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SQL Server Health Check

Disabling Windows “Visual Effects” To Boost Performance

Updated October 29, 20251 min read

Written byMark Varnas

Windows visual effects are not optimal

By default, Windows is optimized for a beautiful display, but this is not very important for a server.

These visual effects may cause a virtual machine to appear to run slower.

They are not required and consume CPU resources that would be spent on your SQL Server tasks.

So, disable the visual effects to get a slight performance increase

How to adjust the Windows visual effects for best performance:

  1. Go to the Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog.
  2. Select the Performance Options dialog by clicking Settings in the Performance panel.
  3. In the Performance Options dialog, select the Visual Effects tab.
  4. Select "Adjust for best performance".
Figure 1 – Visual Effects tab
Figure 1 – Visual Effects tab
  1. In the Advanced dialog, on "Adjust for best performance of", choose "Background services".
Figure 2 – Adjust for best performance of "Background services"
Figure 2 – Adjust for best performance of "Background services"

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