Power Saving vs High Performance in Graphics Settings Menu?


win9598xp7

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Windows 11
I noticed that in the System > Display > Graphics menu of Windows 11, some programs have custom power settings applied (and they vary from program to program). I'm wondering what the benefits of these are, and which ones I should be using for best performance of each.

Some are marked as "Power Saving" and others are marked as "High Performance." You also have the option to turn this off and tell Windows to "Don't use optimization for windowed games." But it does it by default.

Here's a screenshot of those I'm referring to:

rawTwpX.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I noticed that in the System > Display > Graphics menu of Windows 11, some programs have custom power settings applied (and they vary from program to program). I'm wondering what the benefits of these are, and which ones I should be using for best performance of each.

Some are marked as "Power Saving" and others are marked as "High Performance." You also have the option to turn this off and tell Windows to "Don't use optimization for windowed games." But it does it by default.

Here's a screenshot of those I'm referring to:

rawTwpX.png
I personally have my full system set to max performance, But in normal terms, unless its a game or a gpu intensive application it shouldn't matter.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
I personally have my full system set to max performance, But in normal terms, unless its a game or a gpu intensive application it shouldn't matter.

Can you do this with a default setting for all? Or did you have to go in and individually set each one? I have a custom power setup in the Power Settings menu of the control panel, and tweak everything for max performance. But these settings seem to be different.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I have those settings in my Asus laptop.
The 'Power Saving' setting is normally the default setting that uses the built in AMD graphic driver.
The standard default setting is 'Power Saving' or 'Let Windows Decide'
The 'High Performance' setting must be set per application, and cannot be made the default setting.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS A 14
    CPU
    Ryzen 7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon & NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
    Hard Drives
    500GB SSD & 2 TB portable
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
Pretty obviously the Power saving selection is largely directed at Laptop users rather than Desktop users.

Of your list you show, Windows is roughly getting it correct.

If you don't like it then change it. Click on the appropriate entry > Options.

These are App settings, not the more broad Power Plans in the Control Panel.

"I have a custom power setup in the Power Settings menu of the Control panel, and tweak everything for max performance. "

That is totally unnecessary it will make zero difference to most of the apps in your list. Just increases power consumption, heat and cooling requirements for no gain, that is not tweaking anything.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Pretty obviously the Power saving selection is largely directed at Laptop users rather than Desktop users.

Of your list you show, Windows is roughly getting it correct.

If you don't like it then change it. Click on the appropriate entry > Options.

These are App settings, not the more broad Power Plans in the Control Panel.

"I have a custom power setup in the Power Settings menu of the Control panel, and tweak everything for max performance. "

That is totally unnecessary it will make zero difference to most of the apps in your list. Just increases power consumption, heat and cooling requirements for no gain, that is not tweaking anything.
Thankfully got power and cooling coming out my ears so all good! Yup everything max at all times! My cpu doesn't even throttle down, sits at 5.1 all day. Sue me :) But yeah in generally only really games and resource hungry programs that it probably matters in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710

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