Windows Vista Flip3D Tweak

All the new graphical enhancements that Windows Vista offers make it a great user experience to work with. The increased use of the transparency, the nice previews in the taskbar, and even the specific features of the Aero theme, they are all nice to look at. Flip3D is especially good.

Depending on the PC system you are using though, you might have noticed that all this takes quite a bit of processing power. Windows Vista already needs a decent system to run smoothly, but using all possible graphical enhancements demands the most from your PC. Especially a fast video card with sufficient onboard memory can help out.

If you are not ready to upgrade or renew your PC, you can consider tuning the features of many graphical functions in Vista. The Flip3D function in the Windows Vista aero theme for example can be tweaked to use less windows, which improves the performance a bit.

Follow these steps to configure how many windows the Flip3D function can use in Vista:

1. Open the registry editor. Click the Vista Start button and type regedit and press Enter.
2. In the registry editor, locate the following key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
3. Right-click the key and in the popup menu, select New and DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Enter Max3DWindows as the Name for the new DWORD value.
5. Right-click the new value and click Modify in the popup menu.
6. Enter the maximum number of windows to be used and press Enter.
7. Close the Registry Editor and then reboot your PC.

DWM is the Desktop Window Manager. This registry change tells the desktop window manager how many windows to use for the 3D display. You can play with the value until you think the performance is right for your PC.