Diff between Max Performance and Max Battery

Depends on the processor and what kind of applications you run.

 

Max performance means the CPU will always run at its rated frequency. Max battery means the CPU will always run more slowly to conserve battery power. Dynamic switching allows the processor to dynamically change its speed to accomodate various applications and functions.

 

You will notice some battery life decrease on Max Performance if you do normal applications. However, if you run a lot of resource-intensive apps (e.g. Adobe graphical programs, Visual Studio, watching DVDs, etc).

 

If you have a Pentium M (Centrino) processor, I would highly recommend keeping your processor on Dynamic Switching. This can be accomplished with Intel's SpeedStep program for Windows 2k or 9x, or SpeedSwitchXP for Windows XP.

 

If you have a Pentium 3, there's a good chance it only switches between two speeds, and will only do so while the machine is in a sleep or off state (e.g. put on standby, plug in AC, bring out of standby). In this case, if you don't want to mess with the standby stuff, put it on max performance it will always run at its rated frequency.