Windows 10 will provide EcoQoS functions to extend battery life and reduce fan noise
On every laptop, there is a struggle between maximum performance and longer battery life. In order to extend the battery life, modern processors will drop to a very low frequency when idle to reduce power consumption. On the other hand, in order to improve performance when necessary, in addition to the basic frequency, a turbo frequency/acceleration frequency is added to increase the upper limit of the performance. After all, most of the time when the average user is using it is relatively idle.
In order to meet the needs of the processor, the operating system also needs to keep up with the rhythm. Now Microsoft has introduced a new method to allow equipment to find a more suitable point between efficiency and power. In fact, most computer enthusiasts know the basic relationship between power consumption and performance. A processor can reach a certain speed with a certain amount of energy and obtain most of the performance, but in the end, for a little extra performance, you need more energy, for example, in order to increase the frequency by 5%, the power consumption increases by 15%. In continuous high-load work scenarios, this problem is not big, but if the load is not continuous or there is a delay in time, this is where Microsoft’s new EcoQoS API can be used.
In Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21359, EcoQoS is a new Quality of Service (QoS) level that plays an important role in reducing power consumption, extending battery life, and reducing heat generation, thereby reducing fan noise. According to the introduction of Microsoft DevBlog, the Windows team has proven that EcoQoS can reduce CPU power consumption by up to 90%. The workload types include updates, synchronization, indexing, and any other background services. But the premise is that developers must incorporate APIs into their applications.
Microsoft encourages developers to use EcoQoS to reduce device heat and fan noise and improve work efficiency. EcoQoS is currently in the earliest stage of public release and has just entered Windows 10 Insider Preview. At this stage, EcoQoS is only compatible with the latest processors, such as Intel’s 10th and 11th generation Core series mobile processors, AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors, and Qualcomm’s Arm64 SoC. Over time, future desktop and server processors may provide support.
