diff --git a/src/gba/gui/gui-runner.c b/src/gba/gui/gui-runner.c
index 6b38a7d56..8b8b97646 100644
--- a/src/gba/gui/gui-runner.c
+++ b/src/gba/gui/gui-runner.c
@@ -233,6 +233,7 @@ void mGUIRun(struct mGUIRunner* runner, const char* path) {
 	}
 	// TODO: Do we need to load more defaults?
 	mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&runner->core->config, "volume", 0x100);
+	mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&runner->core->config, "idleOptimization", "detect");
 	mCoreLoadConfig(runner->core);
 	mCoreAutoloadSave(runner->core);
 	if (runner->setup) {
diff --git a/src/platform/libretro/libretro.c b/src/platform/libretro/libretro.c
index eaa9129d3..e74d28e15 100644
--- a/src/platform/libretro/libretro.c
+++ b/src/platform/libretro/libretro.c
@@ -78,11 +78,11 @@ static void _reloadSettings(void) {
 	var.value = 0;
 	if (environCallback(RETRO_ENVIRONMENT_GET_VARIABLE, &var) && var.value) {
 		if (strcmp(var.value, "Don't Remove") == 0) {
-			mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", IDLE_LOOP_IGNORE);
+			mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", "ignore");
 		} else if (strcmp(var.value, "Remove Known") == 0) {
-			mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", IDLE_LOOP_REMOVE);
+			mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", "remove");
 		} else if (strcmp(var.value, "Detect and Remove") == 0) {
-			mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", IDLE_LOOP_DETECT);
+			mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", "detect");
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/platform/test/fuzz-main.c b/src/platform/test/fuzz-main.c
index 3f4ea9f0b..01e28113c 100644
--- a/src/platform/test/fuzz-main.c
+++ b/src/platform/test/fuzz-main.c
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
 	struct mCore* core = GBACoreCreate();
 	core->init(core);
 	mCoreInitConfig(core, "fuzz");
-	mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", IDLE_LOOP_REMOVE);
+	mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", "remove");
 
 	struct mArguments args;
 	bool parsed = parseArguments(&args, argc, argv, &subparser);
diff --git a/src/platform/test/perf-main.c b/src/platform/test/perf-main.c
index 39fbee85e..bf5a5870b 100644
--- a/src/platform/test/perf-main.c
+++ b/src/platform/test/perf-main.c
@@ -119,13 +119,13 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
 	mCoreConfigInit(&core->config, "perf");
 	mCoreConfigLoad(&core->config);
 
-	mCoreConfigSetDefaultIntValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", IDLE_LOOP_REMOVE);
 	struct mCoreOptions opts = {};
 	mCoreConfigMap(&core->config, &opts);
 	opts.audioSync = false;
 	opts.videoSync = false;
 	applyArguments(&args, NULL, &core->config);
 	mCoreConfigLoadDefaults(&core->config, &opts);
+	mCoreConfigSetDefaultValue(&core->config, "idleOptimization", "detect");
 	mCoreLoadConfig(core);
 
 	core->reset(core);