Features
Complete guide to green computing
20070110 [PC Pro]
Advanced power management
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1 Many BIOSes still include detailed power management capabilities, but it's easier to let Windows handle power management. Use the appropriate hotkey to enter your BIOS during startup and ensure Power Management and ACPI are switched on. Also check SpeedStep or Cool'n'Quiet is enabled if you have a processor that supports either technology. The option is usually on the Main or CPU page of the BIOS. |
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2 Screensavers might once have saved screens, but now they just waste power. Right-click on the Desktop, select Properties from the context-sensitive menu, then go to the Screen Saver tab of the dialog. Select None from the drop-down list and click Power to get some real power-saving in action. You can also get to the Power Management dialog the usual way, from the Control Panel. |
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3 On a desktop PC as opposed to a notebook, your main Power Scheme will be Home/Office Desk. Even here, you should set the monitor to power down after 20 minutes of inactivity, although you may want to leave the other options alone for now. |
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4 Instead, set the power scheme to Minimal Power Management. This puts your PC into an adaptive power scheme, meaning Intel SpeedStep and AMD Cool'n'Quiet will be enabled (if your processor supports them). |
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5 However, Microsoft's Minimal Power Management settings still aren't aggressive enough to save a planet. Use the pull-down menus to set Turn Off Monitor to 10 minutes, Turn Off Hard Disks to 30 minutes and System standby to 45 minutes, or lower if you want to. |
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6 These days, SpeedStep and Cool'n'Quiet can't be controlled directly, only through power schemes, so go to the Advanced tab and select Always Show Icon on the taskbar. Click Apply. Now, with a single left-click on the Taskbar icon, you can choose between SpeedStep-enabled and SpeedStep-free schemes. This is useful if you know an application needs top performance. |
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