Change the CPU governor for speed or battery

Use cpupower frequency-set to force the performance or powersave scaling governor on all CPU cores.

LinuxcputuningcpupowerMedium risk

Run `sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance` to prioritize speed, or `-g powersave` to prioritize battery.

01Command

Command

$ sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

02What it does

The scaling governor decides how aggressively CPU cores change frequency. `performance` keeps them high for snappier response; `powersave` (or `ondemand`/`schedutil`) lets them drop to save energy. `cpupower frequency-info` shows which governors your CPU supports and what is currently active.

03Risk

RiskMedium risk

Requirementslinux-tools / cpupower package; root required

!Warning: The setting is not persistent — it resets after reboot unless you create a systemd service or udev rule for it. On modern systems power-profiles-daemon (powerprofilesctl) is the easier, persistent way.

04Undo

Undo

$ sudo cpupower frequency-set -g powersave

05Sources

cpupower(1) — inspect and set CPU frequency
Arch Linux · community · 2026-09-17
Evidence: cpupower frequency-set -g changes the scaling governor
CPU performance scaling — the Linux kernel documentation
kernel.org · community · 2026-09-17
Evidence: explains available governors such as performance and powersave

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: System & Settings

06Related solutions

List CPU Details with lscpu

Linuxhardwarecpulscpu

lscpu prints the CPU model, socket/core/thread layout, base frequency, and supported instruction flags in a clean summary.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-17