Thinkpads Forum

Ok, i've finally installed the Power Mgr software. I am wondering what scheme to use. I use AC most of the time. Battery only for short periods so I've changed the charging sequence (20 - 80 %). I liked the behavior before i installed the pwr mgr utility in that laptop would run really cool. Like when just browsing the net etc. How can i retain this type of behavior (not upset the apple cart i've been riding in) with the right power scheme? I'm afraid if i choose something it will mess up the way it's been.

Is there somewhere in hlp file or elsewhere that it details results of each scheme? I didn't see anything about that in hlp file. Maybe i missed any references to details and effects of various schemes?

Any tips, links etc. will be greatly appreciated and thank you to those who recommended installing this utility!

If you start the Power Manager (double click the battery gauge) and switch to the Advanced view, you will be able to review the details of all schemes.

I myself mostly use a custom scheme I've created which is basically the Power Source Optimized but with the brightness on battery set to highest (my T60 display isn't the brightest).

yak wrote:If you start the Power Manager (double click the battery gauge) and switch to the Advanced view, you will be able to review the details of all schemes.

I myself mostly use a custom scheme I've created which is basically the Power Source Optimized but with the brightness on battery set to highest (my T60 display isn't the brightest).

+1

Though I still do follow the preset power manager schemes most of the time (when I'm plugged, I use the Max Performance; when I'm using the battery, I use the Max Battery Life), I second what Yak said, since you're just going to use it for web browsing. However, I've noticed that when I'm optimizing the power source (even if I'm plugged) web pages, sometimes, are very slow to load and when I switch tabs there's some lag (not really that long but still noticeable).

I think your Thinkpad will still run cool if you use the max performance scheme even if you're machine is plugged, provided that it's well-ventilated and you really don't use the machine for resource-hogging activities. My T61 only gets hot when I watch videos or play games; but when I'm just doing menial tasks, such as browsing the web or typing some stuff, my T61 stays cool enough to my liking.

I was wondering what wattage you guys are getting on your T61? I choose maximum battery life and on lowest LCD brightness and only Wifi on (bluetooth off) its registering 20W. I find that a bit high and Im getting under an hour on battery.

20W with light use on lowest screen brightness is awfully high. I'd expect closer to 10W. Of course it depends on configuration (which CPU, GPU, screen are being used), but still 20W is way too high. I typically get less than that with max brightness on my T60.

Its a 14.1 WXGA+ T61 with the T7300 and NVIDIA Quadro 140. I wonder if others with a similiar configuration are getting such high power usage while on batteries like I do?

Some T60s evidently consume a good bit less than some T61s.
My T61 is a bit (not much) less power hungry than yours but it's got Intel graphics. Then again I also upgraded the RAM. Check your wireless power settings as well as your CPU/system clock settings.

I want to thank everyone for the invaluable information offered. Haven't had much time to get into the 'guts' of the pwr mgr except to note that my battery doesn't charge all the time anymore and i guess that's good.

I did note something very bizarre however. Something happened with my video settings getting very strange while messing with them directly in Power Mgr (I didn't want the full brightness after applying default AC Power Source Optimized scheme) and screen got all dark on edges. Brightness and contrast just didn't bring it back so i reverted to image saved before the Power Mgr was installed and IT STUCK LIKE THAT when i re-imaged. I was able to fix when i re-installed PwrMgr but it's made me more than a bit nervous about what exactly PwrMgr is doing and how it changes screen brightness etceteras. FOR INSTANCE:

After setting the screen brightness in Pwr Mgr, I noted that it did not change the values in the Display properties (Intel Graphics > Color Correction). I suspect it has something to do with changing the actual voltage in different ways that sticks even when you are outside of the win OS (because i note these same problems/properties in DOS). I also noted that it made no difference when i changed brightness in BIOS. YIKES. At any rate, i was able to get it right using pwr mgr again so i guess i'm lucky?!

Can anyone shed any light on this?