Acer Timeline Battery Endurance Thread

How long does your Timeline last?

model / CPU / screen size / OS / Power setting / screen brightness / endurance

Mine: 3810TZ, SU2700, 13.3" ,XP Home, laptop(portable), 3/9 , about 6 hours..

 

Wouldn't this depend on how you use it? For example, when I take it to University lectures, I can get about 8 hours under max brightness, but it's not doing much except sitting idle and registering my key presses on a word processing software.

 

you can get 8 hours with max brightness?? i wish i could do that..

 

4810T / SU3500 / windows 7 / power saving = 11 hours 22 minutes idle, 8hours 40mins light use + word process / 2 out of 9 brightness

 

wow, everybody is getting least 8 hours of battery life for light use..
something must be wrong with my lappy...

 

I've only used the battery from 100 to 0 once, and i got about 6 hours in power save mode - laptop in sig/whichever version of vista/watching youtube and other videos and simultaneously surfing web/ 3/9 or 4/9 brightness;
this was spread across two nights, and I wasn't keeping track, so I don't know how accurate it is

 

I think it would be best to install a hardware monitoring program and watch the different parameters like multiplier setting, Vcore and power consumption while performing certain tasks.

The BIOS version and driver settings(automatic backlight control e.g.) might play an important role, too. It might be possible to replicate the missing ePower Management in XP manually.

 

3810T, SU3500, 13.3" , Vista Home Premium, Balanced, 2/9 , 9 hours 8 minutes

Doing light web browsing, MS Office work, VPN/RDP, IM and E-Mail

 

Looks to me either XP or the U2700 is the culprit here daniel.

 

i think it is SU2700 ..

When i was using RMClock, i could see only one multiplier that means it does not have Speedstep or mine is defective chip (Intel says Su2700 has speedstep)

I don't know.. my regular use of surfing, word processing, in Win 7 or XP results about 6 hours of battery life.

that is okay with me but when i read people getting over 8 hours .. i was wondering *how* people could get 8 + hours....
May be i should have spend some more money and gotten SU3500 lol

 

I'd be interested in what other U2700 owners have to say seeing as it would be ridiculous if it couldn't live up to Acer's advertised claims.

 

laptopmag.com reviewd 15" TL with SU2700 and during battery test, it lasted 6 hours and 10 min.
But it was without power saving mode (green leaf).
Do you guys think power saving mode will add another 2 hours to battery?
i guess not...

 

3810TZ/SU2700/13.3"/Windows 7/Power Saver/Lowest brightness/~9.5 hours

Wifi / Word-Excel-Powerpoint/ IM/ Windows Mail

 

wow . 9.5 hours.. amazing..

Now i am really sad...T.T

edit: i hope that is an actual use.. not the est from battery icon... mine shows 7 hours with 75% left. xD

 

@danieljdsn
In your first post you write that you use XP. Did you do a test in Win7 in power saving mode? I've read elsewhere that someone had difficulties installing ePower Management in Win7 but it worked after all.

 

der mali.

i am currently dual booting XP and Win 7. Acer Power management utility can't be installed in XP. I get a error message.

For Win 7 , it installed fine.. but i don't see any icon or something. (just gives a message which in successfully installed).

If i choose power save mode in Win 7, it disables *aero". and screen dims and due to Intel power saving screen color/bit washes out etc.

I am not sure, how the utility changes the CPU speed..

Do you think, that is *why* i am not getting 8 hours which everybody is getting?

on previous post *gus6464* said, he is getting close 9 hours under Win 7.. that is just amazing...

 

how accurate..battery meter in windows 7? it seems like Win 7 is bit more generous about remaining battery life than XP

If the meter reads it right..i suppose to get 7 hours 19 min with 68% battery remaining.. lol

 

I think backlight control and other stuff ePower Manager does behind the scenes is what makes the difference compared to XP. Here is a benchmark of your device:
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/Reports/Acer/3810T_3810TZ_0509.pdf
The su2700 should perform quite good when configured correctly.

 

@ der mali

Do you think ePower Manager works same in Win 7 instead of Vista?

the report is pretty impressive.. SU2700 can last 9 hours 40 min... that is great..

thanks for educating me..

 

Yeah leafy battery with epower it does turn off aero in Win 7 but you still retain aero peek so it really doesn't matter to me if it turns it off. Also the lcd dimming feature helps when it comes to getting the most out of the battery. Also this has been posted in the Timeline thread numerous times but I'll repeat it again here, epower manager does not have a GUI. All it does is install tweaks to the windows mobility center so that when you turn on leafy battery and battery saver profile the system adds a couple of tweaks to improve battery life further.

 

i see...so it does work under Win 7.. thanks for your info..

 

Timeline 3810T w/ SU9400, lowest brightness, undervolted, Windows 7 shows 10h 25 min reported left at 94%. Wonder if it will improve when my ssd comes?

