Windows 7 comes with a few options that should appeal to the laptop user. Three different power plans allow Windows 7 people to choose power-savings, performance, or a combination of the two, depending on your requirements and/or priorities. If none of the three plans seem quite right, you can customize your own power plan perfect for your PC use.

Balanced Power Plan

As the name hints, the balanced power plan provides full performance when you are using your PC or laptop and power savings when it is at rest. This is generally the default plan for computers, giving users the best of both worlds.

Power Savings Plan

This plan was designed with the laptop user living battery charge to battery charge in mind. This plan saves power by scaling back system performance in favor of saving energy. If you are looking to get every last drop of battery power out of your laptop, this is probably the ideal plan for you.

High Performance Power Plan

This particular power plan is designed to maximize computer performance, brighten the screen, and heighten the responsiveness of your PC. However, that comes at an energy cost. Laptop users will find their batteries depleted faster on this setting than either of the other two plans. This power plan is actually hidden by default.

Choosing a Power Plan

To choose the power plan that is right for your computer usage:

1) Click on your Start button.

2) Under Control Panel click on Power Options.

3) Click Select a Power Plan.

If you are looking for the High Performance plan, you will need to do a little finagling to find it.

1) Click Start and then Control Panel.

2) Choose Power Options and then click on Select a Power Plan.

3) Click on Show Additional Plans.

4) Choose High Performance.

Custom Power Plans

To create a custom power plan for your machine:

1) Click Start and then open your Control Panel.

2) Click on Power Options.

3) Choose Change Plan Settings, which will take you to an editing page.

You can create two customized plans based on whether your computer is plugged in or working off of the battery. These plan settings will allow you to adapt the brightness of your screen, the idle dimming time, sleep mode timing, etc.

Under change Advanced Power Settings you will also be able to control power settings for other settings and devices.