Windows 11 could get a serious performance boost, but there’s a catch – Digital Trends

Who wouldn’t want their Windows PC to run faster without spending money on new hardware? Well, Microsoft appears to be working on something that could improve performance and efficiency on future PCs. However, before you get too excited, there’s an important catch.Windows Insider Xeno recently spotted a new setting, Advanced Performance Extensions (APX), in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29695. Microsoft is currently testing the feature in its experimental development channel, and it could eventually help compatible processors handle demanding tasks more efficiently. The setting lets Windows take advantage of Intel’s APX technology, but it requires a system restart after you enable it. While that might sound like another ordinary Windows toggle, what happens behind the scenes is much more interesting.To understand why APX matters, we need to look at how processors handle information. CPUs use tiny, incredibly fast storage locations called registers to temporarily hold data while performing calculations. Having more of them means the processor can keep more information close at hand instead of constantly fetching it from memory. This is where Intel’s Advanced Performance Extensions come into play. First introduced in 2023, APX doubles the number of general-purpose registers available to 64-bit applications, increasing them from 16 to 32. That means compatible processors can spend less time moving data around and more time doing the work.Here is how the new “Advanced Performance Extensions (APX)” setting would appear on compatible hardware on 29695 pic.twitter.com/o5wrhnruJHIntel’s own estimates suggest APX-optimized software could require around 10% fewer memory reads, over 20% fewer memory writes, and roughly 10% fewer instructions. These figures come from Intel’s technical analysis, not actual Windows gaming benchmarks. APX also includes instruction improvements that help processors avoid unnecessary operations, potentially improving efficiency in supported applications. As promising as this sounds, there’s a good reason not to celebrate just yet. For starters, APX requires compatible processor hardware. Simply enabling the setting on an older PC won’t magically unlock the additional registers. Applications must also be built to use the technology before users see meaningful improvements.Then there’s availability. Microsoft is experimenting with the feature in its Rubidium development branch, which could influence future Windows releases. However, the company hasn’t confirmed when, or even whether, APX support will reach the stable version of Windows 11. In fact, Microsoft explicitly warns that features appearing in its Experimental channel might never make it into a public release.  Still, it’s an interesting development. We’ve become accustomed to Windows updates bringing new features and visual changes, but improvements that help future processors work more efficiently could ultimately be just as valuable.After five years with Apple silicon, from the original M1 MacBook Air to the M5 MacBook Air released earlier this year, I’ve watched these chips mature not just on the spec sheet, but in real-world workflows and overall efficiency. The new M6 chip might sound like a routine generational upgrade, but it’s the company’s first chip built on a 2nm manufacturing process, which brings meaningful improvements over previous Apple chips.Gemini Notebook’s mobile app now has a built-in recorder for capturing lectures and meetings as sources. You can record directly where you’ll use the material, skipping the separate recording app and the file upload afterward.Google announced the feature on X, highlighting classroom lectures and team meetings as potential uses. It also works for capturing your own thoughts, so you can talk through an idea and bring that explanation into your notebook while it’s still fresh.In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.source