Idle dGPU power usage

[MisterRezistor]

When I use my laptop my battery life is very short, around 2-2.5 hours. I started Investigating this issue and figured out through HWINF that my dedicated gpu uses around 8-10 watts, leading to a total of 18 watts battery drain. 
steps i tried: updated nvidia driver to latest version, uninstalled Omen Gaming Hub, selected Power Saver power plan, enabled Battery Saving in settings, lowered my screen brightness, set my refresh rate to 60hz, in nvidia control panel i selected Prefered Graphics processor to iGPU, disabled Hardware-accelerated scheduling in windows. 
my OS is Windows 11 LTSC, and it's a fresh install, with drivers updated through Windows Update

[Garp_senchau]

@MisterRezistor, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

Check Which GPU Is Active

Even if you've set the preferred GPU to the iGPU in NVIDIA Control Panel, the dGPU can still be active in the background due to:

Background processes (like browsers, system services, or telemetry)

Hidden processes that trigger GPU usage (Discord, Slack, etc.)

Open Task Manager > Performance > GPU 0 (iGPU) and GPU 1 (dGPU) tabs. See if GPU 1 is under load or active.

Disable the NVIDIA dGPU via Device Manager

To confirm if the dGPU is the actual cause, try disabling it temporarily:

Go to Device Manager > Display Adapters

Right-click the NVIDIA GPU > Disable device

Monitor battery usage again.

If battery life significantly improves, then the dGPU isn’t powering down correctly and is likely being woken up by background processes.

Update/Check Embedded Controller Firmware and BIOS

On HP laptops, outdated EC firmware or BIOS may mismanage GPU switching or battery reporting. Double-check on HP’s official site for:

Latest BIOS version

EC (Embedded Controller) updates if separately listed

Be sure these match your model and install them carefully.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Regards,

[MisterRezistor]

Hello, Garp_senchau, regarding disabling dGPU
I have a nvidia icon in the tray which shows gpu usage

I'm checking it it says: Inactive
I did that, but still I have around: -32 632 milliwatts drain

I do have latest bios, and there is no EC driver on the webpage

[Garp_senchau]

Hey @MisterRezistor,

Thank you for your response

Thanks for gathering all this data — it really helps narrow things down. Based on your screenshots and the fact that the NVIDIA GPU is idle yet you’re still seeing a 32–49W power draw, it looks like your power drain is coming from other sources rather than the dGPU.

Let’s break it down:

What We Know:

NVIDIA GPU is inactive — confirmed by the tray icon and no apps using it.

Battery drain is high — ~32W is excessive for idle or light use.

You’ve taken all common OS and GPU optimization steps.

Battery wear is 21.2% — still okay, not a major factor yet.

BIOS is up-to-date, and there’s no separate EC firmware provided.

Check Background CPU Activity & Power Use

Open Task Manager > Details tab, add the "Power Usage" and "Power Usage Trend" columns. See which processes consistently show "High" usage. Some apps, like telemetry tools, Windows indexing, or even HP bloatware can keep the CPU out of low-power states.

Also try:

powercfg /energy (run in admin CMD)

Wait 60 seconds, then open energy-report.html in the generated directory. This often flags rogue apps or devices not entering power-saving states.

Thermal or Fan-Related Power Use

Fans can draw 1–2W each, and thermals can affect CPU package power.

Check for Display Power Drain

You’ve lowered brightness and refresh rate, which is great — but also try:

Use a plain black desktop wallpaper, avoid transparency/effects.

Disable HDR (Settings > Display).

Test with Night Light ON (sometimes forces a simpler color profile).

Try HP Battery Health Manager

Some HP BIOS versions include a “Battery Health Manager” setting under:

BIOS > Advanced > Power > Battery Health Manager
Set it to "Maximize Battery Health" or "Let HP Manage".

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Regards,