How to turn on Power Mode in Windows 11 for increased performance

Microsoft's Windows 10 power-performance slider moves to Windows 11, but it isn't that easy to find. Here's how to find Power Mode, and what it can do for you.

Mark Hachman (PC World (US online)) on 16 July, 2021 00:56

If you’re wondering how to increase the performance of your Windows 11 PC, you may already know one way: Use the Windows power-performance slider. But in Windows 11, Microsoft has hidden it. We’ll show you where.

Microsoft offers you an easy way to boost performance in Windows 10, as our previous article notes. On the Windows taskbar, clicking the battery icon opens what we know as the power slider, where you can trade lower performance for extended battery life.

windows 10 power slider — In Windows 10, finding the Windows power-performance slider is simple: just click the battery icon.

Naturally, this feature is common on laptops, less so on desktops. But it does make a difference. Microsoft, for example, dials down the performance slider on its devices to their most minimal settings, preserving battery life at the cost of performance. On Surface devices like the Surface Laptop 4 and the Surface Pro 7+, simply sliding the performance slide to “best performance” can give you an extra boost of six to seven percent, depending upon the benchmark. (Check out those reviews for the actual numbers.)

As our first hands-on with the first official build of Windows 11 revealed, Microsoft—deliberately, apparently—left out the power-performance slider. The most recent update added it back in, but it’s not where it used to be. Clicking the battery icon on the Windows 11 taskbar actually opens the Windows 11 quick settings, where you can adjust the volume levels, turn on Focus Assist, and more.

windows 11 quick settings — Whoops! There’s no way to get to the Windows 11 Power Mode from here.

How to get to the Windows 11 Power Mode

In Windows 11, the Windows power-performance slider isn’t a slider. In fact, it has a formal name: Windows 11 Power Mode.

To get to it, you’ll need to visit the Windows 11 Settings menu proper, either by navigating through the Start menu or just by clicking the WIN+X button and navigating to the proper location. Within Settings, go to System > Power & Battery, then scroll down to the “power mode” button. Here, you should see several options, capping them off with “Best performance.” Choose the one that works for you.

Note that these menu choices are dependent upon your PC’s hardware maker. If you’ve bought a desktop or built one yourself, you may not see any options here under Power Mode. But if you’ve purchased a laptop, you should have several options from which to choose. Why not crank up your PC to maximum power?