Ultimate Performance is a hidden Windows power plan designed for workstation-style workloads where tiny power-saving delays matter. Most everyday users will not notice much difference from Balanced.
This works on Windows 10 and Windows 11 Home and Pro once the plan is unlocked.
Does This Affect You?
Try this if you need consistent high performance for benchmarking, professional audio, workstation jobs, or latency-sensitive tasks. Avoid leaving it on for laptop battery use.
Unlock Ultimate Performance
- Open Windows Terminal or Command Prompt as administrator.
- Run the command below.
- Windows should report that a new power scheme was added.
- Close the terminal.
powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61Select the Plan
- Press Windows key + R, type
powercfg.cpl, and press Enter. - Find Ultimate Performance in the classic Power Options list.
- Select its radio button.
- Adjust display and sleep timers if desired.
Important Notes
Not Ideal on Battery
Ultimate Performance disables or reduces several power-saving behaviors, so laptops drain faster with little benefit for normal work.
Real-World Difference
Browsing, office apps, streaming, and normal gaming usually feel the same as Balanced. The plan is most useful for consistency in specialized workloads.
Remove It Later
Switch to another plan first, then delete Ultimate Performance from plan settings, or use powercfg -list and powercfg -delete GUID.
Windows 11 Power Mode Slider
Windows 11 also has Best performance under Power & battery. Try that first unless you specifically need the classic plan.
Sources
- Microsoft: Ultimate Performance power plan
- Microsoft Learn: powercfg command-line options
- Microsoft Support: Power and sleep settings in Windows