F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop The Lenovo Legion 5 experiences slow performance when on battery and during certain Windows 11 functions.

The Lenovo Legion 5 experiences slow performance when on battery and during certain Windows 11 functions.

The Lenovo Legion 5 experiences slow performance when on battery and during certain Windows 11 functions.

X
XQsess
Member
150
11-21-2021, 09:31 PM
#1
Hello, this will be a detailed write-up. I've been working to pinpoint the problem for several months now, but Lenovo Support hasn't provided any assistance so far... My setup includes: a Lenovo Legion 5 15ACH6H with AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (3.30Ghz) and Radeon Graphics, paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (6023 MB VRAM), 16 GB RAM, a Samsung MZVLB1T0HBLR-000L2 SSD, a Lith-Polymer battery holding 60Wh at 15.36 V/17.37 V, and a 230W power supply. The laptop runs Windows 11 Home 64-bit.

The main issues I encounter are: the machine stutters every ten seconds while using battery power. This tends to happen most frequently on the AMD GPU. However, when the system switches to the NVIDIA GPU, the stutter disappears for that timeframe. That’s quite interesting. Today, the pattern flipped – now the NVIDIA GPU causes the stutter instead.

When it does happen, everything freezes except the mouse. The freeze is steady and consistent, even when not using the laptop or while streaming content like YouTube. The most reliable observation so far is this: power on the device and confirm it isn’t running on the NVIDIA GPU. Disconnect it from power, then turn on a video or keep the mouse button pressed while making circular motions to move the selection. You’ll notice a stutter every ten seconds, except for the mouse.

I’ve recorded two videos demonstrating the problem: [link 1] and [link 2].

Other attempts I made include:
- Turning off the laptop and ensuring it’s not running on NVIDIA GPU.
- Placing the device in sleep mode (uncertain if that helps) and then turning it back on.
- Running an app that requires NVIDIA GPU, putting the laptop to sleep, and then waking it up – still experiencing the same 10-second stutter.
- Using the battery icon: occasional freezing for about a second when clicking icons like Wi-Fi, sound, or battery, or right-clicking the desktop to reveal options. This seems exclusive to the AMD GPU and unrelated to power state.
- Checking Event Viewer for errors during stutters – no GPU or CPU faults were logged.

The issue appears strictly tied to the AMD GPU. It doesn’t seem to depend on whether the battery is connected or not. The problem isn’t present on the NVIDIA GPU.

During testing, I’ve tried:
- Reinstalling the OS and drivers after Lenovo Support’s troubleshooting.
- Disabling fTPM.
- Adjusting power plans and CPU power limits – none resolved the problem.
- Setting the GPU to maximum performance and dynamic switching – no improvement.
- Looking for error logs in Event Viewer.

What I’ve done so far is frustrating because most solutions point to unrelated fixes, and this is my first laptop since 2014. I’m really seeking guidance from others who might have faced similar challenges. Can anyone help? I was advised on YouTube to reach out to the community since Lenovo’s support doesn’t seem to cover it?
X
XQsess
11-21-2021, 09:31 PM #1

Hello, this will be a detailed write-up. I've been working to pinpoint the problem for several months now, but Lenovo Support hasn't provided any assistance so far... My setup includes: a Lenovo Legion 5 15ACH6H with AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (3.30Ghz) and Radeon Graphics, paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (6023 MB VRAM), 16 GB RAM, a Samsung MZVLB1T0HBLR-000L2 SSD, a Lith-Polymer battery holding 60Wh at 15.36 V/17.37 V, and a 230W power supply. The laptop runs Windows 11 Home 64-bit.

The main issues I encounter are: the machine stutters every ten seconds while using battery power. This tends to happen most frequently on the AMD GPU. However, when the system switches to the NVIDIA GPU, the stutter disappears for that timeframe. That’s quite interesting. Today, the pattern flipped – now the NVIDIA GPU causes the stutter instead.

When it does happen, everything freezes except the mouse. The freeze is steady and consistent, even when not using the laptop or while streaming content like YouTube. The most reliable observation so far is this: power on the device and confirm it isn’t running on the NVIDIA GPU. Disconnect it from power, then turn on a video or keep the mouse button pressed while making circular motions to move the selection. You’ll notice a stutter every ten seconds, except for the mouse.

I’ve recorded two videos demonstrating the problem: [link 1] and [link 2].

Other attempts I made include:
- Turning off the laptop and ensuring it’s not running on NVIDIA GPU.
- Placing the device in sleep mode (uncertain if that helps) and then turning it back on.
- Running an app that requires NVIDIA GPU, putting the laptop to sleep, and then waking it up – still experiencing the same 10-second stutter.
- Using the battery icon: occasional freezing for about a second when clicking icons like Wi-Fi, sound, or battery, or right-clicking the desktop to reveal options. This seems exclusive to the AMD GPU and unrelated to power state.
- Checking Event Viewer for errors during stutters – no GPU or CPU faults were logged.

The issue appears strictly tied to the AMD GPU. It doesn’t seem to depend on whether the battery is connected or not. The problem isn’t present on the NVIDIA GPU.

During testing, I’ve tried:
- Reinstalling the OS and drivers after Lenovo Support’s troubleshooting.
- Disabling fTPM.
- Adjusting power plans and CPU power limits – none resolved the problem.
- Setting the GPU to maximum performance and dynamic switching – no improvement.
- Looking for error logs in Event Viewer.

What I’ve done so far is frustrating because most solutions point to unrelated fixes, and this is my first laptop since 2014. I’m really seeking guidance from others who might have faced similar challenges. Can anyone help? I was advised on YouTube to reach out to the community since Lenovo’s support doesn’t seem to cover it?