Horrible Laptop Performance on Z81sp Asus in Battery Mode

[cadamo]

System runs like a champ on AC power. When unplugged, system comes to a halt. Best I can guess is that the CPU is dropping. Can't tell for certain. Here is what I can tell you for sure. Nvida's powermizer is set to Max Performance on both AC/DC, so I don't think it is the Vid card killing the performance. There are NO BIOS settings to change the power management of the laptop. Asus's Power4 Gear is set to the highest possible setting on DC, High Performance. Super Performance is only available on AC mode.

Here are my questions. Is there any software out there that would let me completely disable ALL power management of my laptop? I want it to be as fast as possible running on the battery. I don't care if I get 30 minutes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

One more thing, the Intel CPU ID program shows it running at 3.0GHz on both AC/DC. Please help!

 

[fbrdphreak]

What does "comes to a halt" mean?

If CPU-Z shows it running at 3GHz and that is your rated speed, its not downclocking.

 

[cadamo]

"comes to a halt" means that the system runs horribly. It doesn't actually freeze or anything like that, but when I unplug it from AC, the screen gets a little dimmer and Everquest II runs like crap. The system is nowhere near as powerful as it is when it is plugged in.

 

[fbrdphreak]

So EQII runs poorly but does Windows perform like normal?

The screen dims because your machine most likely runs the screen brighter on AC than on DC, in addition to varying the actual brightness level manually.

Most modern GPU's lose some performance on DC regardless of what you set it at. Double check your settings.

To check out a couple things, download PCMark05 and 3DMark05. Run both on AC & DC. If your 3DM05 scores are a good deal lower on DC, then your GPU is the culprit. If your PCM05 scores are a good deal lower on DC, it is probably CPU related. Post those scores along with the detailed breakdown of PCM05 scores and that will help us determine what is wrong.

 

[cadamo]

The GPU might be the culprit, but Nvidia has this app called Powermizer that lets you adjust the performance of the card during AC and DC. It is set to Max Performance on both AC and DC.

Could it be that the GeForce Go 6800 by default runs at a lower speed on DC because the battery can't supply the power? Im guessing here.

I can run the benchmark apps, but I can assure you that there will be a considerable change from AC to DC. What I am looking for is a way to disable power management of the CPU and GPU. I know how to disable the CPU Power Management by setting the power profile to "Always On". What else is causing the system to slow down? GPU? Can I fix it?

 

[techs]

If you are using winXP try going to Power Management and choose "Always On". It doesn't matter the number of minutes you set under the Always On option. The Always On option should disable the speed step. I have seen this work in many laptops.

 

[w0ss]

I know the 6800 ultra in a dell XPS2 runs at a much reduced speed on battery. Even if set to max performance the battery does not have the power to drive it at the same speed as on AC.

 

[cadamo]

I am going to have to say that I don't think it is possible to get the same performance from the 6800 Go on DC as with AC. I believe you are correct in saying that the battery does not have the power to push this card to max performance. I did a quick survey and noticed that the power pack (AC) puts out 19V while the battery pack (DC) puts out 14.8V. I'm guessing that is the culprit.

Mystery solved, although I'm not too happy with the answer...

 

[amd200mhz]

I think your laptop is running battery mode to save power. I think you can adjust the power settings in our bios section.

 

[cadamo]

Bump. Opening up this issue again. I've seen an inferior laptop run MUCH better than the Z81sp on battery. (Sony VAIO S460) That system has 512MB of RAM, 128MB GeForce Go 6200. Explain to me why that system runs 100% better on battery versus the Z81sp. (256MB GeForce Go 6800, 1GB RAM, P4 3.0GHz EMT64).

Please read my original post. I've disabled the power mangement software on the vid card and through XP, but the display STILL gets dim when I unplug the AC. PLEASE HELP!

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

That VAIO is a Pentium M which probably helps some. And a 6200 runs at 1/2 to 1/4 the watts of the 6800.

 

[cadamo]

So are you saying that it is possible that the battery cannot put out enough power for the 6800 to perform as well as a 6200? That seems ridiculous.

 

[cadamo]

Just ran 3DMark05 on the system on AC and DC. AC score was 3858 and DC score was 1572. This doesn't seem right. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I thought this issue was solved?

Despite setting the 6800 to run on max performance, the combination of all the automatic power saving featurs from CPU to GPU are limiting your performance.

Stop trying to play games on the battery.

Moving on...

 

[cadamo]

Dude, if you're gonna be an a$$, please read the post to be an informed one at best...

I've disabled ALL power saving features between the CPU and GPU and still have issues. If someone wants to tell me that this laptop WILL NOT perform on DC the same as AC, and there is nothing I can do about it, then fine. RMA time.

However, if someone out there has similar issues with a similar machine, then maybe they can shed some light.

If you have nothing to offer, please don't post.

 

[lazybum131]

Have you tried contacting the retailer you bought the laptop from yet? Also try posting in the Asus sections of notebookforums.com and notebookreviews.com, they have dealers that regularly post there that might be able to help you out.

With that hit in 3DMark05 the GPU is definitely downclocking (though 1500 marks is still faster than a 6200go)

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: cadamo
Dude, if you're gonna be an a$$, please read the post to be an informed one at best...

I've disabled ALL power saving features between the CPU and GPU and still have issues. If someone wants to tell me that this laptop WILL NOT perform on DC the same as AC, and there is nothing I can do about it, then fine. RMA time.

However, if someone out there has similar issues with a similar machine, then maybe they can shed some light.

If you have nothing to offer, please don't post.

Err, I don't know of any laptop with a 6800 or above that will run at full speed on DC, there simply isn't the battery power to do it.

 

[cheesehead]

The ATI catalyst drivers I installed on my 9100 had all sorts of nifty options for power saving when running on battery.
Chances are, your laptop has similar options.
I'd check under the "display adapters" tab in the Control Panel.

 

[cadamo]

Ok guys, thanks for the help, but I've set the PowerMizer options through the nvidia control panel to Max performance on both AC and DC.

I've posted on the forums at Asus and I'm currently working with a Tech Support rep at Asus. I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced a similar situation and if they've found a solution for it.

I have to work out the numbers to see if the battery can put out the Power (i.e. Watts) that the P4 and 6800 use at max performance. Again, I don't care if I get 10 minutes of battery life out of it at max performance. I'd trade that for 45 minutes of horrible performance.

Anybody have an idea of the Watts a P4 EMT64 3.0GHz chip and/or GeForce Go 6800 eat up under full load? I belive the battery Asus ships with the Z81sp is an 80W/hr battery @ 14.8V.

Thanks again.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

According to AT's numbers, the P4 630 pulls 202 watts at load. IIRC the 6800 Go is 27w.

 

[cadamo]

Thanks for the numbers. Not sure what the battery can put out but I'll see if I can work on that.

Right now, I believe the culprit to be the Asus ATK ACPI driver. No matter what I do, I cannot remove the power plug without the ATK Driver switching into battery mode. I have to see if I can stop it somehow. I have an Asus rep working on it for me.

I will post again to tell of my results but if anyone else has experience with this please feel free to post.