[Jeffo489]

I have a Dell M6400 Laptop. The spec is quite hefty at Q9300 Quad Code 2.53 Ghz, 8GB Ram, 1GB Nvidia FX 3700M Video.

I am running Windows 7, and have recently bought 2 new games, DragonAge, and Modern Warfare 2.

When on Battery Power I can run both games in full 1920x1200. The run flawlessly with full detail enabled.

However, strangely when on Main Power, both games stutter, with the CPU at 100% usages on all 4 cores.

At first I suspected a Driver fault so I updated all drivers; particularly Video and Sound Drivers. Someone has suggested the Video card, and that Windows automatically puts it in a low power mode when on battery. This would make sense except that when on battery, 1920x1200 runs perfectly. When on Mains even 800x600 stutters.

Does anyone have any idea how I can monitor exactly what changes windows is making when I switch between mains and battery power?

THanks.

[p_trice]

Go to Control Panel, then go to System and Security, then go to Power Options, and select a power plan or make your own. Hope this helps you.

[Jeffo489]

Thanks for the advice....it was the first thing I tried.

I made a Power plan where both On Battery and Plugged In values where the same. I never expected it to work, but I knew it would be the first thing to be suggested. lol.

The reason i never expected it to work in the first pllace, is because the power plans do not cover services and items that would excessively load the CPU. (something) is loading my CPU when plugged in.

Thanks Anyway.

[fenderjaguar]

Can you physically take the battery out, and then run from mains power? I was just thinking maybe it's something to do with the trickle charging of the battery...

[Jeffo489]

I had real hopes for the "removing the battery" solution. However sure enough after removing the battery and playing Modern Warfare 2, after a few minutes the game started to slow down.

After putting the battery back in and removing the power from the mains, the games worked fine again.

Strangely, gamesplay doesnt change instantly when plugging into the mains...
When plugging into the mains...gameplay continues for about 2 Mins before becoming unplayable.
When removing from the mains...gameplay is INSTANTLY restored.

[fenderjaguar]

So what voltage does the battery offer the computer directly? What is the voltage on the transformer for the battery charger lead?

To be honest, I've always wondered how these high powered laptops are actually able to power things like C2Q and 8800gt in sli etc...

Is the computer still under warranty or something? I'd look into complaining to the manufacturer.

BTW, modern warfare 2, is it any good? I can't seem to find a demo anywhere. I'm tempted to just buy it through steam right now.

[Jeffo489]

I've considered complaining to Dell, but when I bought it, it came with Vista Ultimate 64. I upgraded it to Windows 7 64 bit myself. Personally, I think the problem is software related rather than hardware.

The fact that it works fine at 1920x1200 on Battery Power says volumes. There is nothing wrong with the hardware. but there must be something set in software that is powering up or activating when on Mains Power.

MW2 is good...But I prefer COD World at War. I also Prefer DragonAge, but that suffers the exact same problem on my laptop.

The voltage of the battery is irrelevent because the problem is not while on battery power, but quite the opposite. If this fault occured when ON battery, I could understand it, and would attribute it to a powersaving issue.