What is this?

A single PowerShell script that applies ~100 network optimizations to Windows in 30 seconds:

.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1
# Pick a mode -> pick a DNS -> reboot -> done.

It tunes your network card, TCP/IP stack, registry, MMCSS scheduler, power management, and lets you swap DNS to one of 21 built-in providers (Cloudflare, Quad9, AdGuard, DNS4EU, Mullvad, AliDNS for China, etc.) - all interactive, with rollback support.

No bloat. No installer. No telemetry of its own. Just one .ps1 and a .bat launcher.

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Features

Performance 40+ NIC settings auto-tuned (offloads, buffers, EEE off) 24 TCP/IP global tweaks via netsh (autotuning, RSS, ECN, HyStart, PRR) 16 registry TCP/IP performance values (Tcp1323Opts, MaxUserPort, SACK, ...) MMCSS gaming priority (NetworkThrottlingIndex disable, Games task boost) Per-interface Nagle OFF for gaming (TcpAckFrequency=1, TCPNoDelay=1) Powercfg deep tweaks (USB Suspend OFF, PCIe LSPM OFF, CPU 100%) Ultimate Performance power plan auto-enabled

Privacy & Convenience DNS chooser - 21 providers, interactive menu with category icons Telemetry off (opt-in) - DiagTrack, Delivery Optimization, dmwap MTU auto-detection via ICMP fragmentation test (binary search) Backup & rollback - JSON snapshots, one command to restore Three modes - Throughput / LowLatency / Balanced Silent mode for CI/automation pipelines Multi-language detection - English + Polish NIC display names supported

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Quick Start

Option 1 - Easy (.bat launcher) :: Right-click -> Run as administrator Run-NIC-Optimizer.bat Auto-elevates via UAC. Pick [1] Interactive for full menu (mode → adapter → DNS), or use shortcuts [2]-[5] for quick launch.

Option 2 - PowerShell # Run as Administrator .\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 Fully interactive: built-in mode selector (Throughput/LowLatency/Balanced/FULL MAX) → pick adapter → pick DNS → done.

Option 3 - One-liner from GitHub

# Run as Administrator (downloads & runs latest release)
iwr "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Rezurmas/windows-network-optimizer/main/Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1" -OutFile $env:TEMP\opt.ps1
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $env:TEMP\opt.ps1

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CLI Examples

# Max bandwidth for ALL Ethernet adapters
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -Mode Throughput -All

# Gaming low-latency + Cloudflare DNS
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -Mode LowLatency -DnsProvider 1

# Full automation (CI/CD, no prompts)
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -Mode Throughput -All -DnsProvider 11 -DisableTelemetry -Silent

# Custom DNS (your own IPs)
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -DnsProvider "1.1.1.1,9.9.9.9"

# Adapter only (skip registry / MMCSS / power)
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -NoRegistry

# Skip MTU test (saves ~30s)
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -NoMtuTest

# Rollback latest changes from JSON backup
.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -Restore

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Mode Comparison

flowchart LR
    User([User picks mode]):::user
    User --> T[Throughput<br/>Max bandwidth]:::tp
    User --> L[LowLatency<br/>Min ping]:::ll
    User --> B[Balanced<br/>Compromise]:::bal
    T --> T1[autotuning=experimental]
    T --> T2[CUBIC congestion]
    T --> T3[LSO/RSC ON]
    T --> T4[Adaptive interrupts]
    T --> T5[Nagle: default]
    L --> L1[autotuning=normal]
    L --> L2[CTCP congestion]
    L --> L3[LSO/RSC OFF]
    L --> L4[Interrupts OFF]
    L --> L5[Nagle: OFF]
    L --> L6[MMCSS=0]
    B --> B1[autotuning=normal]
    B --> B2[CUBIC congestion]
    B --> B3[LSO/RSC ON]
    B --> B4[Adaptive interrupts]
    B --> B5[Nagle: OFF]
    classDef user fill:#8B5CF6,stroke:#fff,color:#fff
    classDef tp fill:#22C55E,stroke:#fff,color:#fff
    classDef ll fill:#EC4899,stroke:#fff,color:#fff
    classDef bal fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#fff,color:#fff

