Microsoft’s Edge browser has seen steady improvements since its introduction. It is fast, offers excellent synchronization and can use a wide variety of extensions. Microsoft has also focused on performance, not just of Edge itself, but also how Edge affects the overall performance of a PC.
One of the easiest ways to reduce Edge’s performance drop is to use Efficiency Mode, which reduces Edge’s CPU usage and puts background tabs to sleep after five minutes or less of activity when the sleep tabs feature is enabled. Turning efficiency mode on and off is easy enough to do and can keep your PC running smoothly.
Turn efficiency mode on and off
Efficiency mode can be configured to be always on, on when a laptop is unplugged, on when a laptop is unplugged and the battery is low, or never on. Turning efficiency mode on and off only takes a few steps.
Step 1: Click on the three-point menu button in Edge and select Settings†
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Step 2: Select System and Performance†
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Step 3: Make your choice from the drop-down menu next to Enable efficiency mode when:with options for Not connected, low battery† disconnected† Alwaysand Never†
The “unplugged, low battery” setting works differently on different platforms. In Windows, efficiency mode is enabled when Windows battery saver mode is enabled. On Mac OS, efficiency mode is enabled when the battery reaches 20%. On Linux, efficiency mode is disabled by default.
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Step 4: You can also enable efficiency mode while gaming. Just enable the option Enhance your PC gaming experience with Efficiency Mode†
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Step 5: Note that for efficiency mode to work, you must have sleep tabs enabled. When efficiency mode is enabled, tabs will go to sleep after five minutes or less, regardless of how much time is set for “Snooze inactive tabs after the specified time.” To keep that setting, efficiency mode must be turned off.
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Enable the performance button
To make it easier to toggle efficiency mode on and off, unhide the performance button on the toolbar.
Step 1: Select the three-point menu button and select Performance† That will enable the achievement button, which will appear as a filled heart.
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Step 2: While the achievement button is visible, select the three-point menu button in the window, then select Show achievement button in toolbar†
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Step 3: You can now just use the . Selecting performance button to change the efficiency mode settings.
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