Best Windows power plan for gaming: what a tuned High Performance plan changes
Short answer
UpdatedA power plan decides how quickly Windows lets the processor slow down, park cores and put USB ports and drive links to sleep. This tweak switches Windows to a High Performance based plan and turns off USB selective suspend and link power saving in it.
What it does
A power plan decides how quickly Windows lets the processor slow down, park cores and put USB ports and drive links to sleep. This tweak switches Windows to a High Performance based plan and turns off USB selective suspend and link power saving in it.
In the app the switch is called "Optimize Windows Power Plan", described there as: Switches to a tuned High Performance plan with USB/link power fixes.
When it helps, and when it hurts
When it helps
- Desktops where frame times are uneven because cores keep dropping to low clock speeds between frames.
- Mice and keyboards that feel late after a short pause, when a USB port went to sleep.
When it hurts
- A laptop on battery: it drains faster and runs hotter. Use it plugged in.
- It does not raise the top speed of the processor. If the PC was already on a performance plan, little changes.
What it writes
Exactly what the switch changes, read from the app's source. Switching it off is what the app writes when you turn the tweak off again.
This tweak has no fixed list of registry values to print here: it works through a driver's own settings, scheduled tasks or values that differ from PC to PC (per device, per adapter or per installed game). The app reads what your PC has and changes only that.
How to undo it
In the app: Yes
Switching it off switches back to the power plan you used before and deletes the Frozen plan.
Switch the tweak off in Frozen Tweaks.
Changing several settings at once? The app's Make a restore point button, on every plan, makes a Windows restore point before you start.
Verdict
A sensible first step on a desktop and easy to undo. On a laptop, switch it on only while plugged in.
Questions
- Is "Optimize Windows Power Plan" safe to switch on?
- A sensible first step on a desktop and easy to undo. On a laptop, switch it on only while plugged in. The main cost: A laptop on battery: it drains faster and runs hotter. Use it plugged in.
- How do I undo it?
- Switch the tweak off in Frozen Tweaks. Switching it off switches back to the power plan you used before and deletes the Frozen plan.
- Is "Optimize Windows Power Plan" free in Frozen Tweaks?
- Yes. It is one of the free tweaks, with no time limit.
In the app
- Switch
- Optimize Windows Power Plan
- Category
- Power
- Plan
- Free
- Undo
- Yes
- Profiles
- Apex Legends, ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6 and 18 more
Related guides
- How to Fix Stuttering and Frame Drops: Diagnose Before You TweakStutter has six distinct causes and each has a different fix. Match your symptom to the right one instead of applying tweaks at random.7 min read
- How to Increase FPS on PC: The Complete 2026 GuideAn ordered method for raising FPS on Windows 11 in 2026: the four settings that matter most first, then the GPU driver, BIOS and latency tuning.11 min read
More tweak explainers
- USB selective suspendUSB selective suspend lets Windows put a single USB port to sleep when the device on it is idle. What it changes, when it hurts, and how to undo it.2 min read
- Modern Standby (S0)Modern Standby keeps a sleeping PC partly awake so it can sync mail and updates, like a phone. What it changes, when it hurts, and how to undo it.2 min read
- Network in Modern StandbyOn Modern Standby PCs, Windows can keep the network connected while the PC sleeps so mail and updates keep arriving. What it changes and how to undo it.2 min read
Written by
Frost LIVEFounder of Frozen Tweaks, based in Hamburg, Germany. Publishes settings guides for competitive games on his YouTube channel, Frost LIVE.
In the app
- Category
- Power
- Plan
- Free
- Undo
- Yes
- Profiles
- Apex Legends, ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6 and 18 more
Frozen Tweaks
Free for Windows 10 and 11
58 tweaks free, each with an undo switch. Never edits game files.
v2.0.0 · 6.4 MB · Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit · free account, no payment details
Or type frozentweaks.com on your PC.
The free Windows app for competitive games.
58 tweaks free, each with an undo switch. Never edits game files.
v2.0.0 · 6.4 MB · Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit · free account, no payment details
Frozen Tweaks runs on Windows. Send the link to your PC and download it there.
Or type frozentweaks.com on your PC.