cycle counts

[Javier-1]

So I checked the cycle count of my 7-month-old HP Victus 15 fb-1057ax on the battery report and it has 150 cycles. My classmate also has an HP Victus 15 with RTX 4050 and he bought it on July 2025, but his cycle count is only 73. I bought mine on November 2025. I mostly game while plugged in at 100% and I also always turn on the hp adaptive battery optimizer. Is this normal? Does the fb-1057ax not support bypass charging, which could be causing my cycles to increase faster?

[NonSequitur777]

@Javier-1,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

As far as I was able to ascertain, 150 cycles over 7 months is completely normal for an HP Victus 15, and your machine is functioning exactly as designed.

The differences you are seeing compared to your classmate come down to how the HP Victus series handles power management under heavy gaming loads, rather than a defect in your laptop.

Why Your Cycles Are Higher:

• Hybrid Power Design: The HP Victus 15 utilizes a Smart Battery Management system rather than standard bypass charging. When you play demanding games, the system draws maximum power. If a game's power demand momentarily exceeds what your AC power adapter can provide, the laptop pulls a small amount of "booster" power from the battery.
• Micro-Cycling: When the laptop draws power from both the wall and the battery simultaneously, the battery drains by a few percentages and then charges right back up to full. Over 7 months of gaming, these invisible micro-charges accumulate into whole numbers on your battery report, driving your cycle count higher.
• Game Demands vs. Your Classmate: Your classmate's laptop has a different graphics card (RTX 4050) and a different processor configuration. If you are playing games that are more graphically intensive, running higher graphics settings, or playing for longer sessions, your system will rely on battery boosting much more frequently than theirs.

Does the fb-1057ax Support Bypass Charging?

No, the Victus 15 series does not support hardware-level bypass charging. Hardware bypass completely disconnects the battery from the circuit once it hits 100%, powering the laptop entirely through the wall. This luxury feature is typically reserved for premium lineups such as the HP OMEN or ZBook series.

Summarizing: Your Adaptive Battery Optimizer is Doing its Job!

You do not need to worry about keeping it plugged in at 100%. The HP Adaptive Battery Optimizer works quietly in the background. Even though Windows reads "100%", the HP software artificially limits the battery's chemical capacity to roughly 80% or 90% behind the scenes to shield it from high voltage stress and high heat.

How to Maintain Your Battery Health Going Forward:

1. Calibrate quarterly: Keeping a gaming laptop permanently plugged in can cause the Windows battery sensor to lose calibration. Every 2–3 months, unplug it, discharge it down to about 10%, and charge it back to 100% uninterrupted to reset the accuracy of your Windows battery report.
2. Elevate for cooling: High heat degrades lithium-ion batteries faster than cycle counts. Ensure you game on a hard surface or use a laptop stand to keep air moving freely underneath the chassis.
3. Use a laptop cooling pad.  Using a cooling pad will help bringing down thermals.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777