Laptop power supply. Correctly setting up your laptop's power supply Selecting a power plan for Windows 7
Setting up the power supply is an option that few people use. And completely in vain. This is especially true for laptop owners. After all, if you configure the power plan correctly, you can extend the battery life of your laptop. Or vice versa – squeeze maximum performance out of it (if the situation requires it).
Also, setting the power supply allows you to specify the time the display turns off, enters sleep mode, adjusts the screen brightness, etc. A very useful option - especially for those users who often leave the laptop turned on for a long time (or simply forget to turn it off).
By the way, setting up a power plan is very quick, literally in 5 minutes. Another advantage of this option is that it is configured in the same way in Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. In this case, there are no differences at all.
First, let's look at how to configure the computer's power supply in Windows 7
Let me remind you once again that in Windows 10 and 8 this procedure is carried out in a similar way, so this example is universal.
As a result, 3 main plans will be displayed in front of you:
- balanced;
- high performance;
- energy saving.
By default, the first item is selected. This is the best option. The Energy Saver plan for a computer does not play a special role, because it is usually installed on laptops.
In this case, it is better to select “High Performance”. The computer always runs on mains power, so it is advisable to squeeze all the juice out of it. As a result, heavy programs and games will run faster and without freezing. To select it, simply check the appropriate box.
Please note that on the right there is also a line “Setting up a power plan”.
If you click on it, the following window will open:
Here you can specify the time after which to turn off the display and put the computer into sleep mode. This option is very useful for those who often go out on business (to the store, to the kitchen, or just like to talk on the phone for a long time).
To make your computer consume less energy, you can configure the display to turn off, for example, after 15 minutes of inactivity. After this time, the monitor will simply turn off and go into standby mode. And it turns on at the slightest movement of the cursor - i.e. you just need to move the mouse in any direction.
The second option is sleep mode. Here the computer goes into sleep mode. And to turn it on, you need to press the power button and wait 10 seconds.
How to set up your laptop's power supply
There are 2 ways to access settings. First: Start - Control Panel - Power Options. That is, just like on a computer.
But there is also a second, more convenient way. To do this, you need to find the battery icon in the tray (near the clock on the right), right-click on it and select “Power Options”.
After this, a familiar window will open. Once again there will be 3 power plans to choose from:
- balanced (default);
- high performance;
- energy saving (allows you to extend the battery life of the laptop, but reduces its performance).
In this case, you need to think about which one suits you best. If your laptop stays at home all the time and is plugged in, then it is better to choose the “High Performance” plan. If you often take it with you (i.e. it runs on battery power), then it makes sense to set it to “Energy Saving”. And if you use it both at home and while traveling, then you can switch power plans depending on the situation.
If you want your laptop to always work quickly and not glitch even when running on battery power, choose the “High Performance” plan. After all, what’s the point of it working a couple of hours longer if the browser, text editor and other programs open at a snail’s pace, right?
In this case there will already be 4 points. And they need to be specified twice - when operating on battery power and on mains power.
Again: set them up as you see fit.
When installing the operating system, the default settings use the “Balanced” power plan, which can often lead to reduced system performance and responsiveness.
Settings for Windows 7 and Vista
Total in operating systems Windows 7 and Vista There are three main power plans:Balanced
Provides full performance when needed and saves energy when inactive.
Energy saving
Saves energy by reducing system performance. This scheme helps mobile PC users make the most of a single battery charge. but for a desktop system it is not relevant.
With high performance
Increases system performance and responsiveness. When working with this scheme, laptop users may experience accelerated battery drain. This is the most suitable power plan for desktop systems.
Your computer may also have other energy saving settings configured by the PC or laptop manufacturer. In this case, we do not recommend changing their settings, because The manufacturer has already selected the most optimal values for all parameters.
In order to change the plan, follow these simple steps:
- Control Panel "
- Power supply"
- Select: High Performance "
For more information on energy saving issues, visit the Windows Information Center by clicking the "More information about power plans" link in the Settings window. Some useful information can also be obtained in the article
In Windows, the default power plan is set to “Balanced” and many users use it all the time, no one changes anything. If you go to the power settings, there are at least two more plans - “Energy Saving” and “High Performance”. On some computers, device manufacturers add an additional power plan. In today's article we will look at the difference between them, and whether there is a need to change them.
