The developers behind AtlasOS for Windows 11 released a new version of this open source project last week, a light windows designed for the PC gamer, promising improved frame rates and lower latencies. And it is very, very necessary, because the official Windows 11 does not stand out in this section.

Since announcing Windows 11 in the summer of 2021, Microsoft has promised that the operating system will excel in performance by being able to “get the most out of your hardware”. Three years later, promises were not fulfilled and even computers with high-end hardware slow down in most tasks compared to Windows 10.

Microsoft tried to optimize it with important changes in Windows core. But the problem lies in the amount of additional code that penalizes performance; active services; the junk software that no one uses (Bloatware), the advertising that constantly finds its way into every part of the interface and all the code to support a huge hardware and software ecosystem.

The situation will not improve with subsequent versions, and Windows 11 2024 Update, this year’s big update, will consume even more resources due to the deployment of AI functions. In these scenarios, it’s not surprising that modified Windows variants prepared by third-party manufacturers, such as Tiny or handy solutions, succeed.

AtlasOS for Windows 11, features

«Windows is slow, clunky and unreliable. Atlas brings your Windows back to life and is designed to maximize performance»they point to the project they are trying to delete “negative disadvantages of Windows” that could affect your performance in games or any task.

In addition, it significantly reduces resource consumption. The number of running processes is reduced to a minimum, as well as RAM and CPU usage in backround. This brings the benefits of this variant in any task, but especially in games: “You’ll experience a smoother, more responsive Windows and higher frame rates than using standard Windows”.

This version disable mitigation implemented against the Specter and Meltdown security vulnerabilities that affected Intel and AMD processors. The industry had to rush to produce these types of patches against side-channel vulnerabilities because they were critical to security but reduced chip performance. Other components prohibited in this development are functions Windows Telemetry and Bloatwarewhich every user should check in terms of performance, but also the protection of the privacy of their data.

Persons responsible for this project They are pushing the idea of ​​”slimming” Windows to the limit and also removed the Trusted Platform Module (TPM); BitLocker encryption system; Windows Defender Antivirus; voice recognition; RAID configuration; storage facilities; restore points or system reset functions.

In fact, none of these services are necessary to run video games, thus eliminating them in your search for a the lightest possible version which frees up resources for its main use or on computers with low hardware levels.

How to install AtlasOS for Windows 11

Installation is different from installing an official Windows 11/10 or GNU/Linux distribution because the developers do not provide the ISO image directly and Windows must be reinstalled before installing AtlasOS. In this article, they explain how to install it, both with Windows 11 and Windows 10, which basically follows the following steps:

• Download the official ISO image from the Microsoft servers.
• Create installation media using tools like Rufus or Ventoy.
• Reinstall Windows.
• Go to atlasos.net and download the official AME guide and the .abpx file for the guide called Atlas PlayBook.
• Extract both files to a storage drive.
• Run the ‘AME Wizard Beta.exe’ and select the ‘Atlas Playbook.apbx’ file.

• From there, simply follow the wizard to resolve any security alerts or requests.

Once done, you can delete the ‘Windows.old’ folder which will contain the previous Windows installation. Of course, before making any changes to your computer, make a backup copy of the files you want to keep either in the cloud or on an external drive.

does it work

Yes, it works and very well, it does what it promises. It should be noted that some of the eliminated functions may be important in the security and maintenance sections, so it is advisable to analyze a scenario of their use that is not a typical or productive desktop, but and Windows, which is as lightweight as possible for tasks like games. Like other “modified” variants of Windows that abound on the Internet, they are not officially supported by Microsoft and require the activation of the appropriate license.