If you’re a streamer, podcaster, or music producer, low latency isn’t just a bonus—it’s essential. Yet most systems, even powerful ones, aren’t tuned out of the box to deliver it.
Here’s how to optimize your Windows PC for minimal input-to-output delay across audio, video, and control devices.
What Affects Latency?
-
USB and audio drivers
-
Buffer sizes in your DAW or OBS
-
CPU core parking and power states
-
Network interface settings
-
Background services and telemetry
Step-by-Step Optimization
1. Set Power Plan to “Ultimate Performance”
-
Open
powercfg.cpl -
If not available, enable via Admin CMD:
-
Set CPU minimum and maximum to 100%
2. Disable Core Parking and C-States
Use QuickCPU or edit the registry to prevent the OS from idling CPU cores, which delays real-time processes.
3. Configure Audio Buffer Properly
-
For live vocals or instruments, set buffer size between 64–128 samples
-
For streaming or playback, 256–512 samples is stable
-
Always test for clicks or dropouts after adjusting
4. Disable Windows Background Services
-
Use
services.mscto disable:-
SysMain
-
Windows Search
-
Connected User Experiences
-
Xbox Services (if not needed)
-
5. Optimize Network Stack
-
Disable power-saving features on your NIC
-
Enable Interrupt Moderation only if latency is tolerable
-
Use wired Ethernet over Wi-Fi for real-time reliability
6. Pin OBS or Your DAW to Dedicated Cores
Using tools like Process Lasso:
-
Reserve 1–2 cores just for audio or video processing
-
Prevent other background processes from stealing CPU cycles
Real Setup Example
A dual-PC streaming setup with NDI was dropping frames and desyncing audio. After switching to Ultimate Performance mode, disabling C-States, and adjusting the ASIO buffer, the latency dropped from 150ms to 28ms—eliminating all lag.
If your system is powerful but your streams or sessions lag, it’s not the hardware—it’s the configuration.