DEV Community: Izanagi

OnePlus and high refresh rate monitors: Windows configuration

Izanagi — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:00:17 +0000

High refresh rate monitors (144hz, 240hz, 360hz) require correct Windows configuration to run at full speed. Here's what to check.

Verify your monitor is actually at its rated refresh rate

Right-click desktop → Display settings → Advanced display settings → check "Refresh rate".

Or: nvidia-smi / AMD Radeon Software shows current display mode.

Common issue: monitors default to 60hz in Windows. You must manually select the higher rate.

Cable matters

DisplayPort: supports 144hz+ at 1080p and 1440p easily. Use DP 1.4 for 4K 144hz.

HDMI: version matters. HDMI 2.0 supports 1080p 240hz, 1440p 144hz. HDMI 2.1 supports 4K 144hz. Many monitors ship with HDMI 2.0 cables that can't do the full spec.

If you're not hitting rated refresh rate, try a different cable or port.

Custom resolution utility

For monitors where Windows doesn't offer all supported modes, use Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) to add the correct timing.

DPI scaling

Windows DPI scaling at 150% or 200% can affect how games render. For competitive gaming, 100% DPI scaling is recommended — no additional scaling pass.

Frame cap placement

Cap FPS at your monitor's exact refresh rate for VSync, or 3-5 below for G-Sync/FreeSync. Don't cap above refresh rate if you're using any form of VSync.

1ms response time marketing

Panel response time (GtG) is different from input lag. A "1ms" monitor can still have 5-10ms of total input lag from processing. Check HDTVTest or Rtings for actual measured input lag.

Full display configuration guide at https://terweb.lt/

Spray control in CS2: the system settings that affect it

Izanagi — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:00:15 +0000

Spray control in CS2 isn't just muscle memory — it's affected by frame timing consistency and input latency. Here's what Windows settings influence it.

Frame timing and spray

CS2 calculates bullet spread based on time elapsed between shots. Inconsistent frame timing means the game's internal clock ticks unevenly, which can affect spread calculation timing.

Consistent frame times require:

MPO disabled (OverlayTestMode=5) — eliminates frame pacing from DWM
Win32PrioritySeparation=38 — consistent scheduling quanta
Ultimate Performance plan — no frequency drops between shots

Mouse input during spray

During a spray, you're counter-strafing and adjusting aim simultaneously. Consistent mouse input matters:

Pointer Precision off (no acceleration curve)
SmoothMouseXCurve/SmoothMouseYCurve removed
1000hz polling minimum
USB interrupt moderation off on your NIC (reduces competition for interrupt handling)

Server tick and spray

On 64-tick Valve servers, the server processes your spray at 64hz — one update per 15.6ms. Sub-tick improves this but the fundamental rhythm of spray control was designed around 64-tick behavior.

Consistent client FPS above 128 gives you more input samples per server tick, improving how precisely your counter-spray is registered.

Recoil script detection

Vanguard and VAC monitor for recoil scripts (automated mouse movement to compensate spray). System-level mouse tweaks (raw input, no acceleration) are explicitly legal and don't affect anti-cheat.

CS2-specific optimization pack at https://terweb.lt/

Per-application GPU settings in Windows: the DXGI and WDM layer

Izanagi — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 10:00:15 +0000

Between your game's DirectX calls and the GPU silicon, Windows has two layers: DXGI (DirectX Graphics Infrastructure) and WDM (Windows Display Model). Understanding these layers helps you apply the right tweaks.

DXGI

DXGI manages the swap chain — the queue of rendered frames waiting to be displayed. Key settings:

MaxFrameLatency: how many frames can be queued ahead of display. Default is 3. Setting to 1 reduces render-to-display delay:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectX
MaxFrameLatency = 1

Flip model: DX12 and modern DX11 games use flip presentation (more efficient than legacy blit). No registry change needed — it's default when you use the right DXGI flags in code.

