nVidia GPU downclocks automatically if booted on battery.

...and it doesn't clock to full speed when it needs more processing power.

I have an 8600M GT in a Dell 1520, running 165.01's on XP x86, and this happens even if I turn PowerMizer (nVidia CP power management) off, etc. etc.

Should be running 475/400 but if the laptop boots on battery power, it will STAY at 168/100, EVEN AFTER I PLUG IT IN AND REMOVE THE BATTERY. The charge level is usually ~70% so it's not in a low power state. I turn off all power management.

How do I prevent this?

 

did u try a different outlet? maybe ur battery is messed up, or maybe something wrong with ur charging capabilities. have u asked dell? i know their customer service isnt great but they might have run into this issue before.

 

I don't think it's an issue, I think it's some kind of power saving feature.

Nothing is defective, I got the 6+9 battery option and it happens on both.

It's just a matter of drivers/BIOS/something causing the GPU to be stubborn and stay at low-power mode simply because it isn't plugged in.

 

Are you able to manually clock it back up?

 

Are you using NHC? You might want to check if that is taking over the PowerMizer settings.

 

Are you using rivatuner to read clocks? If so: search is your friend

 

I'm using nTune, and I don't even have to read clocks, I can tell by my FPS in CSS.

 

No I'm not using NHC. No my drivers don't allow me to manually clock.

 

Strange, nTune is working fine according to the OP of the other thread I linked to...

Tried ATITool?

 

I'm sure nTune is working fine in reading speeds, and it's official from nVidia too.

I just don't know why it's doing this.

 

When you "turn off" all power management, I assume you make sure to set Vista and/or XP to "High Performance" mode, right?

It's not like it helps, but my Alienware had two modes high/low. If it was boot up on battery it took a restart for it to clock up. Ahhh the good old days.

 

When you run a 3d app your card should throttle up and raise it's clocks. That's what happens to my go 7900 gs in XP. When I'm just surfing and on the desktop it's clocked at 100 core / 100 mem. When I start a game or a 3d app it throttles up to 375/500 or whatever my overclock is.

 

^Yeah that's what happens on AC, and it SHOULD do that on batt. too.

And no, I manually set all the power options in XP, not just "High Performance".

I'm an uber-OCD-perfectionist-nerd and don't leave settings untouched.

 

SOLUTION FOUND!

I downloaded the drivers for the Dell Vostro 1500 (identical notebook?) and they resolved my issue, along with the screen not turning back on after Sleep mode.

I guess LaptopVideo2Go's (modified?) 165.01 drivers/INF aren't as stable as Dell's.

RivaTuner tells me they are version 101.28 btw.

Thanks for all the replies, hope this helps someone else out.