Loading

Setting	Throughput	LowLatency	Balanced
TCP autotuning	experimental	normal	normal
Congestion provider	cubic	ctcp	cubic
LSO/RSC offload	ON	OFF	ON
Interrupt Moderation	Adaptive	OFF	Adaptive
Nagle's algorithm	default	OFF	OFF
MMCSS Responsiveness	10	0	10
Best for	Streaming, DL	CS2, Valorant	Daily mixed use

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DNS Providers (21 built-in)

Click to expand the full DNS table

ID	Category	Provider	Primary IPs	What it does
1	Speed	Cloudflare	1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1	Fastest globally per DNSPerf, no logs
2	Speed	Google Public DNS	8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4	Stable, ECS support, large anycast
3	Speed	Quad9 Unsecured	9.9.9.10	Quad9 without filter
4	Speed	OpenDNS Home	208.67.222.222	Cisco, basic phishing block
5	Security	Cloudflare Malware	1.1.1.2 1.0.0.2	Cloudflare + malware blocklist
6	Security	Quad9 Secure (recommend.)	9.9.9.9	Swiss, no-log, DNSSEC, malware block
7	Security	CleanBrowsing Security	185.228.168.9	Security filter
8	Family	Cloudflare Family	1.1.1.3 1.0.0.3	+ adult content block
9	Family	OpenDNS FamilyShield	208.67.222.123	Auto adult-block
10	Family	CleanBrowsing Family	185.228.168.168	Family + adult + malware filter
11	AdBlock	AdGuard DNS (default)	94.140.14.14 94.140.15.15	Blocks ads + trackers
12	AdBlock	AdGuard Family	94.140.14.15 94.140.15.16	AdGuard + adult block
13	AdBlock	ControlD Free	76.76.2.0	Customizable adblock
14	AdBlock	Mullvad AdBlock	194.242.2.3	Privacy + adblock
15	Privacy	AdGuard Unfiltered	94.140.14.140	No log, no filter
16	Privacy	Mullvad DNS	194.242.2.2	Sweden, RAM-only, max privacy
17	EU	DNS4EU Protective	86.54.11.1	EU-funded (2025), GDPR, malware filter
18	EU	DNS4EU Unfiltered	86.54.11.100	DNS4EU no-filter
19	EU	DNS4EU Child Protect	86.54.11.13	EU + child protection
20	China	AliDNS (Alibaba)	223.5.5.5 223.6.6.6	Fastest in mainland China
21	China	DNSPod (Tencent)	119.29.29.29	Tencent, supports SM2 crypto
99	Reset	Reset to DHCP	(router)	Use this if you have Pi-hole/AdGuard Home

Tip: Have AdBlock on your router (Pi-hole, AdGuard Home, OpenWrt)? Pick Skip in the menu instead of overriding it.

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Console Output

The script uses 7 distinct Unicode-symbol message types for instant scanning:

 ●   green     - operation succeeded
 ○   cyan      - applying a change (before -> after)
 ◆   yellow    - non-critical warning
 ●   red       - critical error
 ◉   gray      - informational
 ◌   dark gray - skipped (already optimal or unsupported)
 ✦   magenta   - tip / suggestion for user

The startup banner is mode-aware - color changes based on whether you picked Throughput (green), LowLatency (magenta), or Balanced (yellow).

