Windows 11 ships with the Balanced power plan as default — a performance killer for gaming PCs. The power plan controls how aggressively Windows allows your CPU to boost to maximum performance.
Why the Balanced Plan Hurts Gaming
The Balanced plan throttles CPU frequency down when it detects low utilization, then ramps it back up when load increases. This ramp-up takes time — milliseconds that compound into visible frame time inconsistencies during gaming.
Switch to High Performance
Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Power Options. Select High Performance. If you don't see it, click Show additional plans. This immediately stops processor throttling and keeps your CPU frequency stable during gaming.
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See Services →Unlock Ultimate Performance
Open PowerShell as Administrator and run: powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61. Then go back to Power Options and select Ultimate Performance. This additionally disables USB selective suspend and other micro-optimizations.
Per-Game Power Settings
Go to Settings → System → Display → Graphics, click Browse, and add your game executables. Set each to High performance. This ensures your dedicated GPU is always used instead of integrated graphics.
Processor Power State Settings
Within any power plan, set the Minimum processor state to 100% via Advanced power settings. This prevents any CPU frequency reduction. Note: this significantly increases idle power consumption — suitable for gaming sessions.