ANNUITY PC Power Manager

Windows comes with a built-in power manager that is accessible through the Control Panel (also through the Settings window, in Windows 10). For most users, opening the Windows options to configure how the PC uses power is enough, but others might be happy to find out that there is an app for that as well.

Suggestively called ANNUITY PC Power Manager, this application enables its users to manage all the power plans from a colorful and modern-looking interface, rather than the default Settings of the operating system.

There are three tiles within the main window, each with a clearly defined role. The first allows users to check the current power plans, displaying a list of all plans in a table, along with their description and their schedule status. If no other plan was created, there are three entries one should be able to see within this table, namely "Balanced", "High performance" and "Power Saver". Each of these plans can be removed or edited according to the user's preferences but if one decides to create a new plan, that is also possible, which leads us to the second tile.

To create a new plan, users must name it and configure the power settings. Unlike the wizard in the Control Panel, ANNUITY PC Power Manager does not force users to start with an existing plan to create the custom one, although, in essence, the process is the same.

There are a few settings users can tamper with. They can define the computer's action when the sleep and the power buttons are pressed, and configure the time intervals before the PC turns off the display or the hard disk, or goes into sleep or hibernation mode. They can configure the application to prevent computer locking when waking up from sleep mode.

The third tile of the application links to the scheduler, which helps the user configure when and in what conditions a specific plan will be applied.

ANNUITY PC Power Manager makes it easier to manage power plans in Windows, although it is too much to say that the default energy manager is difficult to use. It is an application for those who want to simplify power plan management and streamline the creation of a new plan. However, advanced users might not be pleased, as the Advanced Settings of a power plan in the Control Panel provides much more configuration options.