Forum Discussion
Is there a big difference between the Balanced and Best Performance power modes in Windows 10?
For new Windows 10 laptops equipped with Modern Standby, what are the actual differences in performance test results between the Balanced and Best Performance modes in Settings?
Short answer: on real benchmarks, the gap between Balanced and Best Performance is small — often just a few percent — and the bigger difference shows up in responsiveness and consistency rather than raw scores.
What actually changes:
- Balanced keeps the CPU's minimum clock state low and only ramps up when it detects a heavy enough workload, which is efficient but introduces a tiny delay before you get full speed. That gap rarely shows up as a lower benchmark score — instead you feel it as micro-stutters in games, weaker 1% lows, apps taking a beat longer to open, and a general sense the PC isn't as eager as it should be.
- Best Performance removes that ramping delay, so the CPU is ready to go immediately. But average frame rates usually climb only a few percent when switching plans — anyone promising a night-and-day difference is overselling it. The real improvement is in consistency and responsiveness, not peak throughput