Recent Windows 11 preview builds include a new toggle called Advanced Performance Extensions (APX). On supported hardware, it could make your PC run faster. According to MS, allowing Windows to use APX delivers “better performance.”
This new hardware requirement could give MS another opportunity to encourage users to buy a new PC, especially with Windows 10 now less than a year away from the end of extended support in 2027. So far, Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs with NPU support have done little to persuade Windows 10 holdouts to upgrade, raising the question of whether APX—or the promise of “better performance”—could change that.
Existing Windows 11 PCs can still benefit from Low Latency Profile, which does not require APX support.
If you have not seen the toggle yet, that is because it appeared in Build 29695, released to Windows Insiders on October 23. At this point, it remains unclear when the feature will reach production. For consumer PCs, Intel’s upcoming Nova Lake family is the one to watch.
What Is Intel APX, and What Are CPU Registers?
Some background helps explain why APX exists as a Windows 11 toggle.
Intel has been operating for several decades and has continuously adapted its architecture for “emerging workloads” and other requirements, including improved battery life—an area in which Qualcomm has raised expectations. Although Intel has had limited success with efficiency and AMD-like performance, APX represents another attempt to improve performance without significantly increasing power consumption.
Intel’s original x86 architecture defined eight 16-bit general-purpose registers. Over time, that number increased to 16 registers, each 64 bits wide. This transition occurred long before Windows 11, which requires a 64-bit processor.
But what are these “registers”? According to Intel, registers are small but extremely fast storage locations inside processors that hold the values required to run processes. With more values stored in registers, the processor needs to move fewer of them to and from memory.
APX builds on this concept. Intel introduced it in 2023, expanding the x86 instruction set with access to more registers and other performance improvements.
“The extensions provide efficient performance gains across a variety of workloads without significantly increasing the silicon area or power consumption of the core,” Intel explained in a technical document updated in October 2024.
“Intel APX doubles the number of general-purpose registers (GPRs) from 16 to 32. This allows the compiler to keep more values in registers,” the company noted.
How APX Could Make Windows 11 Apps Faster
MS and Intel are working closely to maximize the benefits of APX, and the potential Windows 11 performance improvements will extend beyond OS-related areas.
Intel confirmed that APX uses an interesting approach to help apps run faster, distinct from Windows 11’s recent Low Latency Profile. With APX, software can reduce some of the work the processor must perform.
“As a result, code compiled with Intel APX contains 10% fewer loads and more than 20% fewer stores than the same code compiled for an Intel® 64 baseline,” Intel explained.
Intel also found 10% fewer instructions in code compiled with APX, suggesting that it could help developers compile their apps faster—an area in which Intel has been lagging. However, these figures come from a prototype, so they are not final and could change in either direction.
This does not mean Windows 11 will run 10% or 20% faster when the feature becomes available. MS has not yet published benchmark results for the toggle.
Currently, if a CPU incorrectly predicts which path a program will take, it must spend additional time recovering and delay other tasks it could have performed.
Intel says the new instructions allow Windows apps to avoid more of these difficult-to-predict branches, which should reduce the time lost to recovery. This could improve performance in apps where such prediction errors occur frequently.
However, enabling the APX toggle in Windows 11 settings will not make every existing app faster. Intel says developers may need to update their apps to use APX. They can take advantage of it through “simple recompilation,” and “source code changes are not expected to be needed.”
Which CPUs Will Support APX, and Will It Come to Existing PCs?
Windows Latest understands that Nova Lake will support APX, while Intel’s compiler documentation confirms APX support for Diamond Rapids.
APX could eventually reach AMD processors as well. AMD’s Robert Hormuth has discussed APX as part of the company’s collaboration with Intel. However, this does not confirm support for any specific Ryzen model or make an existing Ryzen PC compatible with APX, so AMD processors have not been included in the above table.
Existing PCs Can Already Benefit from Low Latency Profile, Which Could Cover More of Windows
APX cannot simply be force-enabled on existing PCs because it requires CPU-level changes. However, MS is testing other performance improvements for all existing PCs.
Windows 11 now supports Low Latency Profile, which originally covered the Start menu, Search, Notification Center, and Quick Settings. MS later expanded it to app launches with the August 2026 update. In Windows Latest’s tests on an existing Raptor Lake PC, apps such as Chrome, Calculator, and the WebView2-based Weather app opened faster after the update.
Low Latency Profile is enabled by default and uses a brief CPU boost when apps or OS-related features are launched. It does not require a new instruction set, and earlier tests showed that the difference was easier to notice on older or lower-end PCs.
Windows Latest understands that MS eventually plans to expand Low Latency Profile to more areas of Windows, including file launches and OS settings.
Overall, Windows is clearly becoming faster for all PC owners, and more details about MS’s plans are expected early next year.
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