The power plan directly affects the performance of a computer or laptop, either reducing or increasing power consumption. Windows has the following power modes available:
- Power Saver: designed for maximum energy saving for a longer battery life and, as a result, for the longest possible uptime.
- Balanced: designed to make battery power meet performance halfway. This mode is usually the one used by default.
- High Performance: significantly increases the computer's energy consumption, whilst allowing constant operation at full capacity.
You can either make changes to existing power plans or create your own.
Enabling High Performance
In Windows 7:
- Click Start and open the Control Panel.
- Select Power Options (If there is no such item in the menu, you can find it using the search field in the upper right corner of the screen.)
- Check the box next to High Performance. This enables the mode.
In Windows 10:
- Click Start and open Settings, then select System.
- In the next window, go to the Power & Sleep tab and select "Additional power settings."
- Check the box next to High Performance. This enables the mode.
If your Windows version does not have a Start button:
This applies to all present-day versions of Windows, with the only difference being the interface.
- Press the Win + R hotkey and in the Run window that appears, type "powercfg.cpl", then press Enter.
- In the window that opens, check the box next to High Performance. This enables the mode.