I've had my Pro 7i Gen 10 (16IAX10H, Ultra 9 275HX, RTX 5080 175W, 32GB, 240Hz OLED) for about a year and a half. I always wondered how much I actually lose in Balanced and Quiet, so I ran the same tests in all three modes with HWiNFO logging every 2 seconds.
Setup: plugged in, dGPU mode (MUX), driver 621.01, laptop raised on a stand with the stand's fans OFF. Noise measured with a phone app at 30 cm (not calibrated, so trust the differences more than the absolute numbers).
| Test | Performance | Balanced | Quiet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Steel Nomad | 5,249 | 3,950 (-25%) | 3,455 (-34%) |
| Wukong benchmark, Cinematic, DLSS 67%, FG on (avg FPS) | 108-111 | 81 | 69 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT Ultra, FG off (avg FPS) | 80.6 | 56.7 | not run |
| GPU power (Wukong avg) | 159W | 89W | 68W |
| GPU temp (avg) | 85°C | 72°C | 67°C |
| CPU temp (avg) | 100°C | 88°C | 71°C |
| Noise @ 30 cm (room 28 dB) | 47.8 dB | 42.0 dB | 34.4 dB |
What surprised me:
- The 175W is real: Steel Nomad averaged 172W, and my score was within 0.5% of the average for this CPU/GPU combo.
- After ~6 minutes of gaming the GPU hits its 87°C target and drops to ~160W. That costs about 3% FPS (111 -> 108 in Wukong). Small, but it's there.
- In Performance mode the CPU sits at 100-105°C while gaming, with thermal throttle flags on most of the time. In GPU-bound games it barely affects FPS, but Balanced brings it down to 88°C.
- Quiet mode is way more usable than I expected: 66% of the Steel Nomad score at 44% of the GPU power, and only ~6 dB above my quiet room.
Without frame gen, Wukong in Performance does 67 FPS avg / 58 FPS 5% low, so FG adds about 61-66%.
Things I haven't tested yet: battery life and surface temperatures. Happy to run something specific if anyone's curious.
