All the modern notebooks, desktop computers and even the smartphones are coming with multi-core processors. Multi-core processors allow for parallel instructions execution resulting in faster, smooth and uninterrupted performance. But multi-core processors also consume a lot of power compared to their single-core counterparts. You can compare a multi-core processor with a cart being pulled by multiple horses, but the more horses you employ, the more hay they need to eat. This becomes a problem in notebook computers (laptops) that run on battery as the multi-core processor would drain the battery faster. So even if you use your notebook computer for small mundane tasks like checking email, visiting websites – the processor would be depleting the battery charge at the same rate as if you are running a CPU hungry application for a small time.
Microsoft engineers seem to have thought about this and this is why there exists an option in Windows that allows you to limit the maximum power state for the processor. This setting can be reduced to make the processor run at a reduced performance level resulting in a tad slower performance but a longer battery life.
In order to make your notebook battery last longer, you can make changes in the power configuration of Windows using the following simple instructions:
- Press the key combination Win+R to open the Run dialog. In the Run dialog type control powercfg.cpl,,3 and press Enter.
- This will open the Power Options window. In this window, scroll down and locate the Processor Power Management setting. Click on the plus(+) sign next to this Processor Power Management setting to expand the section.
- You would find a setting called Maximum processor state, expand it by double-clicking on it and then click on 100% setting. Then set the value to a lower percentage, for example, 75% (implying that the processor will run only to a maximum of 75% of its full capacity).
- Click on the OK button to save the settings.
Making the processor run at reduced capacity will make your computer a little slower. If you find it very slow, then you can repeat the above steps and raise the maximum processor state value to a higher percentage. The optimal value for this setting varies from computer to computer as all processors are designed differently and the users may run them for different necessities.