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Updated Sept. 2024.
Why reduce the performance of your PC
There are times when we need to go away-from-keyboard (AFK) in games, such as opening in-game shop, doing something in real life, or just resting while leaving the game open.
At these times, using the full potential power of the graphics card and processor to achieve a high frame rate per second (FPS) is unnecessary, since we might be AFK for the whole night while we sleep.
Many modern games offer in-game settings to cap or limit FPS, but some games lack this feature. Furthermore, even when available, the FPS cap is often not very low.
We will be capping the FPS at a value lower than 30. This will help reduce power usage and heat generation. We will use Rivatuner Statistics Server (RTSS) to achieve this.
How to reduce CPU and GPU utilization
1. Limiting the FPS
Rivatuner Statistics Server (RTSS)
Configure RTSS to start at boot by toggling on the "Start with Windows" option at the top left. Set the framerate limit to something like 20.
2. Lowering CPU power by changing the Power plan
On laptops, Windows Mobility Center is enabled by default, which allows for quick switching of power plans.
On desktop PCs, a registry value needs to be configured first to enable this tool.
Read:
Enable Windows Mobility Center for Desktop PC: Switch Power Plans Quickly
Launch Windows Mobility Center by typing mblctr in the start. To lower CPU usage and power, switch to Power Saver mode using Windows Mobility Center.
Alternatively, you can open Power Options in the Control Panel by pressing Windows+R and typing powercfg.cpl.
