If you’ve spent a ton of cash on a CPU for gaming or content creation purposes, you’ll want to get all of the power you can from this piece of hardware. Before you jump into Ryzen Master or Intel Extreme Tuning to overclock it, there may be a Windows setting you can enable that gives you a significant boost in daily use.
While most Windows PCs run on the “Balanced” hardware setting, switching to High Power can improve overall performance and smoothness. But there’s another, hidden option that pushes your CPU to the limit without overclocking. Ultimate Performance Mode keeps your CPU running at 100%, making gaming and creation tools run smoother than ever before.
I thought my CPU was maxed out until I tweaked these BIOS settings
A few BIOS tweaks made my PC feel brand new without a hardware upgrade.
Unlocking your CPU’s potential
There’s an incredibly good chance that if you access your Control Panel –> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options, you’re not going to see the option for the Ultimate Performance mode. It was originally positioned as a Windows 10 Pro for Workstations option, or an option for high-end servers and PCs, as they thought it might be “overkill” for the average consumer PC. But as people are looking to push every bit of performance out of their devices, it’s understandable why some folks may be looking for more.
If you want to try out the Ultimate Performance Mode for yourself, you’ll need to unlock it. To do so, you’ll need to first open a Command Prompt window and right-click on Run As Administrator. From there, you’ll need to copy and paste the following, hitting Enter after to run the command:
powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61Some laptops require you to turn off “Connected Standby” in the registry before Ultimate Performance Mode is available.
You can check this by running powercfg /a in Command Prompt. If you see ‘Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected’, you may need to add a new registry dword called PlatformAoAcOverride, set to 0 under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power.
You may also need to see if Command Center, Armoury Crate, or other manufacturer software will override the Ultimate Performance Mode.
Exit the Command Prompt menu, and search for Control Panel. From here, access Hardware and Sound, and search for Power Options. The newly enabled Ultimate Performance Mode should now be available in your list of available options, and all you’ll need to do from here is select it and reap the benefits.
No more CPU frequency scaling
Ultimate Performance keeps it at its base frequency at all times
When you’re using a PC, the CPU is constantly raising and lowering the voltage that is being sent to every part of your computer. This typically results in micro-stutters and latency, seeing as your computer will see that you’ve stopped doing something and lower the overall CPU voltage to the bare minimum. By using Ultimate Performance Mode, your CPU never drops below the base clock speed, so you never need to worry about your PC fluctuating rapidly and randomly. Since I’m running an AMD Ryzen 5600, my clock speed will never go below 3.5GHz, and will oftentimes hover closer to 4.0-44.2GHz instead. I’ll always be ready to tackle the next task, since it’s kind of like keeping a car idling, rather than needing to turn the key every time I need to do something significant.
Modern Intel chips have E-cores and P-cores. Ultimate Performance Mode keeps the P-cores from falling asleep, so you’ll always reap the benefits.
For most PCs, this microstutter when doing something isn’t major. But for someone like me? I can notice it, especially when I’m trying to do something like edit videos or play games, and the CPU needs to play catch-up with what I’m doing. Now that I’m running UPM instead of Balanced, everything feels as smooth as butter whenever I jump onto my PC. Micro-latency and stutters are effectively gone at this point.
Won’t damage your CPU like overclocking can
Everything still falls in line with typical TDP and voltage Regulations
While I’ve overclocked a different CPU in the past, I’ve not done the same with my 5600. Why? Well, CPUs are expensive right now, as are most computer parts. And any additional wear and tear that I can avoid putting on my parts to prolong them for as long as possible seems like the best possible idea. While overclocking is an incredibly fun way to get more performance than anticipated from your CPU, it can also cause some longevity issues, especially since the voltage goes beyond what AMD or Intel certifies as “safe” for constant operation. Ultimate Performance Mode boosts your typical CPU voltage to a safe amount to constantly perform at its best, without tipping the scales into more dangerous territory.
Seeing as the voltage is pushed to the factory standard of safety, rather than going over that recommended limit, everything should perform as intended. Safety limits are strictly enforced by hardware; there’s no risk of voiding your warranty, and things work within factory specs. No need to worry about frying your chip by enabling Ultimate Mode, but you may notice that your room may get a little toastier overall.
More CPU power means higher temps
Your PC may run louder, battery is going to drop faster, but more power is good
Now, the unfortunate trade-off. As you may expect from your CPU working harder, the rest of your computer is going to do the same. That means that if you’re using a laptop that isn’t plugged in, you may want to stick with Power-Saving or Balanced, as using Ultimate Performance Mode is going to sap your battery even faster. Seeing as my laptop is plugged in nearly 24/7, I can run it without worrying, even if it does sound like a jet engine is going off in my office. If the fan speed and sound are too annoying, you can always go back to Balanced at any time by going back to Hardware and Sound, selecting Power Options, and selecting Balanced again.
Even my desktop at this point is running a bit hotter and louder than normal, seeing as the CPU voltage is always running at peak efficiency. My AIO is also spinning up at a much faster rate, and my CPU temps are higher than normal. Considering that replacing an AIO or CPU fan is much cheaper than replacing the whole CPU, I can deal with that potential failure in the future. Laptop batteries, on the other hand, are going to drain much faster than normal, so maybe consider using this only if you’re plugged in and at your desk.
- OS
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Windows
- Minimum CPU Specs
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1Ghz/2 Cores
- Minimum RAM Specs
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4GB RAM
- Software Version
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24H2
A little bit of warmth for more performance is good with me
At this point, I’m pleased with the performance boosts that I’ve seen. Yes, my computer is running a little warmer, but seeing as I’m running a powerful build, I want all the power I can get. Seeing as I can always keep an eye on my temps via my keyboard, and I’ve seen no downsides at this point, Ultimate Performance mode is my new go-to for any new PC I make in the future.