Windows 11 is now reportedly faster than Windows 10 in gaming after latest 25H2 update

Windows 11 gets a lot of hate from the gaming community online. A simple search in subreddits like r/pcmasterrace reveals that gamers initially didn’t like Windows 11 due to its perceived performance difference vs Windows 10. So much so that many people haven’t updated to Windows 11 and are increasingly considering using Linux for their PCs. Thankfully, Hardware Unboxed’s latest Windows 11 gaming performance testing brings good news.

Per HU, after the latest 25H2 update, Windows 11 is now generally faster than Windows 10 in games. Paired with an RTX 5090, Windows 11 25H2 reportedly beats Windows 10 22H2 at both 1080p and 1440p/4K with an average performance difference of 1.2% and 5%, respectively. HU’s testing included both new and old AAA games such as Battlefield 6, Spider-Man 2, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Mafia: The Old Country, and more.

This is in contrast to HU’s 2024 testing, where Windows 10 was faster than Windows 11 22H2.

We have to mention here that testing the performance of a particular OS against another is rather tricky, as the final figures could look different depending on the hardware configuration. There is also the issue of tested titles, where selecting a different set of games than HU’s 14 games can also yield different results.

That said, Windows 11 25H2 appears to be a good Windows update as far as gaming performance is concerned. So, this is a good time to jump to Windows 11, as Microsoft officially ended all support for Windows 10 in October 2025. This means that there will be no new feature updates and security patches for Windows 10.

Finally, it remains to be seen how much better or worse Windows 11 25H2 is compared to Linux/SteamOS. We already know that handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go perform better with SteamOS than with Windows. So, it will be interesting to see if the latest Windows 11 update has made any progress on that front.

Buy the Lenovo Legion Go S on Amazon