How long should a battery last with power saver set to on?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by seair, Mar 30, 2008.

  1. seair

    seair Private E-2

    I've got a xps M1210 and the battery lasts only for about 2 hours before shutdown. I've had the power setting to use least amount of power and I'm watching video off of the hard drive. I'm curious because I thought I read somewhere that there was some problem that was causing extra power usage. I don't know where I saw it and I'm not even sure what laptop it was referring to. Hoping someone can help. Thanks
     
  2. mcadam

    mcadam Major Amnesia

    Watching video files is going to use more battery as it requires constant picture motion and sound. Have you tried seeing how long the battery lasts by just having the laptop idle? The manufacturers probably quote the battery time with the laptop as idle, no running background processes and things like screen brightness turned down etc.
     
  3. Jerkyking

    Jerkyking Sergeant Major

    I think 2 hours is prett good. Your display is sucking alot of juice.
     
  4. BILLMCC66

    BILLMCC66 Bionic Belgian

    I also think 2hours is good i am lucky to get 1hour when it's in use maybe 2 hours on standby?
     
  5. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Using power saver profile, and having it tweaked to minimal power (its not by default):

    I get 3-3.5 hours on my 6 cell battery and 6-8 on my 12 cell. Specs make a difference on life, too.

    Thats with Vista.

    Things that suck more battery:

    1. Aero Transparency. It turns off by default on Power Saver, and for some laptops, Aero turns off altogether. Aero completely off doesnt do much, because now the CPU is rendering your desktop, instead of the GPU.

    2. Windows Sidebar,. Just close it while on battery.

    3. The Display. Thats the biggest juice sucker. Turn brightness to the lowest setting.

    4. Power Saver profile. It needs more tweaking for max battery life. BE careful. Some power states can cause problems, like low power wireless settings.

    5, The more apps running, the more juice taken from the battery.

    6. Starting up/shutting down take a lot of juice. Use sleep.

    7. Wireless. Turn it off when not used (I have a switch).

    Other than that, as mentioned above, 2 straight hours for constant video isnt too shabby.
     
  6. mcadam

    mcadam Major Amnesia

    Get a Mac and enjoy +5 hours battery :D
     
  7. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    Yeah. Idle doing nothing! ;)
     

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