Battery life advice

[sirbb]

Hi,

I am hoping for some opinions on battery life.

My budget is completely flexible and screen size/computer size is unimportant.

The spec I am set on is an i7-3840QM processor, 16gb RAM, 180gb SSD and a Killer 1202 Wireless Card.

On paper it seems that the Enigma IV with the 9-cell battery (7800 mAH) would have the longest battery life or would the Inferno (with the same spec but smaller size screen) win?

I am thinking just about web-browsing, document editing (Office), spreadsheets etc. and maybe movie watching - in other words, nothing very heavy-duty? (Anything heavy-duty would be done when it's plugged in - hence the need for the spec I have chosen.)

I am just after some opinions and confirmation before I make a final decision . . . . . If you have any other suggestions, please do let me know. After the above spec, battery life is the most important and therefore I am looking for the longest lasting battery.

Thank you in advance!

 

[ubuysa]

I can't help specifically with the battery life you can expect but I do have a suggestion if battery life is important to you.

All rechargable batteries have a limited life that is based on the number of charge-discharge cycles they go through. If, like me, you tend to mostly use your laptop plugged into a power source (ie. always on charge) then the life of the battery is markedly reduced (because it gets a lot more charge-discharge cycles since it's nearly always plugged in).

I would therefore suggest that you consider buying an extra battery for your laptop and write on one that it's the "portable" battery and on the other that it's the "desktop" battery. Always ensure that you have the "desktop" battery inserted when you use your laptop plugged in for long periods and/or when it functions much like a desktop computer (as mine does).

Always fully charge the "portable" battery after use and then leave it disconnected until you need to take your laptop on the road when you'd insert the "portable" battery. You'd need to swap batteries again when you get back and it becomes more of a desktop laptop again (if you see what I mean!).

I know this sounds like a lot of trouble, and you will need to be careful that you have the right battery inserted at the right times, but I think you'll find that your "portable" battery will then last a great deal longer than the "desktop" one and give you the portability and lifespan you expect.

Of course you could always just use one battery until it fails and then buy a new one, but if portability and long battery life was important to me I'd get two batteries.

Just a thought (from a near lifetime of using laptops from their earliest incarnations). I hope it helps some?

 

[sirbb]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was going to get two batteries to do that exact thing. How long do you get out of your Optimus IV?

 

[ubuysa]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was going to get two batteries to do that exact thing. How long do you get out of your Optimus IV?

Good question and I wish I knew. It's not in my hands yet! I'm in Crete so it's been shipped to my son-in-law and my wife will bring it back with her when she gets back from her Easter visit. I won't get it until mid-April.

My current Compaq Presario is over 6 years old and the battery now will just about hold up long enough to do a proper shutdown!

:boat:

 

[Seppie]

Undervolting can help! Right now my little inferno has a i7-3630QM along with a Hybrid drive and it has been sitting here with a couple of websites open, playing internet radio hooked up to a monitor for the past three hours and still has 30%+ battery left. I undervolvted my machine almost immediately when it arrived, but according to other reviews the inferno should be giving me only around 3hrs battery life with light browsing. So far it looks like a 30%+ increase in battery life.

 

[sirbb]

That's very useful - thank you. How did you undervolt your Inferno?

 

[ubuysa]

That's very useful - thank you. How did you undervolt your Inferno?

There's a comprehensive guide to undervolting at http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/235824-undervolting-guide.html. I've been undervolting my aged Compaq Presario for over 4 years with no ill effects, not for battery life savings (which there are) but for cooling purposes. I get at least a 5 degree cooler CPU with undervolting and no loss of performance. The link above gives you the background to undervolting, links to the software (free) you'll need to implement it and a step-by-step guide to setting it up.

Undervoling is not supposed to void your warranty but you might want to check with PCS before you do it

 

[sirbb]

Thanks so much for the link, ubuysa! Much appreciated!!

 

[Toxophilix]

You could consider getting a tablet. It wouldn't add any more weight to your load than a second battery and would handle the web-surfing and movies very well. Of course, it's not so great for editing documents and spreadsheets. If that is critical and money is no object then an ultrabook might suit.