We’ve all had those times when you wish your computer was faster. These feelings usually appear while your computer is doing a heavy task such as editing video files or performing complex calculations in an Excel worksheet.
Before you start shopping for a new PC, it’s worth trying out the Ultimate Performance mode for Windows 10. You might not have known it, but there is already a power mode or plan on your workstation or PC that is designed to give your system an extra boost. So let’s see how to enable this absolute performance mode.
What is the maximum performance plan in Windows 10?
Initially only offered on Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, the Ultimate Performance power plan is made to make apps run faster in high-end PCs like workstations and servers.
If you’ve been using Windows for a while now, you might be familiar with the three power plans you can set up a PC or laptop to use. This is called balanced (recommended), power saver, And high performance.
Each of these power plans manages the power consumption of your computer or laptop in different ways. The Power Saver plan is the most energy efficient, making it an ideal choice for laptops or those who don’t want high energy bills. Meanwhile, the High Performance plan keeps computers running at their best at the expense of power consumption.
You can access these power settings by pressing Win + I > Settings > System > Power and sleep > Additional power settings.
However, there is a fourth plan that is not visible on many PCs called the Ultimate Power Plan. This fourth power plan builds on the existing high performance plan and focuses on reducing or eliminating partial latency associated with precision power management techniques.
This means that this power plan reduces slight delay (partial latency) in providing more power to a piece of hardware that requires additional power – thus giving an extra boost.
What does the final performance plan do?
The Ultimate Performance Plan does its job by preventing computers from going into an idle state. On other power plans, the computer will temporarily turn off any non-essential device when it is not in use. If you’ve ever heard that your computer’s hard drive spins on its own, it’s just that it goes into idle mode.
Superior performance prevents any piece of hardware from sleeping. To achieve this, the power plan specifies a few default settings for your device to keep everything running at a maximum:
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The hard drive idle setting is set to 0 minutes. This means that the hard disk will never go into an idle state.
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Java timer frequency set to maximum performance.
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The power saving mode under the wireless adapter settings is set to maximum performance.
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The computer will never go into hibernation.
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Processor power management is set to 100%.
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The computer screen turns off after 15 minutes.
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When playing video, Windows focuses on maximum image quality.
Is Ultimate Performance the Right Plan for You?
It may seem like a dream to get all that boosted performance without paying a cent, but the Ultimate Performance power plan isn’t for everyone.
For example, if you use your computer to work on everyday tasks, such as browsing the web, working on a PowerPoint presentation, answering emails, or watching videos, the recommended Balanced Power plan will work well for you. Using a terminal performance plan for these tasks will not give you any obvious benefit; In fact, all you will do is waste energy.
However, there may be times when ensuring a balance between power and energy consumption isn’t your goal, and you’d prefer to get maximum power and performance out of your system.
For example, there may be times when you use your computer to render a 3D design project. You may also enjoy video editing, which requires quite a bit of processing power to create and display. Or you need to perform special read/write tasks that take great advantage of increased power to get the job done faster. This is when you should consider switching to the Ultimate Performance Plan.
Also remember that since this power scheme works by reducing partial latency, it may directly affect the hardware and obviously consumes more power. Because the power saving features are disabled, this plan is not enabled on battery-powered systems. So if you want to try out this plan on your laptop, make sure you always have it connected.
Moreover, do not think that this plan will enhance your gaming sessions, as you may not experience a significant increase in performance. That’s because most games usually bypass power plans to improve performance anyway.
How to enable the ultimate performance plan
If you’ve read all of the above and feel that the Ultimate Performance plan seems right for you, enabling the feature is a bit tricky. After all, as mentioned above, this power plan is sometimes ‘hidden’ within Windows 10 settings. As such, if you visit your power plans on your PC or laptop, sometimes you won’t find the option to enable them.
However, don’t lose hope yet. It is possible to enable it; It will take a little searching inside Windows 10 settings to activate it. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our guide on how to enable the Ultimate Performance Plan on Windows 10 for all the instructions you need to set up or disable this elusive power plan.
Choose the ultimate performance plan if you really need it
Microsoft says that the Ultimate Performance Power System is available to everyone with Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803) or later. So if your PC is eligible, you can easily enable the plan, even if it’s not visible in the power settings.
But as you know by now, the Ultimate Performance Plan is not suitable for the daily tasks you do on your computer. This power plan only works well in certain scenarios. So, if you need that maximum power for heavy workloads, you should consider running it and checking the ultimate performance of your PC for yourself.
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