One of the first steps I do when setting up a new Windows machine is to check the power plan. This is because Windows will usually set the "Balanced" power plan as the default/recommended plan. Personally i like to use the High Performance mode in order to get the most out of my hardware.

The Balanced power plan is great for laptops and people that want to conserve energy; because in this mode the PC will attempt to power down devices when not in use. Even worse, Balanced mode will throttle the maximum speed of the CPU, leaving the cpu running much slower for the majority of the time, only bursting to full speed when a considerable load is met.

The "High Performance" power plan on the other hand sets the minimum CPU speed to 100% allowing applications to take full advantage of the hardware. This mode will often use more nergy and can create more heat. However, performance is usually more important then conserving power in the context of a Database Application Server.

This is equally important for virtual machines, whether it be a Windows Server or a Windows Desktop OS (i.e. Windows 10), they all still have a power plan that will affect the overall speed of the system.

If you haven't checked your active power plan recently, now may be a perfect time!