PassMark reported a decline in average CPU performance for Windows PCs in 2025, which may be unprecedented. Possible factors for this trend include the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, increased bloatware, and consumers opting for cheaper or lower power hardware. The performance data is based on thousands of PerformanceTest benchmark results submitted by users and updated bi-weekly. Despite claims that Windows 11 offers better performance than Windows 10, independent evaluations suggest Windows 10 often outperforms Windows 11. Additionally, the majority of users are not upgrading to CPUs with more than eight cores, a trend consistent since 2020. In gaming, most titles do not utilize more than 16 processor threads, and the focus is shifting towards GPU capabilities due to high-resolution gaming and software designed for hardware acceleration.