What does it actually do? Well, Memory Integrity ensures that only verified kernel-mode code is loaded on the PC, blocking unsigned rootkits and raising the barrier to driver-based kernel attacks. The goal is for Windows 11 to be better protected against malware attacks.
Before Windows enables this feature, it will check eligible computers and verify whether the machine is ready for it. According to this support page, Memory Integrity requires the following hardware:
- 8th-generation Intel processor or newer
- AMD Zen 2 or newer
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8180 or newer
- At least 8GB of RAM on x64 systems
- A 64GB SSD with firmware-enabled virtualization
- Drivers with confirmed compatibility with Memory Integrity
However, this feature has a major drawback: Memory Integrity can apparently slow down games. Tom’s Hardware measured years ago that HVCI combined with VBS (Virtualization-Based Security) causes games to run up to 15 percent slower. VBS is also enabled as part of this update, providing additional security features.
According to Tom’s Hardware, Microsoft confirmed in 2022 that “Memory Integrity and Virtual Machine Platform could affect gaming performance on some Windows 11 configurations, and advised gamers prioritizing performance that they could temporarily disable these protections while playing, warning that doing so reduces security.”
Gaming performance losses are most likely to be noticeable on computers with older hardware. Tom’s Hardware continued, saying that Microsoft’s guidance for gamers recommended “temporarily disabling Memory Integrity and VMP where they interfere with gaming performance.”