WDM / DWM

The Windows Display Model routes all rendering through the Desktop Window Manager compositor. Even exclusive fullscreen goes through DWM in modern Windows.

DWM settings:

; Timer interval for DWM compositing
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
MMCSSSchedulingCategory = High
Latency = 1

; Disable MPO (most impactful DWM tweak)
OverlayTestMode = 5

; Disable transparency effects
ColorPrevalence = 0
EnableAeroPeek = 0

GPU scheduler (VRAM)

HAGS (HwSchMode=2) moves VRAM scheduling to the GPU. On NVIDIA, this generally helps. On AMD Navi, disable.

Per-process GPU settings via IFEO

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\game.exe\PerfOptions
GpuPriority = 8

These settings work at the driver level before any DXGI/WDM involvement.

Full GPU configuration at https://terweb.lt/

Reducing Windows RAM usage for gaming: what actually works

Izanagi — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:00:13 +0000

Windows itself uses 2-4GB of RAM at idle. For gaming on 8GB systems, every MB matters. Here's how to reduce Windows baseline RAM usage legitimately.

What uses RAM at idle

Open Task Manager → Performance → Memory → Open Resource Monitor.

Typical culprits:

Antimalware Service Executable: Windows Defender. 200-500MB.
SysMain: prefetch service. 100-300MB.
Windows Search: indexer. 100-200MB.
Browser: even minimized Chrome holds 500MB-2GB.
Discord: 300-500MB (Electron).
Xbox App, Xbox Identity Provider: often pre-installed. Rarely needed.

What to disable

SysMain (if on SSD):

sc config SysMain start= disabled
net stop SysMain

Windows Search:

sc config WSearch start= disabled
net stop WSearch

Xbox services (if unused):

sc config XblAuthManager start= disabled
sc config XblGameSave start= disabled
sc config XboxNetApiSvc start= disabled
sc config XboxGipSvc start= disabled

Browser RAM

Before gaming, close browser or use a profile with no tabs. Chrome with 10 tabs = 1-2GB. That's RAM your game doesn't have.

Standby memory

Windows uses free RAM for disk cache (standby memory). This isn't wasted — it gets released immediately when needed. High RAM usage in Task Manager that drops when you launch a game is normal standby behavior.

Reality check

On 16GB+ systems, Windows baseline RAM usage doesn't meaningfully affect gaming. Focus here only if you're on 8GB.

IzanagiOP disables SysMain, WSearch, and Xbox services in Aggressive Optimizations. https://terweb.lt/

Windows 11 vs Windows 10 for gaming in 2026

Izanagi — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:00:09 +0000

The Windows 10 end-of-life (October 2025) has pushed many gamers to Windows 11. Here's an honest comparison of gaming performance between the two.

What Windows 11 changed that matters for gaming

DirectStorage: Windows 11 has better DirectStorage support. For games that use it (Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and future titles), Windows 11 gives faster asset loading.

Auto HDR: Windows 11 adds HDR to SDR games automatically. Mixed results — some games look better, some look washed out. Can be disabled.

Variable Refresh Rate in windowed mode: Windows 11 supports VRR in windowed mode, not just fullscreen. Better for windowed gaming setups.

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirement: Windows 11 requires these, which enables some additional security features. Minimal gaming performance impact.

What stayed the same

The kernel scheduler, memory management, DirectX implementation, and most performance-relevant subsystems are essentially the same between Win10 22H2 and Win11 23H2/24H2.

Registry tweaks, MMCSS configuration, power plan settings, process priority — all work identically on both.

Win11-specific issues (mostly resolved)

Early Windows 11 had a CPPC2 bug that caused Ryzen scheduling to prefer the wrong cores. Fixed in updates. Early L3 cache latency regression on Ryzen — also fixed.

Recommendation

If you're on Win10 and it's working well, stay until you have a reason to move. If you're building fresh or already on Win11, it's fine — apply the same optimization stack.

