If you have AMD Ryzen running on your PC, you should head on over to the AMD website and download the v17.10 Ryzen chipset drivers. The company recommends the update as it is primarily intended for systems with an AMD Ryzen CPU running Windows 10 x64. This update automatically installs and activates the AMD Ryzen Balanced as a fourth power plan.
It is also the company's way to make good on its promise to include the latest power plan in the chipset driver package. The company explained that the new power plan prevents your CPU cores from being "parked" in an idle state, which impacts negatively on gaming performance. The plan also allows the Ryzen processor to add more power to enable it to quickly raise clock speeds by reducing the timers and thresholds for P-state transitions.
AMD’s new Ryzen chips that are getting the Windows 10 updates are based on the company’s Zen CPU architecture. It has won some accolades for providing good performance at affordable and competitive pricing. The high-end Ryzen 7 series were the first to be released, while the midrange Ryzen 5 series chips have also just recently hit the market.
According to Digital Trends, Windows 10 is configured for its “Balanced” power profile by default, even on desktops. This is as opposed to the “High Performance” power plan that’s been proven to show significant performance enhancements. The new Ryzen drivers fix the Windows 10 default by installing a new power plan specifically for Ryzen.
According to Tom's Hardware, to activate the new AMD Ryzen Balanced power plan, you should first install the latest AMD chipset drivers on your Windows 10 64-bit machine. Next, in the Control Panel, select Power Options, and then choose the plan from the options. Once in effect, you should be able to see improved performance in a variety of games and power-driven applications.
