Lenovo Ideapad y510p faulty charger

Infikiran

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Oct 11, 2008
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18,510
I recently found a Lenovo Ideapad y510p at a Pawn Shop for $250, which isn't bad at all considering the specs for an older laptop:

CPU: Intel Core i5 4200m
Ram: 8GB DDR3 1600
Hard Drive: 500GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 755m SLI
OS: Windows 10

After purchasing I decided to go ahead and upgrade the CPU to an i7 4800mq. I've been able to play games without issue as long as SLI was disabled, but when games use both cards, after a few minutes frames start dropping and game either freezes or crashes. I noticed that when the frames drop, the laptop is temporarily switching to battery and back to AC. The laptop came with the "170 watt" power adapter (which is the maximum size adapter for this laptop). I know there were versions of this model that came with an i7 and same video cards so I didn't think it would be lack of power. Would simply replacing the power adapter fix the issue?

If I do replace it I've seen that there are 180watt universals out there that would increase the wattage threshold a little bit, but they only come as 19volt or 19.5 volt. The laptop states on the back that it needs 20volts and that is what the stock adapter is. Would undervolting it by 1 volt hurt it?
 

Infikiran

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Oct 11, 2008
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18,510
Okay, sorry for late reply but thanks for your answer webworkings. I managed to find a Lenovo power supply that was 230watt capable with the correct amps and voltage it needs (I had to solder the end from the older adapter so that it would fit my laptop). Now the laptop does run a lot better and I don't get the frame drops that I did before. I thought all was well and good and I probably gamed for more than 6 hours with SLI enabled, but once exiting the game I noticed that my battery had dropped down to 80% charge. Regular laptop usage this does not happen. The power brick barely gets warm so I know it's not a power issue.

Any suggestions as to why it's still draining the battery?
 

Infikiran

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Oct 11, 2008
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18,510
I will also add that when removing the battery from the laptop, the graphics performance is greatly reduced. Running on AC power alone I only get 10 FPS in game on Saints Row 4, whereas when battery is installed and running on AC I get 55 FPS on 1080p.

This is a very strange issue indeed.
 
Well not so much (in the strange issue case) it really depends on your settings in "Control Panel", "Power Options", next to the power option you are set to use, click on "Change plan settings" and then, "Change advanced power settings". In here check all items for both when running on the charger and when running on battery alone. Once you have made all your changes click "Apply" and then "OK".

In regard to the drop in battery, that isn't shocking either. The change in the settings above should help with this issue. But remember, when playing for so long, even if plugged in, the battery will charge less due to the heavy load from the game.
 

Infikiran

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Oct 11, 2008
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18,510
I already checked all those settings and under AC power, all are set to maximum performance :/. It's almost as if while gaming with SLI enabled the laptop is not receiving enough power from the AC power source so it is dipping into battery power to get the juice it needs, which doesn't make sense because I have the amps and volts recommended for this laptop and the wattage for this adapter is way ahead what this laptop needs. I'm afraid to pick an adapter with higher amps or voltage for damaging the laptop. I almost wonder if it's a firmware limitation on the laptop but I have the latest bios as well....
Maybe if I at some point get a more power MXM graphics card to run in the Ultra bay and dedicate it to 3D applications instead of using SLI it would therefore use less power and not dip into battery. I know this will require a bios hack most likely but not sure what else to do :(. Most modern games don't run well on just a single 755m.