All IzanagiOP tweaks work on both Windows 10 and 11. https://terweb.lt/

How to benchmark your gaming PC properly: tools and methodology

Izanagi — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 10:00:09 +0000

Before and after applying Windows optimizations, you need reliable benchmarks to measure the difference. Here's how to get consistent, meaningful numbers.

The problem with casual benchmarking

Running a game, looking at FPS counter for a minute, and declaring "it's better" is unreliable. Natural variation between sessions (server load, Windows background activity, different in-game scenarios) creates noise that hides real differences.

Reliable benchmark methodology

1. Same scenario every time: record a fixed route in the game, play it back. Many games have built-in benchmarks — use them. CS2 has timedemo, most racing games have a benchmark track.

2. Multiple runs: run the same benchmark 3 times, discard outliers, average the rest.

3. Wait for thermal stability: run the benchmark once as a warmup, then measure. Cold CPU/GPU benchmarks lower than sustained performance.

4. Close everything: same set of applications running each time. No browser, no Discord, no background apps.

Tools

FrameView (NVIDIA, free): logs frame times, GPU/CPU utilization, render latency to CSV. Best for detailed analysis.

CapFrameX (free, open source): captures frame times, generates statistics, supports comparison between captures.

HWiNFO64: hardware monitoring for temperature and clock speed during benchmark.

What to measure

Average FPS (1% low is more important)
1% low FPS
0.1% low FPS
GPU utilization (tells you if GPU or CPU limited)
Frame time graph (shows consistency)

Comparing before/after

Use the same benchmark, same settings, same time of day. Log results. A 5% FPS change is meaningful. Perceived smoothness from reduced 1% lows is also meaningful even if average FPS is similar.

IzanagiOP improves 1% lows and frame consistency more than average FPS. Measure accordingly. https://terweb.lt/

Escape from Tarkov optimization: the most demanding FPS in Windows config

Izanagi — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 10:00:08 +0000

Escape from Tarkov is one of the most CPU and RAM intensive games available. The Unity engine, large maps, and complex simulation make it uniquely demanding. Standard Windows tweaks help significantly here.

Why Tarkov is different

Tarkov simulates every item, player, and AI on the entire map simultaneously. The CPU is doing more work per frame than most games. It's single-threaded for most logic, meaning one core does the heavy lifting.

RAM requirements

16GB is the minimum. 32GB is recommended. Tarkov has memory leaks that accumulate over a raid — performance degrades over time in longer raids.

Disable memory compression (if you have 32GB+):

Disable-MMAgent -mc

Fixed pagefile at 16GB minimum — Tarkov's virtual memory usage is enormous.

CPU priority

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\EscapeFromTarkov.exe\PerfOptions
CpuPriorityClass = 3
IoPriority = 3
GpuPriority = 8

Disable background services completely

Tarkov taxes the CPU so heavily that even minor background overhead is visible. Before raiding, manually stop:

net stop SysMain
net stop WSearch
net stop DiagTrack

Shader compilation

Tarkov pre-compiles shaders on game start. First launch takes several minutes. Ensure shaders compile fully before entering a raid — incomplete compilation causes severe in-raid stutters.

Stutters at raid start

The first minute of a raid is always heavy — AI spawning, loot generating, other players loading. Normal behavior, not fixable with Windows tweaks.

Full optimization for Tarkov at https://terweb.lt/

Ping spikes every few seconds: causes and diagnosis

Izanagi — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:00:07 +0000

Periodic ping spikes — 20ms normally, then 200ms for a second, back to 20ms — are different from consistently high ping. Here's a systematic approach to finding the cause.

Step 1: isolate to your PC or your network

Run a continuous ping to your router (not the game server):

ping -t 192.168.1.1

(replace with your router IP)

If this ping is clean (no spikes), the issue is upstream (ISP or server).
If this ping also spikes, the issue is local — your PC or router.

Common local causes

Windows Update background download: check Task Manager → Network tab during a spike. If Windows Update services show high network usage, that's the cause. Pause updates.

