By default, the Windows operating system reserves only 20% of CPU resources for low-priority tasks, which means that are running in the background. If you are experiencing issues with apps that perform well when on top of other apps, but slow down performance when shifted to the background, then you can benefit by increasing the reserved CPU resources for low-priority tasks. In this article, we show you how to increase the reserved CPU sources for the background apps and programs on a Windows computer.
Reserved CPU Resources for Low-Priority Tasks
The Windows Registry is where all the policies, rules, and parameters for OS operating are written. In simpler words, it is a large database that tells the Windows OS how to function, along with other key values. One of the values inside the registry is “SystemResponsiveness,” which is a DWORD. This DWORD is responsible for controlling the reserved CPU percentage for low-priority tasks on a Windows computer. You can change its value to control how much percentage should be allowed for background tasks. The “SystemResponsiveness” DWORD can be found at the following path inside the Windows Registry: If you leave the Registry settings at their default value, you will find that all low-priority and background apps and programs are affected if their combined CPU consumption exceeds 20 percent. This will result in slower operating speeds. In the next step below, we will show you how to modify this registry to allow more CPU resources for background and low-priority tasks.
Increase Reserved CPU Resources for Background and Low-Priority Tasks
By increasing the reserved limit for low-priority and background tasks, you can ensure that when an app or program goes into the background, its operation is not affected because of CPU utilization. Now, it is up to you whether you want to allow 100 percent utilization of the CPU by the background apps, or only increase it a certain amount. Either way, use the following steps to increase the reserved CPU limit in the Windows Registry to whatever percentage seems best for you: Note: You can also skip the given steps below and use the Registry file (.REG) given below to increase the CPU utilization cap to 100% directly. Once the computer restarts, the changes to the Windows Registry will be applied. You should now notice that the background apps are functioning rather quickly. This is because they now have access to more CPU resources for computing. You can also use our top selection of disk imaging and backup software so you never lose your data or operating system again. Alternative to the methods given above, you can use the following .REG file which will increase the reserved CPU limit to 100 percent. Allow 100 Percent CPU Utilization To Background Apps (410 bytes, 28 hits) This is the text inside the .REG file: The DWORD value “64” is in hexadecimal, which is equivalent to “100” in decimal. You can change the value within the Registry file (in hexadecimal) and then run it to change the reserved CPU resources accordingly.
