Should I disable VBS in Windows 11?

[4K_240hz_MLED]

Apparently having that enabled can negatively impact gaming performance for CPU bound games, but if it doesn't improve my fps by that much, I'm not disabling it. I've been getting lag spikes ever since I switched to Windows 11, but apparently disabling VBS will only give me 5-15% more fps overall. Not sure if VBS is the cause of the lag spikes, or if it's just my gaming laptop being old and not as good anymore.

I'm very tech literate so I won't download suspicious files nor visit shady websites; I use Brave browser which has security and privacy features built in, and I use a VPN as well (also use 2FA/MFA). I have re-applied thermal paste and cleared out (what little) dust there is inside my computer, but under heavy load for CPU bound games is where the fps suffers due to thermal throttling. To be able to undervolt, I have to also disable VBS so sadly that isn't an option for me; is it really worth the security risk(s)?

Windows 11 Home Ver 23H2
Core i5 9300H 4C/8T @ 2.4GHZ
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 MaxP
Intel UHD 630 @ 350MHZ
3GB GDDR5 VRAM @ 1752MHZ
16GB DDR4 SRAM @ 2666MHZ
250GB M.2 2280 SATA SSD
250GB 2.5" SATA SSD @ 600MBS
DirectX12 + Vulkan Version 1.3
1920x1080 15.6" LED IPS 60HZ

[Mati †]

your laptop seems quite good what fps are you getting? It looks like it should do 200fps no problem. css is not very demanding game

[4K_240hz_MLED]

Originally posted by Mati †:

your laptop seems quite good what fps are you getting? It looks like it should do 200fps no problem. css is not very demanding game

Lol I easily get over 400fps if I don't cap it, which I do to 180fps to not make my fans overwork themselves. However, in pretty much every CPU bound game I play on Windows 11, I notice that I get thermal throttling quite quickly and the overall fps just rapidly decreases over time. When I was on Windows 10, lag spikes were less frequent and usually due to outdated/corrupted GPU drivers; sure I got thermal throttling then too, but not as bad and took much longer.

[4K_240hz_MLED]

Ok disabled VBS and played a match again. The lag spikes that I got before are pretty much gone, and even when they happen it's not as bad and doesn't last that long. My overall fps at first is much better...but due to thermal throttling, the max and average fps drop over time so I guess gotta still undervolt.

I have undervolted by -125mv which caused instant crash to desktop within 5 minutes of playing. Then I raised it to -100mv and haven't gotten any crashes since, but I'm noticing some instability like it's about to crash when I do thermal throttle. I've also further downclocked my CPU by 100MHZ for all 4 cores from 4.1GHZ and 4.0GHZ to 4.0GHZ and 3.9GHZ, which sort of helped (might have to lower P1 and P2).

[4K_240hz_MLED]

Another few updates since last time: I found out it's safe to undervolt the core voltage up to twice as low as the cache voltage, but the biggest benefits to doing that apparently only come to programs using AVX instructions; I've undervolted my core voltage to -180mv and my cache remains at -90mv, although I can lower them as low as -200mv core and -100mv cache before ♥♥♥♥ hits the fan (but the former values are sweet spot). I've also decided to undervolt my iGPU (Intel UHD 630) by -60mv for both Intel GPU and iGPU Unslice in ThrottleStop as the sweet spot, and it noticeably improves performance as the iGPU is responsible for rendering on the laptop display, whereas the dGPU is responsible for rendering the frames and effects if it is utilized. I have lowered those voltages to -120mv but then I started lagging a lot for minimum fps and slightly at average fps, same with when I raised it back up to -90mv, so -60mv is ideal.

Yes I know what you're thinking, isn't -200mv and -180mv extreme for core voltage, especially for a mobile CPU like the i5 9300H? It is but since I won the silicon lottery it's still quite stable; most i5 9300H chips can typically only be undervolted anywhere between -100mv to -130mv before it becomes unstable. Keep in mind that my gaming laptop is almost 5 years old, so it's still going strong and I probably could've undervolted to maybe as low as -240mv back in the day! Obviously if I was rendering through an external monitor for gaming, then I'd undervolt my iGPU even lower than -120mv, such as -150mv or even -180mv. I have yet to undervolt my dGPU because MSi Afterburner can't detect any GPU I have, even when I force it to through Windows' graphics settings and Nvidia Control Panel. I will try reinstalling and updating Afterburner or consider using another software to undervolt, such as EVGA Precision or Nvidia Inspector.

It seems that after playing for about an hour in vanilla maps with 16 total bots, I've noticed that although my CPU nearly maxed out its standard TDP of 45W and its temperature reached 94C, I didn't experience throttling in-game. I usually only throttle in CSS if I play specific maps that already run worse than others (de_inferno, de_port, cs_militia) or custom maps that push the Source engine to its limits. Since CSS is mainly a CPU bound game, I suspect that the throttling I experience in this and other games isn't mainly due to the CPU overheating, but actually from both my CPU and GPU overheating and/or pushed to its limits. Keep in mind that I don't really play GPU bound games and the few that do push it hard only make it as hot into the mid to high 80s. I know it starts to throttle from the early to mid 80s, as my dGPU has a maximum thermal limit of 94C before shutting down. Therefore, I believe that undervolting my dGPU and using a cooling pad are the final solutions.