Full performance while unplugged?

So I am sitting out in the bush working and I thought Id try and squeeze in some gaming on my m17x r3. My question is, is there some settings to tweak that will allow me to play games with the same performance (albeit much lower battery life) as when I have it plugged in?

 

short and simple answer is no.

 

Thanks!

Would I be correct to assume this has to do with the battery being unable to provide enough power on its own to run the video card properly?

 

yes, you're correct.

plus even if you do force full performance your looking at around 15-20mins of battery life anyways.

its really bad for the battery, i tried doing this with my M15x.

 

Ok thanks for the info. Guess i'm gonna have to save the SC2 until they get my shack set up...

 

Hey dude,

Not trolling, but are you sure? I was under the impression that of the entire line, the M17x R3 is, like the M11x, able to game on battery just fine. From what I've read (my M17x arrives in a couple of days) you'll be able to get about an hour out of it gaming on battery - just switch the power profile over to the High Performance profile and everything is fine.

The M18x however, like the M14x, can't handle the load and downclocks the GPU among other things, so no mobile gaming on those platforms.

My M15x was also able to game on battery, and like the stuff I've read so far on the M17x, achieved about an hour doing so. That machine is now in the hands of a client's employee and is still running, charging and working just fine (3 years old now).

 

The M17x R3 comes with a 240w power supply for a reason, the battery will not be able to provide that amount of power.

So if you are gaming on battery, then the GPU will be downclocked.

 

Interesting - thanks for the clarification GeoCake.

 

This is true.

 

You could still run SC2 just fine on battery. Down the graphics, or even just run on the iGPU with lower graphics.

I'm thinking SC2 on low graphics on the iGPU would still get you at least an hour on battery.

 

has anyone here actually tried forcing the performance profile on battery. I think you can do it...although you might only get 15 mins or so

 

I don't think it's possible, and if you could, you would guarantee a battery fire.

Assuming the computer were to draw 240 watts when running full load, then, the battery would have to provide a constant 17 amps of current. Even under short circuit conditions, that's most likely not going to happen - and if you could make it happen, the amount of heat produced would be more than enough to set your battery on fire.

(More realistically speaking the computer will draw 200-220 watts under full load - that's still 14-16 amps though at 14 volts which still exceeds the capacity of the battery)

Think about it - there is a reason why the PSU delivers 19.5 volts to the computer. The higher voltage means less current is needed to deliver the same amount of power. Making a 19.5v high capacity battery though is quite difficult and expensive.

Normally, the battery is able to safely produce about 7-9 amps of current at 14v (And it gets quite hot - ever touch your battery after using it for over an hour?)

 

I agree with aarpcard, you will damage your battery and who knows what else within no time.

The GPU downclocks while on battery and inspite of that you can still run most of the games at medium settings. But not worth in doing that!

Better wait until you have your system plugged and enjoy the full performance of this wonderful machine...

 

Thank you guys for the excellent description of why things are they way they are. I found it very helpful.

 

To proverbialize the current state of the m17x...

It isn't so much a gaming laptop as it is a mobile gaming desktop.

 

btw its possible with the m14x to game on battery, you just have to downclock the CPU and then you can upclock the GPU. How they managed to keep the voltage that low though, I can't figure out.