Where can I see and change the power plan?
In the search bar write Power supply and press Enter.
Also, in all versions of Windows, the power supply can be found in, or if your device has a battery, right-click on the battery icon and select “Power Options” from the menu that opens.
Immediately you will see two power plans “Balanced” and “Energy Saving”, below if you click on “Show additional plans” you will see the “High Performance” plan. In this window you can select power plans from the installed ones, or create your own.
Each of these power plans is a set of settings:
- Balanced - This power plan automatically increases processor speed when the computer needs it and reduces it when the computer is idle. This plan is enabled by default and is suitable for everyone in most cases.
- Energy Saving - This plan tries to save energy all the time by reducing screen brightness, slowing down the processor, turning off modules, etc. Cons of this plan: Apps may take longer to launch and run slower, and the screen may not be bright enough.
- High performance - in this regard, the speed of your processor is always at maximum, even when the computer is not in use. The screen brightness has also been increased and the modules (Wi Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) do not go into energy saving mode.
But these are only general characteristics, in each plan there are about several dozen different settings, you can see them all by left-clicking on “Setting the power supply scheme” (next to the name of the power supply scheme) => at the bottom, select “Change additional power settings” => in the next window, view or change any parameters of the selected power plan; you can also select any of the plans from above and view its settings.
Do I need to change my power plan?
The moot point here is, if the "Balanced" plan itself increases or decreases performance depending on your needs, then why change it? On the other hand, what to do if a monitor (TV) is connected to your laptop and you don’t need the screen of the laptop itself, you close it and at that moment, according to the power supply plans, it goes into sleep mode. Or perhaps you use your computer as a remote access terminal and need it to be on at all times and not go into sleep mode or turn off any devices.
Of course, it’s better to open the power plan and configure all the items to suit your needs, but if you don’t really understand this and don’t have time to figure it out? When you need your device’s battery to hold its charge longer, select “Energy Saving,” when you need your PC to work at maximum and not go to sleep after a minute of inactivity, select “High Performance.” But still, I recommend going to the settings of the selected plan and changing the parameters necessary for the device to work, get started and understand that it is not as difficult as it seems.
Go to "Power Plan Settings" (next to the power plan name).
In this window, you can configure: screen brightness, after how long to put the computer into sleep mode when inactive, after how long to dim the display, after what time to turn off the display when the computer is inactive. To see even more settings, left-click on “Change advanced power settings.”
Here you can configure: whether to enter a password when waking up; turn off the hard drive after a specified period of inactivity, or not turn off; configure desktop background settings; configure the settings of the wireless network adapter, that is, reduce performance or increase it; sleep options and after how long of inactivity to put the computer to sleep; enable wake timers; prohibit or allow temporarily disabling USB; what actions to take when closing the laptop lid or pressing the power button; and much more.
After selecting the desired settings, simply left-click on “OK” and close all unnecessary open windows.
That's all for today, if you have any additions - write comments! Good luck to you :)
Setting up power options in Windows 7 is quite simple and very easy to get to. In this article I will show you how to get into “Power Options” and which settings affect what.
By the way, I’ll immediately mention that on laptops the “Power Options” section looks a little different, but the essence remains the same and you can get there in the same way. It will simply be expanded: the possibility of two power supply settings will be added: one when the computer is running on battery power, the second on battery power, and a screen brightness setting will also be added.
Via "Control Panel"
Click "Start" in the lower left corner of the screen and go to "Control Panel."
Find the “Power Options” section there.
How to Open Power Options from the Start Menu
Basically, on Windows 7, you can open Power Options by typing the word “Power Options” into the Start search bar and pressing either LMB on the Power Options program or pressing Enter.
How to set up power in Windows 7
You will see power supply modes, there are three in total.
- Energy Saving- a mode that greatly reduces the upper limit of processor speed, giving preference to saving energy. In this mode, the computer will not be able to work quickly even when it is needed, but the battery will last much longer than usual.
- Balanced- the golden mean between battery consumption and PC performance. In this mode, the processor speed is not limited, but increases or decreases depending on the work currently being performed. If tasks require really fast processor operation, it will work quickly. When this need disappears, the processor slows down (does not waste resources).
