[mastakilta]

Hi,

I have a problem with my new laptop (Dell Inspiron 15R). It runs very slow and games become laggy when I unplug the AC adapter, even though I have the 'High performance' setting turned on. I use the laptop mostly for games and I don't want to have it constantly plugged it as I've heard it ruins the battery.

I've tried doing several things so far, like disabling the Intel SpeedStep in BIOS, changing all the settings to High Performance in 'Advanced Power Settings' and in nVidia control panel. Still, when I try to play games when on battery, they lag.

I'd like to know what are my other options to make games run smooth, and are they going to be harmful to the battery in any way? I don't mind the battery discharging quickly when I play a game, cause I can always plug in the adapter when the power is low. Although I don't want the battery to discharge quickly when I'm on the 'balanced' or 'power saver' mode.

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!

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Hello, and welcome to Geeks to go !

Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop.

However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is plugged in, but only if it's currently suffering from excessive heating caused by the laptop hardware.

So:

- In a normal usage, if the laptop doesn't get too hot (CPU and Hard Disk around 40ºC to 50ºC) the battery should remain in the laptop socket;

- In an intensive usage which leads to a large amount of heat produced (i.e. Games, temperatures above 60ºC) the battery should be removed from the socket in order to prevent unwanted heating.

The heat, among the fact that it has 100% of charge, is the great enemy of the lithium battery and not the plug, as many might think so.

Edited by zep516, 03 November 2011 - 10:11 AM.

[zep516]

Hello, and welcome to Geeks to go !

Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop.

However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is plugged in, but only if it's currently suffering from excessive heating caused by the laptop hardware.

So:

- In a normal usage, if the laptop doesn't get too hot (CPU and Hard Disk around 40ºC to 50ºC) the battery should remain in the laptop socket;

- In an intensive usage which leads to a large amount of heat produced (i.e. Games, temperatures above 60ºC) the battery should be removed from the socket in order to prevent unwanted heating.

The heat, among the fact that it has 100% of charge, is the great enemy of the lithium battery and not the plug, as many might think so.

Edited by zep516, 03 November 2011 - 10:11 AM.

[mastakilta]

Ok, thanks, that's good to know
So you just recommend to remove the battery when I'm playing and the laptop gets hot, and not to mess around with the power saving settings?

[zep516]

So you just recommend to remove the battery when I'm playing and the laptop gets hot,

Yes. Heat is the # 1 problem in battery life, next to constant discharge & recharging.

[1w1nz]

I am having the same problem. Sometimes I will want to play my game well using the battery however. Is there any other adjustments to make? I went through all of my power options and the plugged in vs. using battery options are all identical.

Thanks in advance