It can be incredibly frustrating to see lags, stutters, and those dreaded 100% usage spikes after you’ve spent a ton on your CPU. Most people resort to optimizing their OSes to fix the problem. While there are hidden Windows services that hog your CPU, the real issue could be deeper.
Your motherboard, and by extension, BIOS, also has a lot of control over how your CPU performs. After being frustrated for months thinking my CPU was maxed out, I played around with these BIOS settings only to realize it was the motherboard putting a leash on my CPU.
Most of these settings apply only to desktop PCs.
5
Power limits can strangle performance
Default settings hold your processor back
By default, both Intel and AMD set rather conservative power limits to ensure compatibility across all motherboard designs. However, these power limits can often prevent your CPU from reaching its full potential.
Most motherboards default to strict PL1 (long-term power limit) and PL2 (short-term power limit) values. For example, if your CPU is limited to 65W for extended workloads, but supports a total TDP of 120W, you’re leaving a lot of performance on the table.
The fix is surprisingly simple. Just fire up your BIOS, find the CPU power management settings, and either enable the motherboard’s performance profile or manually raise the power limit.
Make sure not to go overboard if you’re raising power limits manually. Increase them in short bursts of 5 to 10W for better safety and stability. Check the manual or your CPU’s specs beforehand to avoid raising the power limit beyond your CPU’s TDP.
Once you’ve found the maximum power limit for your CPU, it’ll be able to stretch its legs during demanding tasks instead of throttling after short bursts of performance. Keep in mind that this process might increase your CPU’s sustained temperatures under load, so an upgrade for your cooling solution might be required to keep your system at a stable temperature.
4
Enable XMP for faster RAM speeds
One switch that unleashes your memory’s true potential
If you bought a fast (and expensive) RAM kit, plugged it in, and assumed it was running on max speed, you’re wrong. There are BIOS settings you need to change to get the fastest speeds out of your RAM sticks, which eventually helps reduce load on the CPU.
These settings are called XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) or EXPO for AMD systems. By default, most systems run RAM at conservative JEDEC speeds—usually around 2133 or 2666 MHz. If your RAM sticks are rated for higher speeds, you’re leaving a massive amount of performance on the table.
XMP settings are usually tucked away under your BIOS memory settings, but some motherboards put them in the overclocking section. Once you find it, enable the setting or set XPM to Profile 1 based on the options available, and you’re good to go.
The increase in performance will be immediately visible after you reboot your PC. Since data transfer in and out of memory will speed up significantly, your CPU won’t have to wait for RAM and will run under less stress.
3
Adjust the resizable BAR to unlock GPU potential
A BIOS tweak that lets your CPU and GPU work smarter
This setting hides in plain sight in modern systems and can unlock massive performance benefits. Essentially, Resizable BAR or Smart Access Memory on AMD systems allows your CPU to access your GPU’s entire memory pool instead of the smaller 256MB chunks it’s set up for by default.
To enable this, look for Above 4G Decoding and Re-Size BAR Support settings in your BIOS. They both need to be enabled, and you might need to disable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) in the boot settings. Apart from that, you’re pretty much good to go.
This isn’t going to create a night-and-day difference in everyday performance, but you can expect around a 5 to 10% increase in game FPS numbers based on your CPU and GPU combination.
2
Check CPU virtualization options
Do you really need a virtual machine?
Disabling CPU virtualization options can help you gain extra gaming performance. However, it comes at the trade-off of not being able to run virtualization software and losing some security features, such as Core Isolation and Memory Integrity on Windows.
For those of you who never plan on running virtualization software, this is extra performance locked away by default. It won’t make a night or day difference, but if your games are running at the threshold of being smooth, disabling CPU virtualization can help fix the problem.
As you’d expect, CPU virtualization settings are labeled differently on Intel and AMD CPUs. You get Intel VT-x and AMD SVM based on the CPU you’re running. Your motherboard will likely have a virtualization section that contains these settings, so finding them shouldn’t be too hard.
1
Small tweaks can make a big performance difference
It doesn’t even take long to make the changes
These small BIOS tweaks take only a couple of minutes to make but can transform your PC from feeling sluggish and bottlenecked to running like the high-performance machine you built in the first place. Keep in mind that your mileage may vary depending on your specific hardware, but the settings are worth checking on any modern system.
So before you convince yourself that you need a CPU upgrade, spend some time on your BIOS. You might be surprised by what’s been hiding there all along. Sometimes the biggest performance gains aren’t about buying new hardware—they’re about unleashing the potential of what you already own.
