newbie help please

Hey everyone, this site has been infinitely helpful with my purchase and upgrading of my new laptop. I have recently ran into something that im sure is simple to fix, however i cannot find the answers through the search =( When im playing games,(tf2 but im sure it does it on all games), when the ac power comes unplugged the framerate drops to like 10 fps. and when it gets plugged back in it instantly goes back to normal. i have an inspiron 1720 with vista 32 bit. If anyone could tell me how to fix this or point me in the direction of a simlar thread, that would be greatly appreciated.

 

When you AC comes unplugged your computer is adjusting the performance so that your battery can last longer. (Your computer is underclocking for longer battery life. Underclocking probably ins't the appropriate word but you get my point ). You need to adjust your battery options so that they will always be in performance mode. I can't tell you how to do this because I currently have XP installed and don't have the battery icon in my task trey. Just right click the battery and you should be able to figure it out.

Although I would suggest if you want to game on your laptop game while plugged into the outlet.

 

thanks for the tip, however as much as ive messed with the options and set it to "high performance" mode through the icon in the taskbar, it still sucks for gaming when on battery power. Am i missing something? or can i just not play games while not plugged in?

 

I would not recommend playing games on battery, no. However, some things to consider are that you'll have to adjust both the CPU performance settings and the GPU performance settings, to make sure neither downclock while on battery. You may not be able to do this in Vista, I'm not sure.

 

One way to tell if clock stepping is in any way responsible would be to run MobMeter while you unplug the AC adaptor. If the processor is clock stepping the processor down to a lower setting to conserve battery power it should say so in the meter. Vista may already have a built in way to see this, but MobMeter is a ready alternative that comes to mind. If the processor speed doesn't change, then the issue may be with a GPU setting.

 

What video card do you have? I don't know about nvidia, but if it's an ati card, go to the catalyst control center(advanced mode), and then, from the column at the left of the window click PowerPlay. There you will find the settings for your video card powersaving feature.

 

lol u dont change ur battery options to high performance. u have to go to ur graphics card options. if u have an ati u have to right click on the desktop and open catalyst control center. u go to the bottom of ur settings and see the battery options. hmmm................ i didnt read the post right above mine.

 

hmm well i have the 8600gt and i went to the nvidia options and i cant find anything remotely close to anything helpful. blah. so frustrating.