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Compatibility

OS	Status	Notes
Windows 11 (any build)	✅ Full	Native PowerShell cmdlets
Windows 10 (any build)	✅ Full	Native PowerShell cmdlets
Windows 8.1	✅ Full	Get-NetAdapter works
Windows 8 / Server 2012	⚠ Partial	Uses netsh fallback
Windows 7 SP1	⚠ Partial	DNS via netsh, limited NIC API
Windows Server 2012 R2 / later	✅ Full	All features supported
PowerShell 5.0+	✅	Default on Win 10+
PowerShell 7.x	✅	Cross-edition compatible
x86 / x64	✅	Auto-detected at runtime

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How It Works

graph TD
    Start([Start as Admin]) --> Detect[Detect Windows version]
    Detect --> Backup[Backup adapter settings to JSON]
    Backup --> Phase1[Phase 1<br/>~40 NIC advanced properties]
    Phase1 --> Phase2[Phase 2<br/>24 netsh global TCP/IP tweaks]
    Phase2 --> Decision{NoRegistry?}
    Decision -->|No| Phase3[Phase 3<br/>16 registry tweaks +<br/>per-NIC Nagle + MMCSS]
    Decision -->|Yes| Phase4
    Phase3 --> Phase4[Phase 4<br/>powercfg + Ultimate plan]
    Phase4 --> TelemetryOpt{DisableTelemetry?}
    TelemetryOpt -->|Yes| Phase5[Phase 5<br/>Stop DiagTrack, dmwap, etc.]
    TelemetryOpt -->|No| MTU
    Phase5 --> MTU
    MTU{NoMtuTest?} -->|No| Phase6[Phase 6<br/>MTU auto-detect via ICMP]
    MTU -->|Yes| Done
    Phase6 --> Done([Done - reboot recommended])

    style Start fill:#0EA5E9,color:#fff
    style Done fill:#22C55E,color:#fff
    style Backup fill:#F59E0B,color:#fff
    style Phase1 fill:#8B5CF6,color:#fff
    style Phase2 fill:#8B5CF6,color:#fff
    style Phase3 fill:#8B5CF6,color:#fff
    style Phase4 fill:#8B5CF6,color:#fff
    style Phase5 fill:#EC4899,color:#fff
    style Phase6 fill:#06B6D4,color:#fff

Loading

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Rollback

The script auto-creates a JSON backup of all adapter settings BEFORE any change. Restore at any time:

.\Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1 -Restore

Backups are stored at: %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\NIC-Backup\<adapter>--<timestamp>.json

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Warnings

• ⚠ Reboot required after first run (registry + TCP global tweaks need reboot)
• ⚠ VPN clients with Layered Service Providers may need reconnection after reboot
• ⚠ AdBlock router users - pick Skip in DNS menu, don't override your router DNS
• ⚠ The script intentionally skips netsh winsock reset (can break VPN/AV with LSPs). Run it manually only if you have specific connection issues.
• ⚠ MTU test sends ICMP packets - may show warnings if your firewall blocks them

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Project Structure

windows-network-optimizer/
├── Optimize-NetworkAdapter.ps1   # Main script (1733 lines, ~50 functions)
├── Run-NIC-Optimizer.bat         # One-click launcher with UAC auto-elevation
├── README.md                     # This file
├── LICENSE                       # MIT
└── .gitignore                    # Excludes NIC-Backup/, private files, IDE configs

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Sources & Credits

Research and tweaks compiled from:

• Microsoft Learn - official netsh and TCP/IP documentation
• Reddit - r/pcmasterrace, r/dns, r/networking, r/PowerShell
• Atlas-OS - open-source Windows performance modification project
• ChrisTitusTech/winutil - Windows debloat & utility script
• DNSPerf - DNS performance benchmarks (2025)
• guru3D Forums, BlurBusters, Windows Forum
• DNS4EU project - European Union public DNS resolver (launched June 2025)
• CSDN, blog.csdn.net - Chinese tech blogs for AliDNS / DNSPod info

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Contributing

PRs welcome! Areas where help is appreciated:

• Additional NIC vendor advanced property regex patterns
• New DNS providers worth adding to the default list
• Translations to other languages (currently EN + PL display names supported)
• Windows Server-specific tweaks
• Hardware testing (Intel I225/I226, Realtek 2.5G, Killer NICs, etc.)
• Better Mermaid diagrams / GIF demos

Steps:

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a branch (git checkout -b feature/my-tweak)
3. Test locally on real hardware
4. Open a PR with a clear description of what changed and why

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License

MIT - free for personal and commercial use, no warranty.

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 •  Report a bug  •  Request a feature