Network tweaks

Network adapter optimization that turns off unused Windows networking features and tunes your NIC and the Winsock/TCP stack for lower latency and steadier throughput under load. The toggles below are safe on a typical home setup; the NIC Features and DSCP cards beneath them go further.

Update your network driver first

Install the latest driver for your network adapter before applying anything on this tab. The driver Windows Update or your motherboard's support page gives you is often an older one, and several toggles below (receive buffers, Wi-Fi roaming, power saving) depend on settings the driver exposes. This video shows how to get the right driver for your adapter.

Reinstalling a network driver can reset the adapter's settings, so after any future driver update, open this tab and re-apply the toggles that no longer show as applied.

Adapter and stack toggles

• Tweak Network Adapter Advanced Settings tunes core adapter properties for lower overhead and steadier throughput.
• Disable Interrupt Moderation makes the adapter raise an interrupt for every packet instead of batching them, so small game packets are handled sooner. It uses slightly more CPU during heavy downloads.
• Maximize Receive Buffers raises receive buffers to the maximum your driver supports, so bursts of incoming packets aren't dropped.
• Disable Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) turns off EEE, which is behind known stutter and disconnect bugs on some adapters such as Intel's 2.5G chips. Turn it off on your router as well if the router offers the option.
• Disable Ethernet Power Saving turns off Ultra Low Power (ULP), Green Ethernet, Giga Lite and similar modes that power down or slow the link to save energy.
• Set Wi-Fi Roaming Aggressiveness to Lowest makes your Wi-Fi adapter scan for other access points less often, cutting the ping spikes those scans cause. It supports Intel (including Killer), MediaTek, Realtek and Qualcomm adapters.
• Disable Wi-Fi MIMO Power Save keeps every Wi-Fi antenna active instead of switching some off to save power, on Intel Wi-Fi adapters.
• Apply Hidden Network Registry Tweaks applies a curated set of per-NIC registry tweaks that may lower network latency and boost speeds.
• Disable Hidden Network Power Saving turns off NIC power saving features not exposed in the adapter properties UI.
• Tune AFD Parameters tunes the Winsock kernel-mode driver for lower socket I/O latency and steadier throughput under load.
• Tune NDIS Parameters tunes the NDIS network-driver layer for lower overhead and steadier behavior under load.
• Disable TCP Window Scaling Heuristics stops Windows' scaling heuristics silently overriding the manually set TCP autotuning level.
• Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP turns off NetBIOS on every interface, reducing broadcast noise and attack surface.

Adapter settings take effect once the network driver restarts. Click Restart Network Adapters at the end of the toggle list to apply them straight away (your connection drops for a few seconds), or restart your PC.

NIC Features

A separate card below the toggle list unbinds network protocols and services from every adapter, covering LLDP, the Network Adapter Multiplexor, LLTD Responder/Mapper, IPv6, File & Printer Sharing, and Client for Microsoft Networks. Tick the ones you want gone and click Apply. Each is its own toggle, so disable only what you don't use (leave IPv6 on if your ISP needs it, for example).

Game traffic priority (DSCP)

DSCP marks your game's outbound packets as high-priority so QoS-aware routers and ISPs favour them over background traffic.

1. In the Network tab, find the DSCP card.
2. Enable both QoS requirements if they aren't already: QoS Packet Scheduler driver and QoS Packet Scheduler component (each has its own Enable button).
3. Under Create policy, enter a descriptive policy name (you'll use it to find the policy later).
4. For executable file name, enter the game's exact filename, including .exe. Examples:
   • Fortnite: FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe
   • Valorant: VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe
   • Don't know the name? Launch the game, open Task Manager, right-click the game's row → Open file location. The highlighted file is your target.
5. Click Add, then test in-game. Results vary depending on your network and ISP.
6. To revert: find the policy under Existing policies and click Delete.

On a wired desktop you can also shut down the Wi-Fi and VPN service stacks entirely from the Services tab.