How to Optimize CPU Speed In Windows 10 PC? – 10 Tips

Undoubtedly, Windows 10 is one of the fastest and most robust operating systems. But over time, Windows 10 PCs start to slow down due to malware attacks, less disk space, heavy temp files, and so on.

There’s nothing to worry about if your Windows 10 PC is also running at a bulk cart speed. You can easily optimize your CPU speed to speed up your Windows 10 computer. Below, we have disclosed the best tips to speed up your computer system. So, let’s get started.

Why Do You Need to Optimize CPU Speed in Windows 10?

Your computer’s CPU (Central Processing Unit) is like its brain. It handles all the tasks you do. Like opening apps, browsing the internet, playing games, and more. If the CPU is slow, everything feels slow. Optimizing CPU speed helps your computer run faster, smoother, and without freezing. It also helps your PC stay cool and last longer.

Reasons to Optimize CPU Speed

• Makes your computer respond faster.
• Helps apps open quickly.
• Reduces freezing and crashing.
• Keeps your computer cooler.
• Saves battery on laptops.
• Improves gaming and video editing.
• Speeds up startup and shutdown.
• Helps your PC work better for longer.

Tips to Optimize CPU Speed In Windows 10 PC

Tip 1. Disable Startup Applications

When you have configured too many applications to start automatically during the PC startup, it can waste valuable system resources that can dramatically slow down your PC. So, the best solution is to disable unnecessary applications during startup. To do so:

Step 1. Go to Settings > Apps > Startup.

Step 2. Click on the Sort by menu and choose the Startup impact option. 

Step 3. Simply turn off the toggle next to the unwanted apps.

Tip 2. Disable Applications Restart on Startup

Windows 10 has a feature that can resume the apps from your last session after a reboot. This feature is useful to quickly resume your work from where you left off. But it can also impact the CPU’s performance.

In that case, you can disable the app relaunch at startup by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. Under the Restart apps, turn the toggle off. After that, unwanted apps won’t relaunch at startup and slow down your PC’s performance.

Tip 3. Change Power Settings

Do you use Power Saver settings on your Windows 10? Then, that can consume your computer’s performance to save energy. Thus, you should change your power settings to High performance or Balanced to maintain a good speed.

Open the Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options to change the power settings. You will see two options on the screen: Balanced and Power Saver mode. To unveil High performance, click on the down arrow next to Show additional plans.

Tip 4. Turn Off Windows Tips and Tricks

As you might have noticed, Windows 10 often shares tips and tricks to improve your user experience. This feature is extremely helpful for novice users. But it can also take up a share in your PC’s performance.

So, if you know your way around the Windows 10 interface, you can turn off tips and tricks to regain some of your PC’s performance. For this, go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions. After that, scroll down to the Notifications section and uncheck the box saying “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.”

Tip 5. Uninstall Unuseful Apps

Often we install various applications on our devices, but we only use a couple of them daily. Now, all those non-essential apps consume a huge space on your hard disk and bring bloatware.

So, we suggest you do a bit of spring cleaning and uninstall all the apps that you haven’t used in a month. Just go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Select unwanted apps > Click on the Uninstall button.

One more thing, only keep well-maintained and coded apps on the computer. It is common knowledge that poorly developed and old apps can negatively affect performance. 

Tip 6. Clean Up Your Hard Drive

If running apps, managing files, and performing other tasks on your computer has gone super slow, it is likely because your hard drive is running out of space. This problem becomes more evident when you have used 70% of your HDD or SSD space. 

The easiest way to solve this problem is to use Storage Sense to remove temporary and unwanted files to free up some space. For this:

Step 1. Launch Settings > System > Storage.

Step 2. Under the Local Disk section, click on the Temporary files option. Select the files you want to remove to reclaim the system.

Step 3. Restart your PC, and it will perform better than before.

Tip 7. Use Drive Defragmentation

If you use older hardware with traditional rotating platters on Windows 10, it can take up your machine’s performance to organize data. Therefore, you should run the defragmentation tool to make files more accessible the next time.

To use the drive defragmentation tool on Windows 10:

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Storage.

Step 2. Under the More storage settings section, click on the Optimize Drives option.

Step 3. Select the drive that needs defragmentation and click on the Optimize button.

Tip 8. Disable OneDrive Syncing

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service that keeps on syncing files on your PC. It is a useful backup tool that helps to restore your computer.

But the constant cloud syncing can slow down your CPU’s performance. Here you can do one thing – pause OneDrive syncing for some time to ensure it is a problem behind your slow PC. To do so, right-click on the OneDrive icon from the taskbar, click on the More button, and select the duration to pause the syncing.

If there’s a noticeable speed boost, you can permanently turn off the OneDrive syncing on your PC. For this, right-click on the OneDrive icon > Settings > Accounts > Unlink this PC > Unlink account.

After this, you can still save files on OneDrive, but it won’t back up to the cloud.

Tip 9. Switch Off Search Indexing

Windows 10 keeps on indexing your hard disk in the background to allow you to search faster on your PC. But it can take down a portion of your PC’s performance with it. So, you can turn it off to give a speed boost to your computer.

To turn search indexing completely off:

Step 1. In the Windows 10 search box, type services.msc and press Enter.

Step 2. Scroll down to the Indexing Service from the list of services.

Step 3. Double click on it and click on the Stop.

Step 4. Now, restart your PC, your searches might take some time, but the PC’s performance will be better.

Tip 10. Configure ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is not a new Windows 10 feature. It has been around for ages that using a flash drive or SD card to cache files and improve the overall system performance.

To activate ReadyBoost on a Windows computer, connect a USB drive to the device and follow these steps:

Step 1. Launch File Explorer and click on This PC.

Step 2. Right-click on the USB drive from the Devices and drives section and select the Properties option.

Step 3. Click on the ReadyBoost and choose the option Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost.

Step 4. Click on the Apply and then on the OK button to complete the process.

There you go! You have learned 10 awesome tips to optimize your CPU speed on Windows 10.

But there are many other ways to improve the PC’s speed, like running malware scans, updating Windows, upgrading drivers, and so much more. So, to know more ways to boost the CPU’s performance, stay connected with us.

FAQs

1. Can speeding up the CPU harm my computer?

No, if you use safe methods like changing power settings or turning off unused apps, it won’t hurt your computer. But avoid risky things like overclocking unless you know what you’re doing. Always follow trusted steps.

2. How do I know if my CPU is slow?
If your computer takes a long time to open apps, freezes often, or makes loud fan noises, your CPU might be struggling. You can check CPU usage in Task Manager. If it’s always high, even when doing simple tasks, it needs attention.

3. Is it better to upgrade my CPU or just optimize it?

Optimizing is a good first step and costs nothing. It can fix many problems. If your computer is still slow after trying everything, then upgrading the CPU or adding more RAM might help more.