How to Conserve Battery Power With the Windows CPU Core Parking Tool
The Windows CPU Core Parking tool is a feature that dynamically disables CPU cores to conserve power and reduce heat. This tool comes with lots of benefits but also has its drawbacks.
So, how does the CPU Core Parking feature work? How do you enable or disable it?
Let’s explore everything about this tool—including the pros and cons of enabling it.
How Does the Windows CPU Core Parking Tool Work?
The CPU Core Parking tool makes some of your CPU cores go into sleep mode. So, a parked CPU simply means that system has shut down some CPU cores when maximum processing power isn’t required.
When your device needs to process many tasks, some parked CPU cores will automatically come out of the parked state. However, this will only happen if you don’t “fully park” those CPU cores.
Now, how do you enable or disable this tool?
How to Enable or Disable the Windows CPU Core Parking Tool
You can enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool using either the Power Plan settings or the Registry Editor. Alternatively, you can try some third-party tools.
Using the Power Plan Settings
Here’s how you can enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool using the Power Plan settings:
Can’t find theProcessor power managementoption in the Power Plan Settings? You’ll first need to change from theBalanced power planto theUltimate Performance power planthrough these steps:
When you finish, enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool using the previous steps. But if you still run into issues, you need to try using the Registry Editor.
Using the Registry Editor
The Registry Editor is a reliable Windows tool that can help youtroubleshoot various system issues. In this case, we’ll check how you can use it to enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool.
Before you proceed,back up your Registryfirst just in case something goes wrong.
Now, here’s how you may enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool using the Registry Editor:
To fully park the CPU cores, set theValue datato100. Otherwise, you can still enable the CPU Core Parking tool by selecting any other value between1and99. To disable the CPU Core Parking tool, set theValue datato0(zero) and pressOK.
Next, apply the same changes to theValueMinvalue, but ensure thatValueMinis less or equal toValueMax. Finally, close the Registry Editor and restart your device to save these changes.
Using ParkControl
ParkControl is an incredible third-party tool that makes it easy to enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool. To get started, you should choose a power plan option using thedropdown menuin the top-left corner.
On the right-hand side, you’ll see your device’s number of CPU cores and the percentage usage for each.
Use the buttons in theParking ACandParking DCboxes to enable or disable the CPU Core Parking tool. When you finish, press theApplybutton and then pressOK.
If you want to enter the custom percentage usage for each CPU core, press theShow Advancedbutton and then adjust the values. A value of 100% means that the CPU cores are fully parked, while 0% means that the CPU cores are unparked.
To restore the default settings, click theRestore defaultsbutton.
Download: ParkControl forWindows(Free)
Using Quick CPU
Quick CPU is another reliable third-party tool worth checking out. Although it displays a lot of information, you only need to use theCore parking slider(located in the bottom-left corner).
Run the tool and click theSystem power planandSystem power statedropdown menus in the top-left corner. From there, select the relevant options.
To fully park the CPU cores, drag theCore parking buttonand place it on 100%. Alternatively, drag the button and place it somewhere between 1% and 99%. To unpark the CPU cores (to disable the CPU Core Parking tool), drag the button and place it on 0%. From there, click theApplybutton.
The Quick CPU tool also shows you the CPU temperature, CPU usage, and more. So, it could also be a brilliant tool if you want to observe your CPU’s performance.
Download: Quick CPU forWindows(Free)
What Are the Pros and Cons of Enabling the CPU Core Parking Tool?
Let’s now check out the pros and cons of enabling the CPU Core Parking tool.
The Advantages of Enabling the CPU Core Parking Tool
Some of the advantages of enabling this tool include:
The Disadvantages of Enabling the CPU Core Parking Tool
Here are some of the disadvantages of enabling this tool:
Windows CPU Core Parking: A Remarkable Tool
If you want to reduce the heat and power usage on your PC, you definitely have to check out the CPU Core Parking feature. Although the tool has a few drawbacks, it’s still worth trying.
But if you want to speed up your Windows PC, then you should try other methods such as enabling the “Fast startup” feature and more.
Registry tweaks and ominous cleaners rarely fix a slow computer. We have compiled a list of tried-and-true methods that will give your Windows 10 computer an instant performance boost.
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