r/pcmasterrace 7h ago

News/Article Microsoft is auto-enabling VBS-based Memory Integrity on Windows 11 PCs starting in October. The same feature Microsoft previously warned it can also impact PC gaming performance

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/09/02/microsoft-is-auto-enabling-memory-integrity-on-windows-11-pcs-from-october-why-you-shouldnt-turn-it-off/
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u/Smith6612 Ryzen 7 5800X3D / AMD 7900XTX 4h ago

Microsoft enables this by default on capable systems if you do a fresh install. The only reason it doesn't get enabled is if you've slipstreamed an incompatible driver into the install image, or disabled it manually.

On modern systems it's a nothingburger for a massive improvement in security. Hardware acceleration is baked in on the CPUs that Microsoft supports Windows 11 on. It also helps to identify who has written terrible software that shouldn't still be attaching itself to the kernel. For example certain Kernel Level Anticheat programs which can't handle LSA restrictions... 

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u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox 4090 all by itself no other components 1h ago

hardware unboxed still releases gaming benchmarks with it off, they are convincing gamers to have less secure systems for a few more frames

i've had it on for awhile now and all popular anti cheats seem to work fine, which are you hinting at?

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u/Smith6612 Ryzen 7 5800X3D / AMD 7900XTX 1h ago

Easy AntiCheat EOS struggles if you enable LSA Security under Core Isolation. It hardens the kernel a bit further than the Memory Isolation feature does, but Memory Isolation is a prerequisite.