Antivirus cloud lookup: real-time AV sends file hashes to cloud for verification. Can cause 100-500ms spikes when a new file is encountered.

NIC power management: the NIC entering a low-power state causes a reconnect delay. Disable power management on the NIC in Device Manager.

USB interference: a USB device reconnecting (USB power management) can cause a brief NIC interrupt delay on shared controllers.

DNS: periodic DNS cache expiry causes a new lookup. This looks like a ping spike to the game server but is actually DNS latency.

Network driver

Outdated NIC drivers are a common cause of periodic spikes. Update from manufacturer's website (not Windows Update which often has older versions).

Measuring

PingPlotter (free tier) shows ping history graphically. Run it to your game server for 30 minutes while gaming to see when spikes occur and what the pattern is.

IzanagiOP addresses NIC power management, USB selective suspend, and DNS cache settings. https://terweb.lt/

Reinstalling Windows for gaming: what to keep, what to skip

Izanagi — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:00:06 +0000

A clean Windows install is the nuclear option for performance issues. Here's how to do it right — and what to reinstall in what order.

When a reinstall is actually worth it

System has accumulated years of software junk, half-uninstalled apps, broken drivers
Average FPS is significantly below what hardware should deliver and no tweak helps
Boot times are over 60 seconds on SSD
Frequent BSODs that don't correlate with specific hardware

If your system is less than 2 years old and you've maintained it reasonably, a reinstall probably won't help. Start with optimization first.

Installation order that matters

Windows (fresh, not upgrade)
Motherboard drivers (chipset, audio, LAN) — before GPU driver
GPU driver — DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) first if you have an old driver on the new install
DirectX, Visual C++ Redistributables — most game installers handle this
Games — after drivers are stable

Don't install peripheral software (G Hub, Synapse, iCUE) until you've confirmed gaming is stable. Add one thing at a time.

Post-install optimization order

Power plan → Ultimate Performance
Visual FX → Best Performance
Fast Startup → disable
Windows Update → run all updates, then pause
Apply registry tweaks (or use IzanagiOP)
Install games

What not to reinstall

Anything you don't actively use. Every installed application adds startup entries, services, and file system overhead.

Full post-install optimization checklist at https://terweb.lt/

Network jitter in online games: causes and fixes

Izanagi — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:00:05 +0000

Jitter is variation in your ping over time. A consistent 50ms ping is better than a ping that fluctuates between 20ms and 80ms. Here's what causes jitter and how to reduce it.

What causes network jitter

Router QoS: if your router doesn't prioritize game traffic, a large download can spike your ping from 20ms to 200ms instantly. Enable QoS on your router, prioritize UDP game ports.

NIC interrupt moderation: your network card batches incoming packets before triggering an interrupt. This creates uneven packet delivery timing — packets arrive in clusters rather than steadily. Disabling interrupt moderation makes delivery more consistent.

Windows network stack buffering: AFD (Ancillary Function Driver) buffers introduce artificial variation. Tuning buffer sizes reduces this.

ISP bufferbloat: your ISP's routing equipment has large buffers that create variable latency under load. Test with DSLReports bufferbloat test. If bad, use an SQM-capable router.

Windows-side fixes for jitter

; Disable Nagle
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
TCPNoDelay = 1
TcpAckFrequency = 1

; AFD buffer tuning
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\AFD\Parameters
FastSendDatagramThreshold = 1024
FastCopyReceiveThreshold = 1024

NIC interrupt moderation: Device Manager → your NIC → Advanced → Interrupt Moderation → Disabled.

Measuring jitter

Ping your game server repeatedly and look at the variance, not just the average:

ping -n 100 <server-ip>

Look at the min/max/avg line. If max is much higher than avg, you have jitter.

IzanagiOP's Scatter Pack applies all network jitter fixes. https://terweb.lt/

IzanagiOP Precision Packs explained: Trajectory, Spread, Scatter, HitSync

Izanagi — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:00:04 +0000

IzanagiOP includes specialized "Precision Packs" — groups of tweaks targeted at specific in-game behaviors. Here's what each one actually changes.

