2020 Envy X360 13" (Ryzen 4000) - SSD speed slower when on battery

[jei13]

Hello, as the title says, I'm just wondering why the ssd that came with my 2020 laptop is slower when on battery compared to when it's on the charger. This is similar to an issue posted on a previous thread: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/SSD-slow-on-battery-power-with...

My Specs:

Model: Envy X360 13z-ay000 CT

CPU: AMD Ryzen 4700u

SSD: WD 512gb (Drive Model: WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G-1006)

Windows 10 version 2004

BIOS: tried on both F.11 and F.12

Sample Benchmarks:

CrystalDiskMark 7 on Charger: Sequential Read 1747 MB/s; Sequential Write 1460 MB/s

CrystalDiskMark 7 on Battery: Sequential Read 937 MB/s; Sequential Write 864 MB/s

Samsung Magician on Charger: Sequential Read 1735 MB/s; Sequential Write 1457 MB/s

Samsung Magician on Battery: Sequential Read 944 MB/s; Sequential Write 879 MB/s

Sample Real World Speed (when copying a 20GB video file in the same C: drive folder):

On Charger: starts/spikes at about 1GB/s then ends at around 590 MB/s

On Battery: starts/spikes at about 650 MB/s then ends at about 460 MB/s

As shown above, I used two different benchmark software just to make sure it was consistent. Changing the thermal profile on HP Command Center, as well as changing the battery setting slider in WIndows 10, makes no difference. HP chat support even had me uninstall the Microsoft AC Adapter and Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery drivers from Device Manager, and reinstall BIOS F.12. That didn't fix the slower ssd speed on battery. FYI, the NVME storage controller driver in Device Manager is the "Standard NVM Express Controller" from Microsoft, driver dated 6/21/2006 version 10.0.19041.1 (with no possibility to update).

My question is if this is normal behavior for this particular model? Did HP intentionally restrict SSD speed on battery in the BIOS in order to help battery life? In comparison, my family also has a 2016 Spectre X360 13" (I7-7500u) running WIndows 10 version 2004 which came with a 512gb Samsung NVME SSD, and in that laptop, SSD benchmark speed on battery and charger is the same (no reduction when on battery). It's this Envy X360 that slows the SSD on battery.

I was hoping if other people with a 13" Envy X360 2020 model can also benchmark their SSD on charger vs battery and chime in to see if they have the same issue? I'd like to know if this is happening only to my machine or not.

*edited for typos

[Echo_Lake]

@jei13

Thank you for posting on HP Support Community.

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, I have a few troubleshooting steps we could try to fix the issue:  

• HP does not recommend to use Third party measuring apps as they are not tested by HP and may not be accurate. 

Firstly, perform Windows Update and HP Support Assistant: (do not skip any troubleshooting steps if you feel steps are repeating) 

To check for updates now, select the Start button, and then go to Settings  > Update & security  > Windows Update, and select Check for updates.

Install updates from HP Support Assistant: Go to Download HP Support Assistant to install the tool.

1. To open HP Support Assistant, double-click the HP Support Assistant icon .
2. Click My devices in the top menu, and then click Updates in the My PC or My notebook pane.
3. Click Check for updates and messages to scan for new updates.
4. Review the list of updates. Updates with a yellow information icon are recommended. Updates with a blue information icon are optional.
5. Click the update name for a description, version number, and file size.
6. Select the box next to any updates you want to install, and then click Download and install.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[jei13]

Appreciate your reply Echo_Lake. But my OS and all drivers are already up to date (from WIndows Update and HP Support Assistant), and no change with the slower SSD speeds on battery. Also, HP does not provide their own drive speed benchmark software, so I just rely on the most commonly-used ones out there, such as CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD Benchmark.

I have a feeling that SSD performance throttling was designed by HP for this laptop in order reduce power consumption, thus helping battery life. But only an HP technician (who took part in the design of this laptop model) can fully confirm. I was actually with HP remote support again yesterday, and after running hardware diagnostics checks which showed zero problems, he came to the conclusion that I should send the unit to HP for repair (which I wanted to avoid due to the hassle). I asked him flat out: "Is the slower SSD speed while on battery for this 2020 Envy X360 (AMD Ryzen) by design, to help battery life? YES or NO?" And his answer was NO, it was not by design, and he concluded that there was a problem with my laptop and that I should bring it in for repair. Honestly, I don't know how familiar that tech support person is with this 2020 Envy X360 model. I still have a feeling that this is just some power-saving feature programmed in the BIOS by HP.

That's why I was hoping if other 2020 Envy X360 owners could also benchmark their SSD speeds on battery vs AC. If other Envy X360 units are the same as mine (slower SSD benchmarks speeds on battery), then I can assume that SSD throttling on battery was intentional by HP (and thus no need to RMA the device). And if that were the case and HP decides to change it in the future, it could just be fixed with a future BIOS update (instead of RMA'ing the device).

[edit4ever]

Same issue here - about 50% speeds when on battery power.  HP Command Center doesn't allow performance mode when on battery - so I'm guessing it's hard coded into bios/firmware to engage some kind of power saving.  Perhaps it's disabling turbo boost.

Plugged In:

On Battery:

[Echo_Lake]

@jei13

Thank you for posting back. 

As we have limited support boundaries in the support community as of now.

I would request you to reach out to our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to check the available service options in order to diagnose the computer physically. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: www.hp.com/contacthp/​​​​​​​

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[jei13]

@Edit4ever

If this is indeed intentional by HP, I wonder if other recent notebook models (such as the Spectre X360 or normal Envy) also have the same behavior.