How To: Unpark CPU Cores for Better Performance (+FPS Boost)

Core parking allows an operating system to completely shut off a core, so that it no longer performs any function, and draws little to no power. But when the cores are needed, only then the operating system can wake up the core and speed step them to work on the load that’s put onto it.

Unparked!

Parked core(s) = Power saving > Performance

Now, what unparking does, is that it modifies a few power management settings so that the operating system will never park cores. Instead of parking these cores, it will step them up and step them down according to the CPU load, and hence, it tends to result in a net increase in system responsiveness (and might also increase FPS in games) at the expense of power consumption (which you don’t have to care about unless you’re an eco-green-ozone-friendly-recycle-ophile, which you probably aren’t if you’re reading this). And so, this means:

Unparked core(s) = Performance > Power-saving

So, let’s get to how you’re going to unpark your CPU cores in order to achieve this increase in performance, shall we?

Method 1: Using the Windows Registry Editor (REGEDIT) [Manual]

Step 1: Check the parking status of your cores

Download the CPU Unparking Tool and extract it. Then run the file “UnparkCPU.exe” and click on the “Check Status” button. It may take some time (anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes, be patient) and then, it’ll show you the parking status of all your cores, like this:

Status.png

As you can see, all my cores are showing as “Parked” in the status. For you, it may be just 2, or all 4 like me. So now that we know we do have parked cores, let’s get to unparking them.

Step 2: Run REGEDIT

Press the windows key + R, this should bring up the “Run” box. Here, type in “REGEDIT” (without the quotes) and hit the Enter key. You should now have the Windows Registry Editor in front of you, which looks like this: 

REGEDIT.png

Step 3: Navigate to the right path

Click on the “Edit” tab and then click on “Find”. Then copy-paste the following text into the search box “0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583” (without the quotes). Be sure to check the “Match whole string only” box, and then click “Find Next”. It should look like this:

Find.png

Step 4: Make the necessary changes to the registry

Now, after it completes the search, the first thing you’ll see is this page:

Registry.png

Here, you need to make changes in only the values of items ValueMax and ValueMin.

Values.png

Double-click on ValueMax and you’ll see a box like this:

Value Editing.png

Change the value in the “Value data” box to “0” (zero), like this:

0 Value.png

And then click “OK”.

Now, do the same for the ValueMin value, and make it “0” (zero). You’re all set!

Step 5: Reboot your system

No actual description below this subheading, really, I mean I really hope you don’t need detailed instructions on how to reboot your system…

Step 6: Verify if it worked

Run the CPU Unparking Tool again, and hit the “Check Status” button. It should now show you that your cores are unparked, like this:

Unparked!

You did it! All your cores are now unparked!

Method 2: Using a program that does the registry edit for you, quickly and easily [Automatic]

Step 1: Check the parking status of your cores

Download the CPU Unparking Tool (skip the ad to download) and extract it. Then run the file “UnparkCPU.exe” and click on the “Check Status” button. It may take some time (anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes, be patient) and then, it’ll show you the parking status of all your cores, like this:

Status.png

As you can see, all my cores are showing as “Parked” in the status. For you, it may be just 2, or all 4 like me. So now that we know we do have parked cores, let’s get to unparking them.

Step 2: Unpark

Not much to say here, really, but okay, yeah, just click on the “Unpark All” button, and that should do it… See? Told you, not as much fun.

Step 3: Reboot your system

No actual description below this subheading, really, I mean I really hope you don’t need detailed instructions on how to reboot your system…

Step 4: Verify if it worked

Run the CPU Unparking Tool again, and hit the “Check Status” button. It should now show you that your cores are unparked, like this:

Unparked!

You did it! All your cores are now unparked!

96 comments

  1. whoah this blog is excellent i love reading your articles. Keep up the great work! You know, a lot of people are looking around for this information, you could aid them greatly.

    Like

  2. Excellent stuff. I can not describe how much your blog has helped me in my academic research on the subject. I am now going to get top marks for sure. Thanks a million. I owe you one.

    Like

  3. Hey there! if you are still active on this, i have an intel core i5-9600k cpu. it says 6 cores, and 6 logical processors. on the unpark tool it only shows two cores and when i went to msconfig, the number of processors was already unchecked. what else can i do?

