Laptop Power Options question

[MESA Boogie]

I am wondering about the power options for my laptop ... right now, i have the power options set to a 50/50 balance between performance and battery life ... 99 percent of the time my laptop is plugged in ... there is another power option for HIGH PERFORMANCE .... the way it is shown is that the battery life is rated at 2 dots and the performance level rated at 6 dots ... so I'm guessing that the battery life would be at 1/3 and the performance at 3/3 ... since I very rarely use the laptop without being plugged in and I am more concerned about the performance since I just upgraded to the ram to
4 gigs should I set the power plan to HIGH PERFORMANCE .... I'm not really understanding all this power option stuff, and is it a good idea to maximize the system performance like it says it will do if I change the power option to HIGH PERFORMANCE ... below is what the power options say and as mentioned since the laptop is plugged in 99% of the time do I really need to save power with the BALANCED PLAN ... I am more concerned about the performance of the laptop ... can someone please advise or let me know what power option they have chosen for their laptops ... thankyou

Windows provides the following default plans to help you manage your computer's power:

Balanced. Offers full performance when you need it and saves power during periods of inactivity.

Power saver. Saves power by reducing system performance. This plan can help mobile PC users get the most from a single battery charge.

High performance. Maximizes system performance and responsiveness. Mobile PC users may notice that their battery doesn't last as long when using this plan.

[photolady]

RAM isn't going to affect power. The options you are seeing is for your battery life.

[MESA Boogie]

thanks Photolady .... so if I'm more concerned about performance, and not battery life, should I set the power option to HIGH PERFORMANCE ... as mentioned I very rarely use the laptop with the battery

[Midknyte]

Those are the Speedstep settings.
http://www.intel.com/support/process.../CS-028855.htm

HIGH PERF = CPU at 100% clock all the time
Balanced = CPU goes to 100% when necessary, otherwise it lowers the clockspeed and voltage
Power Saver = CPU stays at lower speedstep clock and voltage

Higher clockspeed + voltage = more heat

I see no reason to keep it at full clock all the time. What do you do that very CPU intensive?

[MESA Boogie]

thanks for the reply ... I wasn't understanding exactly what the differences were and when and why to use different power settings ... thanks for explaining things .... the only thing I do that is what I call intensive is alot of work with graphics and large files in photoshop .... I will leave the power settings where they are and have been on the BALANCED SETTING