How to Set a High Performance Power Plan for Gaming

What Causes This?

Windows power plans control how aggressively your PC saves energy. On many systems, the default plan is Balanced, which can lower CPU clock speeds, delay boost behavior, and reduce overall performance to save power. During gaming, that can lead to unnecessary throttling, especially on laptops or desktops with conservative OEM power settings.

Common Symptoms

• Lower FPS than expected in games
• Frame drops or stuttering during busy scenes
• CPU or GPU usage not reaching expected levels
• Games feel smoother when plugged in, worse on battery
• Performance changes after a Windows update or laptop vendor software update

How to Fix It Manually

1. Open Power Options

   • Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter.
   • In Control Panel, set View by to Large icons or Small icons.
   • Click Power Options.

2. Switch to High performance

   • Under Show additional plans, select High performance.
   • If you see Best performance in Windows 11 battery or power mode settings, use that as well:
     • Open Settings with Windows + I
     • Go to System > Power & battery
     • Set Power mode to Best performance

3. Enable the Ultimate Performance plan if High performance is missing

   • Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
   • Copy and run this command:

     powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

   • Go back to Control Panel > Power Options and select Ultimate Performance if it appears.

4. Check advanced processor power settings

   • In Power Options, click Change plan settings next to your selected plan.
   • Click Change advanced power settings.
   • Expand Processor power management.
   • Set Minimum processor state to:
     • Plugged in: 100% for gaming laptops when connected to power
     • You can leave On battery lower if you want better battery life
   • Set Maximum processor state to 100%.
   • Click Apply, then OK.

5. Make sure your laptop is plugged in

   • Many gaming laptops reduce CPU and GPU performance on battery even if High performance is selected.
   • Connect the original charger before testing game performance.

6. Disable vendor battery-saving modes

   • Open your laptop maker’s app, such as Armoury Crate, Lenovo Vantage, Dell Power Manager, or HP Command Center.
   • Look for modes like Battery Saver, Quiet, Eco, or Optimized and switch to Performance or Turbo if available.
   • These apps can override Windows power settings.

7. Restart and test in-game

   • Restart your PC to make sure the new plan is fully applied.
   • Launch your game and compare FPS, stutter, and CPU clock behavior.
   • If performance is still low, also check for thermal throttling, background apps, and outdated graphics drivers.

Fix It Automatically with Kudu

Kudu can check whether your PC is using the wrong power plan, detect settings that cause gaming slowdowns, and apply safer performance-focused tweaks automatically. It can also help with related issues like background startup apps, power-saving conflicts, and other Windows settings that reduce FPS.

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