How To Set Process Priority In Task Manager: Quick Guide

Learn to set a high priority for important processes

3 min. read

Updated onFebruary 8, 2024

updated onFebruary 8, 2024

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Allprocesseson your PC share the CPU power equally, but did you know that you can give higher priority to specific applications?

That’s right, and in this guide, we’re going to show you how to set priority in Task Manager on a Windows PC. We also cover setting a high priority using other tools such as Command Prompt and PowerShell.

How can I set priority in Task Manager?

1. Set priority from the Details tab

This is the easiest way to set priority inTask Manager, and the priority for thatprocesswill remain changed until you end theprocessor turn off your PC.

2. Change priority in Task Manager using Command Prompt

wmicprocesswhere name=“firefox.exe” CALL setpriority “Above normal”

Alternatively, you can set priority by using a numerical value like this:

wmicprocesswhere name=“firefox.exe” CALL setpriority 32768

Keep in mind that in order for this command to work, theprocessneeds to be running beforehand. Of course, be sure to change theprocessname and priority level as needed.

You can find the list of priority values in the table below.

3. Use PowerShell to set priority

Get-WmiObject Win32_process-filter ‘name = “firefox.exe”’ | foreach-object { $_.SetPriority(32768) }

Of course, be sure to replace theprocessname and the priority level as needed. You can find the numeric values from the priority list below.

4. Start applications with a specific priority with cmd

start "" /AboveNormal “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe”

This will start Firefox with the Above Normal priority. Of course, you can use any other priority levels to start any application you want, as long as you enter the correct path to it.

To set priority inTask Manager, you just need to go to the Details tab and make the changes from there. If you’re an advanced user, you can always useCommand PromptorPowerShellto change the priority.

How To Set Process Priority In Task Manager: Quick Guide#

How can I set priority in Task Manager?#

1. Set priority from the Details tab#

2. Change priority in Task Manager using Command Prompt#

3. Use PowerShell to set priority#

4. Start applications with a specific priority with cmd#