Starting in October, a bunch of Windows 11 PCs are going to get a security feature switched on automatically, no download, no popup asking permission, just a regular update quietly flipping a switch in the background. It's called Memory Integrity, and depending on your CPU, it could genuinely tank your frame rate in certain games. Here's exactly what's changing, why Microsoft is doing it, and how to check where your PC stands before it happens to you.
What's on this page
- What Memory Integrity actually does
- Why Microsoft is turning this on now
- When it's happening, and who's affected
- Will this actually hurt your gaming performance
- How to check your setting right now
- What if you already turned it off
- Should you turn it off, or just leave it
- Driver problems to watch out for
What Memory Integrity actually does?
Memory Integrity goes by a more technical name too: Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity, or HVCI for short. It's part of a bigger system called Virtualization-based Security, or VBS. Here's the plain-English version: your computer's processor has virtualization hardware built in, the same tech that lets you run a virtual machine. Windows uses that hardware to carve out a locked-off area that the rest of the operating system, including malware, can't directly touch.
Once that's set up, any code trying to run at the kernel level, the deepest, most trusted layer of Windows, gets checked against a list of verified, trustworthy software first. If it's not on the list, it doesn't run. That matters because kernel-level access is basically the holy grail for malware. If an attacker gets code running there, they've got the keys to the whole machine. Memory Integrity is Microsoft's way of locking that door even if something sketchy tries to sneak in through a bad driver.
This isn't some brand-new experimental feature, by the way. It's been around since the Windows 10 era, originally as part of something called Device Guard, and it's already on by default for anyone doing a fresh Windows 11 install on compatible hardware, plus every Secured-core PC. What's changing in October is who else gets it automatically.
Why Microsoft is turning this on now
Microsoft's own reasoning, straight from the announcement, is pretty simple: a lot of PCs that are technically capable of running Memory Integrity have just never had it turned on, either because they were upgraded from an older Windows version instead of a clean install, or because it shipped off and nobody ever flipped the switch. Peter Waxman, a group program manager at Microsoft, put it as wanting Windows to be "secure by design and secure by default." Rather than leave a security feature sitting unused on millions of eligible machines, they're closing that gap through the update pipe everyone already gets automatically anyway.
When it's happening, and who's affected
Multiple outlets reporting on this point to the October 13, 2026 Patch Tuesday update as the starting point, though it's worth being straight with you: that specific date comes from reporting on Microsoft's announcement, not a KB number Microsoft has published directly. Microsoft's own language talks about an "October" rollout through standard quality updates, not a single hard switch-flip date. Either way, this isn't a new full Windows version you have to download, it rides along in a regular monthly update.
| Requirement | What you need |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel 8th-generation or newer, AMD Zen 2 or newer, or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8180 or newer |
| RAM | At least 8GB (on x64 systems) |
| Storage | At least a 64GB SSD |
| Firmware setting | Hardware virtualization enabled in your BIOS/UEFI |
| Current status | Memory Integrity must currently be off, and never manually disabled by you or an admin |
If your PC is running low on memory to begin with, it's worth a quick check of how much RAM you've actually got free before assuming you clear that 8GB bar comfortably. Our guide on freeing up RAM on your PC walks through that if you're not sure.
Will this actually hurt your gaming performance
This is the part that actually matters if you're a gamer, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on your CPU. Modern processors have hardware built in specifically to handle this kind of virtualization check quickly, so on a current-gen chip, you're realistically not going to notice a difference. Older CPUs, though, lean on software to fake that same check instead of dedicated hardware, and that software workaround is slower. Microsoft itself acknowledges this straight up: older processors "can show lower and less steady frame rates in select games."
This isn't the first Windows setting that trades a bit of gaming performance for something else. Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling is a similar story, a setting that sounds like it should always help, but doesn't universally, which is exactly why we've got a full breakdown on whether to turn GPU scheduling on or off depending on your setup. Memory Integrity is the same kind of "it depends on your hardware" situation, not a universal yes or no.
How to check your setting right now
You don't need any command-line tools or registry edits to check this. Here's the whole process:
- Click the Windows search bar and type Core Isolation
- Open the result, it'll take you straight into the Windows Security app's Device Security page
- Look for the Memory Integrity toggle
- Flip it on or off right there, no restart tricks needed for most systems
If you're already dealing with sluggish performance for unrelated reasons, it's worth running through our broader Windows 11 running slow fixes guide first, so you're not trying to diagnose two separate problems at the same time.
What if you already turned it off
If you or your IT department deliberately disabled Memory Integrity before, you're in the clear. Microsoft has been explicit about this across every report: existing user and administrator decisions stick around. The October rollout only targets machines where the feature is currently off simply because nobody ever touched it, not machines where someone made an active choice to turn it off.
Should you turn it off, or just leave it
For most people, the honest answer is just leave it on. You're trading a security layer against the Windows kernel for, at worst, a minor frame rate dip on older hardware, and most people aren't running benchmarks close enough to notice. If you are chasing every last frame for competitive gaming and you've got an older CPU, here's Microsoft's own recommended order of operations before you touch the toggle: check if the game or app causing trouble has an update first, check if a driver update fixes it second, and only disable Memory Integrity as the last resort if neither helps. Turning off a kernel security feature purely on a hunch isn't a great trade if a five-minute driver update solves the actual problem.
If you've been running a heavily trimmed-down version of Windows for performance reasons already, it's worth double-checking that any changes you made through something like our Windows 11 debloating guide haven't already touched VBS-related settings, so you know your actual starting point before October's update lands.
Driver problems to watch out for
Driver compatibility, not raw performance, has historically been the bigger headache with Memory Integrity. There's already a documented case of a user unable to enable it because of an incompatible Sonix webcam driver. Anti-cheat software for certain games has had friction with VBS-based protections before too, and Microsoft has a track record here: an April 2026 security update blocked a vulnerable driver that some backup software depended on, breaking disk-image mounting for those apps until they were patched. If you notice a specific piece of hardware or software acting up right around when this update lands on your machine, a driver conflict is the first thing worth checking, not a Windows bug.
If your PC has been showing odd stutters or input lag that don't seem tied to any one game, it's also worth ruling out a driver-level timing issue separately, our guide on fixing DPC latency spikes on Windows 11 covers a similar kind of driver conflict that shows up as stuttering rather than a straight FPS drop.
The bottom line
This is a real security upgrade, not busywork, and Microsoft's default position, leave it on unless something specific breaks, is the right call for almost everyone reading this. If you're on older hardware and you notice your frame rate dip after an October update you didn't ask for, now you know exactly what happened and exactly where to go check it: type Core Isolation into your search bar and look at that Memory Integrity toggle.
