Windows 10 version 21H2 aka Sun Valley update is expected to be the one to bring major changes and improvements to Windows 10. Microsoft has been working to improve the Task Manager experience as is reflected in the 21H2 insider builds released to the Dev channel. We have collated all such new Task Manager features and improvements in this article.

These Task Manager changes may or may not be part of the final Windows 10 version 21H2 aka Sun Valley release. Windows 10 version 21H2 update may RTM in July/August 2021. This may be followed by a public release in September/October 2021 via cumulative update and enablement package route.

Windows 10 version 21H2 Task Manager improvements so far:

Task Manager supports Microsoft Edge process classification:

Task Manager now supports Microsoft Edge process classification. This will help you to identify resource consumption under Microsoft Edge. The classification is broken down to several different components like Tabs, Browser processes (Browser, GPU Process, Crashpad), Utility plugins (Utility: Audio Service Extensions), Dedicated & Service workers etc. It also features separate icons for each process to help you identify them including fav icon for website.

Edge processes in Task Manager

Eco mode in Task Manager:

Eco mode provides users with an option to throttle process resources. It will also help identify apps that are already running in Eco mode. This feature is helpful when you notice an app consuming high resources and would like to limit its consumption so that the system gives priority to other apps which will lead to faster foreground responsiveness and better energy efficiency.

Right-click Eco mode in Task Manager

Here is how to enable Eco mode for any process:

  1. Open Task Manager.
  2. Click on Processes tab.
  3. Right-click on a child process or an individual process.
  4. Click on “Eco mode” in the context menu to apply throttling.
  5. The status column in the Processes tab should show Eco mode for the process.

This same process also works on the Details tab too. If “Eco mode” is greyed out, then it’s a parent/group process. You can expand the process tree to apply Eco mode on one of its child processes.

Showing architecture in Task Manager:

When you’re using the Details tab in Task Manager, we’ve added a new option to show the architecture of each process. If you’re interested, you can add it by right-clicking on a column header, choosing Select Columns, and selecting Architecture from the list.

When you're in the Details tab of Task Manager, you can now add this Architecture option.Other improvements:

  • We’ve made some adjustments to improve the scaling logic of the graphs in Task Manager’s Performance tab. We’ve updated Registry Editor so that the Find window, renaming a key, and other places all now support CTRL + Backspace to delete words at a time.
  • When you have a PWA installed from Microsoft Edge, Task Manager will now correctly display it under Applications instead of Background Processes in the Processes tab, and will show the app icon associated with the PWA.

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