Dell Alienware M17x (Mid 2009) - Manual (Page 19)

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CHAPTER 2: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NOTEBOOK
Power Management
Understanding Power Consumption
In order to fully utilize the power of your battery packs, it would be a good idea for
you to spend some time acquiring a basic understanding of the power management
concept from your operating system.
In Windows ® operating systems, you can go through Power Options of the Control
Panel according to the version of the Windows ® operating system the notebook
uses. Power options in Windows Vista ® include three preferred power plans to
choose from:
Balanced •
Power Saver •
High Performance •
Customizing Your Notebook’s Power Settings:
Click 1. Start (Windows Vista ® logo) > Control Panel.
Click 2. Classic View from the task panel.
Double-click the 3. Power Options icon.
Select a power plan from the options show. To customize specific settings, 4.
click Change plan settings beneath the selected power plan.
Reducing Power Consumption
Although your notebook (together with the operating system) is capable of power
conservation, there are measures you can take to reduce the power consumption:
Use the AC power whenever possible. •
Lower the intensity of the LCD backlight. A very bright screen translates to •
higher power usage.
Use <Fn><F7> to switch from discrete graphics mode to integrated graphics
•
mode. You may have to reboot your computer to switch modes. For more
details see “Hybrid Graphics and Integrated Graphics Behaviors” on page 30.
Switch to the Stealth mode to switch from discrete to integrated/binary
•
graphics mode and to activate additional system power savings to extend
battery life and to reduce power consumption. Switching into and out of
Stealth mode may require a reboot depending on your system configuration
and the operating system.
NOTE: The battery pack should be locked in the battery compartment all
the time .