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/
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