup and optimization for a laptop has changed a lot since Windows 11 was released. So we've decided to update our setup & optimization guide with Windows 11 tips & tricks that should help get the best gaming performance and battery life from a laptop in 2023.

LINKS:

Restore old Context Menu in Windows 11
Right-click the Start button and choose Windows Terminal.
Copy & paste command below and press enter:

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - The Windows 11 Challenge
0:47 - Meet the Slim 7i Pro X
1:33 - The Bloatware Cleanup
2:57 - The Windows 11 Setup
4:35 - Startup Optimizations & Pointers
5:47 - Storage Sense is IMPORTANT
6:23 - Notifications & Desktop Icons
7:30 - Everything, no Really, Get Everything
7:55 - Disk Cleanup is Better than you Think
8:17 - Understanding Power Modes
10:06 - Drivers & Gaming Optimizations
11:22- More Battery Life Tips & Tricks
12:09 - BONUS TIPS!

Buy items in this video from Amazon at the links below:

This video is sponsored by Lenovo. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

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#hardwarecanucks

[PANDA-fvbi]

Knew some of these already but still it’s useful to find all these tips in one place. Really helpful for beginners and elders.

[nioxic]

For anti-virus... the built in windows defender is actually pretty good.
just remember to keep it updated.
also the task scheduler can run things like the disk cleanup utility on certain intervals, without you having to do anything (and thus you dont have to remember, to do so!)
it can be pretty handy, and you can have it do all sorts of things

[AJD...]

People don't seem to understand just how powerful power plans are when it comes to battery life. I'm getting 30-40% more battery time after I created my own plan with some really aggressive battery saving options, but will give me the best performance when I'm plugged in. It really goes a long way.
EDIT: Make sure you know what you're doing. Do some research before you dive into this. Most options there have no explanation given by windows.

[alternistronx]

If it includes McAfee, then the Slim X Pro is no where near "clean" of bloatware lol

[billyjoe]

Windows Powertoys for me is the biggest upgrade to the windows experience. Things like fancy zones and always on top is a great feature for productivity work

[chrisclark]

Man this was incredibly helpful even for cleaning up my desktop, thanks man

[thirtyeighteen]

Awesome! Even if I prefer a clean install myself and always have a usb-stick with w10pro, these tips are always welcome. Every bit of performance gain is good.

[carter]

Definitely should do these annually they're super helpful

[anderslarsson]

Awesome! Thanks Eber & Hardware Canucks :)

[nateo]

+9000 for Windirstat! Honestly I am horrible with organization in general so it is definitely a huge help.

[lynxstormcat]

What i do when setting up a new laptop is to see if there is an available ICC profile for the built in LCD. This helps in color accuracy and making sure it looks really nice. I use this on old computers and you'd be suprised once the lcd is calibrated its a joy to use and easier on the eyes.

Also, I make the swap file a fixed size so it doesn't spend cpu time resizing the swap file.

[ItsSavvo]

I really would not recommend turning windows sounds off entirely. Sometimes critical things that didn't pop up will still play the windows error sound, or if a device suddenly disconnected and you cant figure out why its not present, the sound will play. The windows sounds play a very important role in the system.
If the sounds too obnoxious, just open the audio Volume Mixer and turn down System Sounds a little bit.

[sopanroy]

Just hold shift before pressing right click... Boom you have classic context menu. I use it all the time and never felt any complaint.

[varkin]

I don't use laptops but I watched the video to see what I could optimize on my PC and certainly I like that I can get the previous context menu, thanks a lot.

[jaysideway]

This kind of content is great. Thanks, a lot of useful tips here. Some of it is stuff I know but would completely forget since they're set and forget. Really appreciate these tips to optimize things.

[bogdan.p]

Nice video and really good tips. I'm actually working on an app that will offer you the possibility to do almost all the things you have said in the video and much more from one place so you don't have to remember all the apps where this settings are found. Maybe you'll take a look at it once it's ready. It will have the same look n feel like Windows 11 native apps.

[nayeebG]

Always love these type of optimizing videos. 💛

[maximilianmorse]

Having an antivirus is the exact opposite of essential; getting malware on your PC is pretty damn difficult as long as you don't go downloading random crap from sketchy sites, and most AV software is basically a virus itself.

[danielmasungwa]

Disabling the quick access panel is a lifesaver for me. I needed it for the culture.

[muhammadhateemali]

That gaming section was actually good. just bought an Asus Vivobook 15 A1504Z and things like compact view, disabling notification, Disabling memory integrity was really helpful for me