How much Windows cluttered with programs is slower than clean Windows in games

Is there a difference between "clean" Windows and a version of the same operating system with multiple installed

applications? This question was answered by the host of YouTube channel Linus Tech, who tested and compared the performance of the computer in games.

To test performance, the presenter used the following desktop configuration: CPU Intel Core i7-11700K, Gaming X Trio RTX 3080 graphics card, motherboard MAG Z590 Gaming Plus, power unit Prime TX 1000, RAM Trident Z Neo 16 GB (3600 MHz), SSD P5 M.2 SSD 1000GB (1TB), cooler NH-U12S, operating system Windows 10 Pro.

On a "clogged" computer, 35 percent of the RAM was used: 5.3 GB was used. In the "clean" version, this number was half.

Interestingly, the presenter could not correctly guesswhich of the two Hitman III games was launched on an "empty" configuration, and which on an assembly with full memory. That is, it is difficult to notice the difference on your own, without additional testing.

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Therefore, both configurations were also checked athelp of various benchmarks. The results were mixed. However, in most cases - including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, F1 2021, Hitman III Dartmoor, Hitman III Dubai - the "clean" version of the system was in the lead. The difference between builds was especially noticeable in CS: GO: it was 20 fps (423.2 fps versus 403.2 fps on average). In F1, the performance gap was around 3.5 fps, in Hitman III Dartmoor - 2.7 fps, in Hitman III Dubai - 3 fps.

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At the same time, it should be noted that, in general, the lossthe performance was not that great. This allowed the presenter to draw two conclusions. First, the more powerful the computer itself, the less noticeable the difference between "clean" and "clogged" versions of the system in games will be. The second is that applications running in the background also affect the level of performance in games: after closing a number of background programs, performance in CS: GO increased by 7 fps.

Source: Linus Tech Tips