A dedicated gaming user account with minimal startup programs and services can provide cleaner system state during sessions. Here's how to set one up.
Why a separate account helps
Services and startup programs run per-user or per-system. A clean user account has no per-user startup items, no browser extensions running, no OneDrive sync, no Teams notifications.
System-level services still run regardless of account, but per-user overhead is eliminated.
Setting up
- Settings → Accounts → Family & other users → Add someone else to this PC
- Create a local account (not Microsoft account — no sync overhead)
- Set it as Administrator (needed for game installations and registry tweaks)
- Log in as new user, apply all gaming optimizations fresh
What to configure in the gaming account
- Visual FX: Best Performance
- Pointer Precision: off
- Background apps: all off
- OneDrive: don't set it up
- Don't install browser extensions
- No cloud sync services
- Gaming-specific startup programs only (nothing that isn't needed for gaming)
Switching between accounts
Fast user switching keeps both sessions in memory. Switch via the Start menu → your account avatar → switch user. The desktop account stays running but its processes get less scheduler attention with the gaming account in foreground.
Limitation
System-level services (SysMain, DiagTrack, etc.) run in session 0 regardless of which user is active. Registry tweaks under HKLM apply globally. Per-user cleanup (HKCU registry, startup folder) benefits from the separate account.
Full system optimization setup at https://terweb.lt/
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