- High performance- a mode that forces the processor to always work at its limit. This mode is characterized by a short battery life and faster processor wear, however, sometimes, due to some features of the processor architecture, it is really worth turning it on, and overall the computer will work a little faster. But it is recommended to enable this mode only when it is really necessary. Before turning it on, make sure that you need the computer to work faster, and not the Internet, for example. If you enable high performance, the download speed will not increase.
Now let's look at the tabs on the left. The ones highlighted in this screenshot lead to the same menu.
Here you can choose after how much time of inactivity the computer will turn off the display itself, and after how long it will go into sleep mode. You can set “Never” both here and there. In this case, the computer will work as usual until you turn it off.
In it, you can choose what actions will be performed when you press the buttons responsible for turning the computer on and off, and also select in what situations you will be prompted for a password. The latter can only be performed by a user with administrator rights and to do this, you must first click on “Change currently unavailable settings” (as you can see, initially the ability to change this setting is deactivated).
The last item in the menu is “Create a power plan.” This section allows you to select all the settings related to power supply and save them so that all the settings selected in this way can be set by pressing one button.
Many users neglect the power settings. But in vain. In addition to saving energy, this will help maintain the convenience of using your computer.
Let's look at power settings for a desktop computer and for a laptop or netbook. Because there is a slight difference here. Moreover, almost no one pays attention to setting the power supply on a simple computer.
Computer power supply
Nobody bothers with setting up the power on the computer. Because unlike laptops, there is no icon about this in the tray. Besides this, there are also no problems with lack of energy and so on. After all, the computer is plugged into an outlet, and there is almost always energy there.
But, even in this case, the computer also has a power settings function. To find this setting, you need to do the following.
Click on the “Start” button and go to the control panel.
As you can see, there is a “Power Options” section. Click there. You will see a lot of different settings:
Your computer can be configured in different ways. Let's look at two opposing options:
Maximum performance;
Minimum energy consumption.
Maximum performance
In this mode, the computer operates constantly, without turning off various devices, with maximum load and maximum energy consumption.
To do this, select the high performance option. For more detailed settings, click on “Configure power plan”. You will see the following:
To begin, click on the “Turn off display” drop-down list. Select the “Never” option there. You need to do the same with sleep mode. The result will be the following:
In theory, you don’t need to configure anything other than this. But, you can make even deeper settings. To do this, click on “Change advanced power settings”.
After this you will see a lot of different power settings:
There are a lot of settings in the list shown. In fact, you don't need to touch anything there. When you select maximum performance, everything will automatically adjust as it should.
Save all settings and be happy. Now you will always have the most energy consumption. If you previously had a different energy consumption mode, then you can check it. For example, you can launch a game that previously froze. Now she can work faster. That is, you will experience an increase in productivity.
Minimum energy consumption
To set the minimum energy consumption, you need to do the same, only select the energy saving mode.
Then click on power plan settings:
As you can see, in this case everything is automatically configured differently. If you don't go near your computer for five minutes, your display will turn off. And after 15 minutes the computer will go into sleep mode. All this is designed to consume as much energy as possible.
In theory, you can configure it so that the computer does not go into sleep mode at all, but the display turns off after five minutes.
Power supply on a laptop
Laptops always have a special tray icon (lower right corner of the Windows desktop) that notifies the user about the amount of energy in the battery.
When you click on this icon you will see the following settings:
As you can see, choosing a power plan mode is very simple here. You don't need to go through the control panel or anything to do this. Everything is done very quickly and conveniently.
Essentially, power settings on a netbook, laptop and computer look the same. But the difference on laptops and netbooks is more noticeable. Because there you are using a battery and not an outlet.
The first thing you can pay attention to is the brightness of the display. The computer display lights up the same way, but laptops do not. Brightness can be adjusted by pressing special keys or through “Adjusting screen brightness”.
In addition, fine tuning is more advanced on laptops. Because the laptop can run on battery power or mains power.
The settings are the same, just twice as many. Since each mode is considered both from battery and from mains. Screen brightness is easy to adjust. To do this, you just need to move the slider.
And finally. On laptops, when choosing a power mode, it is always additionally indicated how much time is left until your battery “dies”.
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