    Like

    1. Hey!

      Have you tried checking the “Number of processors:” option and then manually selecting the maximum number of logical cores (threads) available? After you do this, make sure you reboot and verify that the settings have stuck within MSConfig, and then give the CPU-unparking tool a try.

      Do let us know if it works!

      Like

  4. Hey man, was just looking through the net looking for some info and came across your post. I am impressed by the info that you have on this blogsite. It shows how well you understand this topic.

    Like

    1. Hey!

      Have you tried checking the “Number of processors:” option? You can find it in the following location:
      Win+R > “msconfig” > Boot > Advanced options…

      Then, if the option is unchecked, check it and manually select the maximum number of logical cores (threads) available. After you do this, make sure you reboot and verify that the settings have stuck within MSConfig, and then give the CPU-unparking tool a try.

      Do let us know if it works!

      Like

  5. Valuable info. Fortunate me I found your website accidentally, and I’m stunned why this twist of fate did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.

    Like

  6. Hey friend, is there a difference between cores and logical processors? I’m asking because my processor is i7-4510u and it says I have 2 cores and 4 logical processors, but in Task Manager I see 4 graphs for processors and in msconfig, boot, advanced options, number of processors it lets me select 4.
    So, do I have 2 or 4 cores? Is it normal I only see 2 cores with the CPU Parked program?

    Like

    1. Hey, Serg!

      This means you have 2 PHYSICAL cores, and 2 LOGICAL sub-cores (threads) per one PHYSICAL core.

      Hence, a total of 4 LOGICAL sub-cores (threads). So, ultimately, you have 2 cores, and since the unparking tool only sees the cores (not the sub-cores / threads), it is perfectly normal.

      Like

    1. Apologies, bud. It sure is pretty scummy, but it generates me a few shillings a month… to spend on yo’ momma.

      Just kidding, she’s not worth it.

      Meta kidding, genuine apologies, comrade. On a serious note, I had no clue Ad.fly does the scummy “click on Allow to proceed” thing until I tested my own link. They did not do that before.

      Like

        1. Hey!

          Are you 100% sure though that all 4 cores are active during your other operations?
          Try this:

          Step 1) Windows key + R
          Step 2) Type “msconfig” and hit Enter
          Step 3) Go to the “Boot” tab
          Step 4) Click on “Advanced options…”
          Step 5) Uncheck “Number of processors”
          Step 6) Reboot
          Step 7) Try the core unparking utility again

          If it still shows 2 cores, follow the same steps up till step #4 and then this time, check “Number of processors and manually select the maximum value using the drop-down menu (which is “4”) and reboot.

          Do let us know if this works!

          Like

          1. Hi ! I’m having the same issue. My CPU is an i7-8700.
            My option was set as unchecked by default so I checked it and selected 12 on number of processors ( maximum value ). Rebooted and ran the utility tool but it is still showing 2 cores.

            Like

    1. Yo, Tom!

      This post has been mentioned in quite a lot of forums and communities, and the tool has 7,000+ downloads from my post alone. The only thing is, it routes through ad.fly. Now, come on, it’s not a big deal to wait 5 seconds for a MediaFire download link, is it?

      Like

    1. What’s up, TanWT? Yes, it takes time loading for some people. As the post says, it takes up to literally 5 minutes. Try again!

      Like

  7. When I open the unparking tool, and select check status, the app closes automatically. Do you have any solutions for this? I have no clue why it’s doing this

    Like

    1. What’s up, Breez?! What Windows are you on? Anyway, I’d suggest making sure you are running the tool as an administrator. And if the problem still persists, you should choose the manual method without the tool, using the Registry Editor, which is the other method in the same guide. It’s easy and all the steps are shown. Try it out!

      Like

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      Like

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  15. […] bei der ihr all eure CPU-Kerne aus dem „Ruhemodus“/Standby holt und voll verfügbar macht. Hier findet ihr eine englischsprachige Anleitung. Hinweis: Nach der Anwendung und einem System-Neustart […]

    Translation:
    […] where you bring all your CPU cores from “sleep mode” / standby and fully available. Here you will find an English manual. Note: After the application and a system restart […]

    Like

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