How to Set Process Priority in Task Manager on Windows 10

Without screwing up your computer

Changing the process priority of your important tasks isone of the more advanced ways to boost performancein Windows 10. Easy enough to do, but a bit tricky not to mess up accidentally.

What exactly is process priority? Should you be making changes to it? And how do you actually set the process priority in Windows 10? This guide will answer all these questions.

What Is Process Priority and Why Is It Important?

Computers aren’t multitaskers. Not really. When your operating system is running multiple programs (or just background services) simultaneously, it is actually juggling among them.

Even in multi-core processors, there are only so many threads that can be run at once, so rationing processor time becomes quite important. To maintain a facade of running in real-time, your computer has to choose which tasks to give precedence to, giving rise to a priority system.

Process priority is simply the ‘importance’ of each process. Tasks that are essential for the smooth running of your computer (mostly system processes) are accorded a higher priority than an application running on top. This ensures that even under the maximum load, the core capabilities of your PC are not affected.

What Are the Process Priority Levels?

Process priority is defined in multiple discrete levels. Like a ranking system, this orders processes from the top to bottom, in the order of their importance.

There are six priority levels in Windows. Only five of these are meant to be set by applications (or users, for that matter).

The normal and above normal are really the only two priority levels you should use for everyday tasks. Priority levels higher than that should be left to system processes and the lower levels for unimportant background tasks.

What Is the Effect of Setting the Priority of a Task?

Setting a new priority of a process modifies its place in the processing queue. Tasks with a higher priority are given preference in the allocation of system resources like CPU time and memory, allowing them to run faster.

On the flip side, too many tasks pushed to a higher priority level defeat the very purpose of there being a hierarchy in the first place. If every process is running at High, how is the operating system to determine which processes are truly essential?

If too many non-essential tasks are upgraded to higher priority levels, your computer might start freezing up or even crash outright. This is why in most cases the best idea is to leave the process priority as it is. Even when you do change the process priority, stick to small changes and apply them at only one or two processes.

How to Set Process Priority in Task Manager in Windows 10

While there aremultiple waysto set process priority in Windows, the easiest method is to use theTask Manager.

This will set the new priority of the process immediately. The process will operate on this priority level for the rest of the current session. If you restart your computer (or just the process) the priority level will be reset to its default.

Should You Change the Priority of a Process?

We have seen how easy it is to change the priority level of a process from the Task Manager in Windows 10. This might make you wonder – Why not upgrade the priority of every running application? Surely boosting performance is always a good thing?

But you shouldn’t do that. There is a reason there are various priority levels in the first place, and putting every running process in the High category will only create conflicts and system instability.

At best, you should upgrade only one given process at a time, and take it no further than Above normal. This gives it a quick boost without jeopardizing the functioning of the computer. Ideally, you shouldn’t mess around with process priority at all,using built-in features like the Game Modeto boost the performance of resource-heavy applications.

Levin Roy is a software engineer who loves writing about technology. Whether it is Windows tips-and-tricks or in-depth guides about application development, Levin uses his practical experience and technical skills to create articles that can help solve tricky problems.Read Levin’s Full Bio

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How to Set Process Priority in Task Manager on Windows 10#

What Is Process Priority and Why Is It Important?#

What Are the Process Priority Levels?#

What Is the Effect of Setting the Priority of a Task?#

How to Set Process Priority in Task Manager in Windows 10#

Should You Change the Priority of a Process?#

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