Adjust Graphics Performance on 2009 13" MBP

How can I force the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M card to stay in high performance (as opposed to battery conversation) mode? I've seen the documentation on the Graphics Performance checkbox in the "Display" system pref, but that is only present in the 15" and 17" models. I'm not sure if I need to install some kind of driver or modify a startup setting somewhere, but when I try to use a Micro DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, I get lots of video noise on the TV image and even some short-interval white band flashing in the lower third of the TV. An older MacBook using a Mini DVI to HDMI adapter works almost perfectly, and the only thing I've been able to identify as a possible culprit is the low power mode that I think is the default on the 13" MacBook Pro with NVIDIA card. I'm running the current version of Mountain Lion - 10.8.3 with 4 GB RAM.
Thanks,
-Brad.

The problem is OS X Lion chiefly, it's a new buggy operating system that third party programs are not all quite in tune with it yet.
The second problem is you got the 2.0 Ghz model, which the card scores a 18 on the Open Gl tests.
The HD 3000 Intel integrated graphics scores 11, so you see your descrete card isn't all that much more powerful that crappy CPU graphics.
The 2.2 Ghz and the 2.3 Ghz, the descrete graphics in there scores 30 on the Open Gl tests, so it's much better.
But compared to a Windows 7 desktop with a graphics card you can replace over and over, there is no comparison. And the Mac Pro is more of a CPU powerhouse than a graphics powerhouse, as there are hardly any third party cards for it.
So if you want to 3D game on a computer, you really need a Windows 7 64 bit tower, with expandable RAM to at least 16GB, 4 GB by default.
One doesn't buy a Mac or any computer laptop to serious 3D game (heat, cooling and battery limit), at least not for long.
http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc

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