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Optimize your computer for gaming with Game Optimizer

Game Optimizer1 is patented technology for multi-core CPU PCs. It provides an immersive game experience by reducing performance interruptions while still maintaining your computer's security. By isolating non-essential apps to a single CPU core, it allows the rest of the CPUs to be allocated to game.

Your computer's processor must be minimum four cores for Game Optimizer to work.

Game Optimizer helps improve your gaming experience by:

  • Optimizing CPU performance for smoother gaming

  • Isolating non-essential applications to a single CPU core so that the rest of the CPU can be allocated to game for better performance

  • Detecting games automatically2

  • Letting you add or select games that you do not want to optimize

  • Increasing frames per second (FPS) and reducing latency

  • Eliminating the need to turn off antivirus protection by dedicating the CPU need for optimal gaming performance

  • Reducing random CPU spikes (which can slow down the game) by dedicating CPU cores to the game

For more information, read Learn more about Game Optimizer.

All critical Norton protection features that are involved in protecting your computer from viruses and other security threats run in the background without interrupting your gaming experience.

Configure Game Optimizer for optimal gaming experience

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

  2. In the My Norton window, in the center pane, click the lightening icon.
  3. In the Gaming Dashboard, click Manage Optimization.

  4. In the Game Optimizer window, configure the following settings:

    • Restrict resource usage for user processes: Turn on this option to restrict CPU usage for all user-initiated processes.

    • Restrict resource usage for system processes: Turn on this option to restrict CPU usage for all operating system-initiated processes.

    • Automatically set power plan to Max Performance: Turn on this option to switch to the high performance power plan setting on Windows. Game Optimizer creates a custom Windows power plan settings to maximize gaming performance. This power plan is available only when the gaming session is in progress. After the gaming session ends, the power plan defaults to the original setting.

      We recommend that you keep this option turned on for better gaming experience.

    • Optimized Games: Lists the games that are optimized by Game Optimizer.

    • Optimized Games: Lists the games that are optimized by Game Optimizer.

    • Real-time Protection: Indicates the status of Real Time Protection.

    • Notification Optimization: Lists the games that are optimized by Game Optimizer.

By default, Game Optimizer is turned on. You can turn off Game Optimizer if you do not want it to enhance your gaming experience. We recommend that you keep this feature turned on for better gaming experience.

Turn Game Optimizer off or on

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

  2. In the My Norton window, on the left pane, slide the Game Optimizer switch to enable or disable the feature.

1Game Optimizer is only available on Windows (excluding Windows 11/10 in S mode and Windows running on ARM processor) with four or more core processors.

2Automatically detects games based on Full-Screen Detection mode with high CPU usage, as well as use of a game launcher, if the user adds a game manually, or if it has been detected previously. Game Launchers we currently monitor for as of April 2021 are: Bethesda, Blizzard, Epic, ID, Origin, Rockstar, Steam, and Uplay.

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DOCID: v138190318
Operating System: Windows
Last modified: 09/25/2023