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    6970M on battery issue

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by migualo, Aug 25, 2011.

  1. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    My M15x comes with the 55w small battery.

    Since I upgraded to the 6970m I have to be very careful when running only on battery because I get shutdowns. If for example I am watching a video on youtube, my 6970M clocks work at 300Mhz. At that speed if I unplug the adapter and I run only on battery I get a shutdown right away...

    Anybody experiencing the same on the 55w battery? Are your 6970m running at 300Mhz when playing media or watching videos on the internet?
     
  2. noelho

    noelho Notebook Consultant

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    0.o ... didnt realize something like that would happen!
     
  3. Villosa

    Villosa Notebook Deity

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    Someone with the 6970M should give this a try. It'd be interesting to see the results.
     
  4. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, it sucks. I'm thinking of buying the larger battery... :(
     
  5. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    I have changed my windows energy settings so when I run only in battery it consumes the least power it can. Will see if it makes any improvement and I don't get shutdowns.

    Also the fact of disabling hardware acceleration on the flash player makes my graphic card run at 100/150 Mhz when watching videos on youtube, etc instead of 300/900 Mhz.

    Thanks to the rev for informing of this trick :)
     
  6. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    I have the 9-Cell battery with a 920xm/6970M combo. If I unplug the adapter while watching a video (YouTube), it continues normally except that the screen dims slightly. It doesn't matter whether the clocks are at 300/900 or 100/150.
     
  7. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for sharing the rev, anybody with a 6970m and a 6-Cell battery?
     
  8. migualo

    migualo Notebook Consultant

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    More details about the issue.

    1. When the shutdown happens I have either to remove the battery and put it back or plug the AC cable in order to start the computer back. If I don't do that I can press the start botton as many times as I want and it doesn't do anything. What does this mean?

    2. I have all my power settings set to minimum on the power options from Windows, even the Alien fx off and the brightness set to minimum when running on battery. Also I have powerplay enabled and set to maximize battery life. Still I get the shutdowns if I'm doing something demanding for the graphic card, for example playing a game. I use furmark for the tests although it also happens with games!

    :confused:
     
  9. JohnnyFlash

    JohnnyFlash Notebook Virtuoso

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    You're just pulling too much power from the battery when the GPU kicks up. Things like screen brightness won't much much of a difference compared to the power a 6970m uses.

    Might be time to start messing with your vBIOS. What voltage does 300/900 run at?