Trajectory Pack

For sniper accuracy and click-timing precision. Changes:

Raw 1:1 mouse input: removes SmoothMouseXCurve and SmoothMouseYCurve, sets MouseSpeed/Threshold to 0
Foreground lock timeout = 0: game window takes focus instantly on click
Cursor shadow off: minor DWM overhead reduction
Snap to default button off: prevents unwanted cursor jumps
Per-game CPU/IO/GPU priority via IFEO: for CS2, Valorant, FiveM, Fortnite, Apex, OW2, LoL, Roblox, Arc Raiders
DXGI MaxFrameLatency = 1: render queue to 1 frame
NIC tuning: Energy Efficient Ethernet off, Wake on Magic Packet off

Spread Pack

For sustained fire (automatic weapons, rated-fire patterns). Changes:

CPU core parking off: no core spin-up delay mid-spray
Min/max CPU frequency locked to 100%: sustained clock during spray
P-core preference: HeterogeneousSchedulingPolicy=4 on hybrid CPUs
EcoQoS off: no power throttling mid-game
Kill ~10 non-essential services: DiagTrack, WerSvc, SysMain, WSearch, Spooler, AppReadiness, PcaSvc, TabletInputService, GameDVR, OneDrive

Scatter Pack

For network-dependent gunplay (shotguns, burst fire with high server ping sensitivity). Changes:

Nagle off: TCPNoDelay=1, TcpAckFrequency=1
AFD buffer tuning: 30+ network stack registry values
RSC off: Receive Segment Coalescing disabled
ECN off: Explicit Congestion Notification disabled
Teredo/6to4 off: unused tunnel adapters removed
NDIS packet tracking off

HitSync Pack

For timing-sensitive interactions (server-side hit registration). Changes:

MMCSS full suite: Games Priority=6, Audio Priority=6, SystemResponsiveness=0
NoLazyMode=1: scheduler always active
Timer resolution: GlobalTimerResolutionRequests=1, disabledynamictick=yes
NTP poll interval: 120s (more frequent clock sync)
Win32PrioritySeparation = 38
TSC sync: Enhanced mode via bcdedit

Full setup available at https://terweb.lt/

Valorant crosshair and sensitivity consistency: the system settings that matter

Izanagi — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:00:03 +0000

In Valorant, crosshair placement and consistent sensitivity are more important than FPS. But Windows settings affect both. Here's what to lock down.

Mouse sensitivity consistency

Raw Input in Valorant bypasses Windows pointer acceleration and reads directly from the mouse driver. Enable it:
Valorant Settings → General → Mouse → Raw Input Buffer → On.

Even with raw input enabled, ensure Windows-side acceleration is fully removed:

HKCU\Control Panel\Mouse
MouseSpeed = 0
MouseThreshold1 = 0
MouseThreshold2 = 0

And remove the curves:

reg delete "HKCU\Control Panel\Mouse" /v SmoothMouseXCurve /f
reg delete "HKCU\Control Panel\Mouse" /v SmoothMouseYCurve /f

Polling rate consistency

1000hz polling means one mouse report per 1ms. Ensure no USB bandwidth contention on the same controller port — high-bandwidth USB devices on the same controller can cause polling irregularities.

Frame rate and input sampling

Higher FPS = more input samples per frame in Valorant. The game samples input once per render frame. At 60fps, input is sampled 60 times per second. At 300fps, 300 times per second.

This is why Valorant players chase high FPS even past their monitor's refresh rate — more input samples means smoother aiming.

Frame cap

Use Valorant's built-in frame cap rather than RTSS or driver-level caps. In-game caps have lower overhead and don't add additional latency layers.

Key binding consistency

Windows keyboard repeat delay and repeat rate don't affect Valorant (it reads raw key state). But slow USB interrupt handling can cause key press registration delay.

Full Valorant setup at https://terweb.lt/