Task Manager is one of those nifty Windows tools that really comes in handy when you need to see which processes are using precious system resources. But besides ending frozen processes and seeing which applications are affecting your system’s performance, there are a lot of things you might not realize Task Manager can do.
Even if you’ve explored the utility’s different tabs, you probably didn’t realize that you can use Task Manager to estimate the power consumption of different applications. The feature is buried in one of several column options you can enable and comes in handy when you need to know what’s consuming your laptop’s battery or causing your PC to use more power.
6 Task Manager Columns That Can Help You Troubleshoot Your Windows PC
Task Manager can do more than you think
How to enable power consumption display in Windows Task Manager
The key is your columns
To track the power consumption of different applications and processes with Task Manager, you need to enable its column in the main window. Process tongue. Default columns include Processor, Memory, DiskAnd Network. But if you right-click on any of these column headers, you can add additional columns.
To track power consumption, right-click one of the default columns and select Energy consumption in the drop-down menu. You can also choose to enable Energy consumption trend if you want to track an app’s usage over time.
Make sure to expand the Task Manager view by clicking and dragging the corner to show the additional columns. Windows will categorize process power consumption using the terms Very weak, Weak, Moderate, HighAnd Very high. This power consumption estimate is based on the application’s CPU, GPU, and disk usage.
Power consumption helps you identify problematic applications and processes
It’s more useful than you think
When I first heard about this feature, I wasn’t immediately sure how useful it would be. But then I realized that there were many scenarios in which it would help me and others.
One use case is when you are using your PC with backup power, because you may not realize how much certain tasks increase your power consumption. I became more aware of this during power outages in my country when I had to use backup power sources. My power source didn’t last as long during tasks like gaming.
But the most useful app would be when I’m using my laptop when it’s not charging. I noticed recently that sometimes its battery drains much faster than expected despite only having a few tabs open in my browser and the number of apps I use being limited.
However, using Task Manager, I can now understand exactly what is causing my battery to drain. I realized that sometimes it depends on a specific tab I’m using, which can be difficult to identify without the help of Task Manager.
For example, when we were working on this article, Brave’s power consumption went from low to very high, despite having a similar number of tabs open. It wasn’t how many tabs were open that mattered, but what a specific tab was doing. I expanded Brave’s processes and found that only one tab was causing high power consumption. I completed the task for this specific tab, which helped me determine what it was (a dashboard for a game I play). It wasn’t even about the dashboard in general, but rather access to a battle pass feature that increased power consumption.
This also helped on my laptop, when a specific tab made using the Firefox browser faster. While I expected my YouTube tab to be the culprit, it turned out to be an entirely different tab. Without Task Manager, I would not have been able to correctly identify the culprit process.
With the power consumption feature, I can also evaluate the effect of two different apps on my system if I plan to replace one. For example, I could see that Files uses slightly more power than File Explorer. While I still stick with the open source alternative of File Explorer, it makes me realize that I’ll need to think more about using it on my laptop.
Get a better idea of what affects your battery life
One of the benefits of using Task Manager to track power consumption is that it works for both desktops and laptops. But if you’re using a laptop, you can also pair it with the Battery Usage Tool to understand which apps are affecting your battery life the most.
To access this tool, you can click the battery icon in the Windows taskbar and then select the battery icon again from the context menu. A Power and battery the window will open. Select Battery usageand scroll down to view the Battery usage by app information to better understand which apps use your battery the most.
You can also use Task Manager to enable Efficiency mode for applications that consume more power than you would like. Overall, using your built-in utilities can help you reduce your PC’s power consumption.
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Sometimes you have to look for the best Windows tools
Windows has many great features built into the operating system, but some of these advanced user features remain relatively hidden. I wish they were easier to find, as they are useful for a variety of use cases.
Sometimes it’s worth digging through Windows 11’s various utility tools menus. However, even if you spend a lot of time exploring its features, handy tools like power consumption in Task Manager can still be easily missed.