Power management in computers all started as a way to improve battery life in laptops, but
has since developed into a solution for desktops as well.
Let's learn more about computer power management in this
article.
How Power Management Works
Exactly how does computer power management work? Will the aim of
power management is, clearly, to reduce power consumption. There are a few ways
in which power can be managed in a computer:
Cut down the clock speed - now the various chips in your
PC are running against an internal clock. If that clock speed is reduced, the
power consumed will go down. Windows knows how to activate this when the system
is idle.
Change the display settings - the PC can also change the display
setting in the monitor to save power. For example, there are low-power and
standby modes in PCs which allow the computer to consume less energy in
monitors.
Slow down the disks - hard disks can also be slowed down
by the computer to save power. The Hibernation mode in Windows XP is one such
feature. Just remember that it takes time to turn a hard disk back on once its
been inactivated.
Do You Need Power Management?
Power management may not be necessary for all. While it is good
to manage and save power, it can be irritating if you were working on a critical
document and somehow the power got cut off. The worse thing is, in some cases
the system cannot come back on and you may lose all your work. So do consider if
you need power management features before activating them in the BIOS.
Conclusion
Well, I hope you've learnt something about the power management
features available in desktops and laptops. Learn to apply the above knowledge
the next time you're tweaking the power settings for your PC.
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