Y570 - Why do games run better off my battery and choppy when its plugged in? [ Edited ]

[M47R1X]

This is for a Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 with a RapidDrive.

I saw this question earlier and have a similar problem. This is the issue that guy (as well as myself) had:

when my laptop is plugged in it runs games all choppy. like playing hellgate it seems every step forward i take my character stops for a split second. but when i have it running off battery its smooth as ever. same with other games like world of tanks. it runs at 12 fps while its plugged in and 30 fps off the battery. is there any way to change it cause its annoying only playing for 2 hours and then needing to recharge it for 2 more.

He later added this:

wow thanks. went to the the power settings only thing different was ati card was set to maximize performance when plugged in and maximize battery life on battery. changed to maximize battery life when plugged in and they run perfect now.doesnt make sense but it works thanks alot.

My problem is that I have nVidia Optimus graphics and see no way to maximize battery life while the system is plugged in. For one reason or another, when the system is optimizing battery life, the games run smoother. I can find a way to edit the settings for the integrated graphics, but the dedicated graphics are a no-go. I looked in the (very limited) nVidia control panel to no avail. I've also set the thing to use High Performance, Balanced, and Energy Star plans, all yielding the same results. I could technically only play games on the battery power, but that REALLY cuts down on gaming time. This lappy gets great battery life when not gaming, but that GT555M chugs down battery like booze at a frat party. Thanks for any help!

Also, there is no way to contact that guy that I've found. All of his Yahoo settings are private. Thanks!

[Duck3]

Check Lenovo Energy Management settings
for Maximize Battery Lifespan setting.

[M47R1X]

Hello, and thanks for the response. I looked in those settings, but I found far more detailed settings under Windows Power Management. It seems like telling the integrated Intel graphics to conserve power when plugged in has HELPED, but not FIXED, a little bit. Or it may just be in my head. It runs perfectly smooth for like three seconds, a second's pause, then runs again for a second, then pauses again for a second, then repeats this whole cycle.

For example, I will demonstrate with a time chart, GREEN is running smooth, and RED is paused:

o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o ...

each "o" is one second. It's all really weird. 

Also, that is just the typical scenario. Sometimes it will work just fine, then break into that pattern. Or sometimes lock up without that pattern. But at least 50% of the time, it's like the pattern.

[M47R1X]

This is still an issue. Any help is appreciated!

[yigit]

which version of bios do you have?
http://consumersupport.lenovo.com/uk/en/DriversDownloads/drivers_show_4874.html

[M47R1X]

I  checked my BIOS (F2 on startup), and the version listed is 47CN25WW(2.03). If I'm not mistaken, that is the most current verison of the BIOS available. 

[yigit]

can you check power management version and if there's new version, try to update/re-install it.

[M47R1X]

I'm not seeing a way to update it. Is it available as a download from the Lenovo support site?

Nevermind, I just found it. Downloading now. I noticed that the release date on the update was about two weeks ago, so it just might help. We shall see in a few minutes.

[M47R1X]

Quick update: I have noticed something. I was messing around with all of my settings, in games and out of game, and it seems that the problems occur when a game is running in full screen. Resolution doesn't matter. It will run  choppy so long as it's running in full screen, BUT it will NOT run choppy if the laptop is running on battery. Not sure how big of a difference full screen makes (even tried windowed at native resolution, and it still ran smooth, just removing the window border seems to make it crappy), but whatever the case, that's what's happening.

[yigit]

i'm not sure if it works but can you try to re-install/update graphic card drivers, too?