 

my timeline used to show bout 9.5 hrs until full low conditions.. then i drained my battery to 3% (full drain) and recharged it now it doesnt show more than 8 hrs 20 mins on full low settings? hmmm what did i do

 

You just calibrated the battery. It should be more accurate now. Also I don't give much about Windows reporting something. The only way to measure real life conditions is to use a stopwatch.

 

yeh well actually it now goes to 11.5 hours instead of 10 hrs before lol.

With balanced setting, using batterymon i got 11hrs 17mins with leaf on, lowest brightness

with power saver setting, using batterymon i got 11 hrs 19mins with leaf on, lowest brightness.

i found it weird that battery mon showed almost idenctical power usages between balanced and powersaver on windows 7 mode with acer power management ON. the ONLY difference i find is the CPU seems a lot more sluggish on power saver, 56 sec in 1M prime cpu test rather than 36 with balanced..

so for the same battery, it seems balanced mode windows 7 with acer power saving on is just as good as power saver with no additional cpu loss? weird..............................

 

update:.

with Win 7 what other claims 8+ hour is very possible..
but Aero needs to be off..and power saving mode is to be on..

 

Using the original Vista Home Premium.... My 3810T lasts 8-10hrs on the power save mode. About 7hrs when I'm post processing images using photoshop.

 

I don't think so, i tried today at uni and i had leaf on in balanced and it lasted as long as power saver mode with leaf. but felt a lot faster.. (lasted 8 hrs 8 minutes with 3/9 brightness and minimal web browsing with wi fi on the whole time note taking+ microsoft excel) was also looking at large jpg files of minerals etc.

 

I have a 5810TG that only gets about 3h - 3.5h in power saver mode. I'm running Windows 7. I've had the battery replaced, but the problem remains. The people in the store told me I need to recharge the battery about 10 times before it will reach it's top capacity, but I'm sceptic, I think something is wrong in my computer, making it draw too much power.

Any ideas?

 

Data33,

I have 5810T and it lasts about 4.5-5 hours with power save mode. Try to install drivers manually and disable optical unit. You have to admit that the 15" display sucks the juice more than a 13".

 

long live the 14 inch, long live the compromise!

 

I got a couple question, hopefully this thread is not dead.

Does anyone know if the acer timeline comes with an automatic battery killswitch when being plugged in? I noticed that when the laptop is charging it has an amber light, then when its full its blue. After being blue it shuts off completely? Does that mean that its not "topping off" the battery every min or so?

I am trying to preserve the battery life so when ever im not in class i take the battery out, and this is probably the most tedious and annoying thing to do. What i notice, when the battery is taking out and placed back in the laptop doesnt sense the battery till i unplug it and plug it back in.

Does this mean its probably safe to say that when the battery is full the acer timeline switch off the battery and just uses external power and doesnt top off the batter?

Also i get 9hrs on balance, 5hrs on high power and 6hrs on power saving (which boggles my mind).

Thanks!

 

first things first: Vista or 7? By the battery numbers you gave im going to guess vista, because 7 users wont see that good of battery life until thew full vista release.
from what i understand, the timeline has some sort of smart charging system that reduces the power consumption of the charger's power brick (i think by shutting it off when the computer is off and fully charged. the vast majority of AC adapters sold and owned do not stop sucking power out of the wall unless the 2 prongs are actually no longer connected to that wall, so when you leave it in the wall but not in your laptop, or in a charged off laptop, you are wasting some power, of course this is the issue the timeline charger is trying to solve) as well as the computer itself while plugged in. im not sure how it all works, but i think you are right to assume its safe to plug it in.

the great thing about 9 hours on balance (have you tested this btw, or just read from the predictions?) is that even with a fair bit of energy capacity loss over time, you will end the computers life getting 4-6 hours, which is still pretty damn good. personally i only manage 6-7 hours, but im running a windows 7 RC with drivers that probably need updating again.

 

Hey thanks for the reply. Yeah i just noticed the light thing in front of the laptop shuts off and when i replace the battery while the computer is still plugged in that it doesnt see the battery.

I'm actually on windows 7 the 7600 build? I didn't fully test this yet, but on balance i think i do get 9 hours. I start class at 8am and i dont end till 11am. I have the laptop on and constant note typing and AIM/ light websurfing when i decide to not pay attention.

Those 3 hrs i only lose 25% of my battery so i just did a little math and figured i have about 6-7 more hrs to go if i use the same usage? The clock does say 9hrs 17mins when i first turn on the laptop though. but thru out the day it will jump from 3hrs to 6hrs back to 9hrs so i dont really trust it.

When i use power saving mode, it doesnt even say 9hrs it will just stay at 6hrs? I dont really think my battery reader is correct but if i get 25% battery loss after 3 hrs i think i should manage to get at least the 9 hr mark.

But yeah does anyone else actaully take their battery out when they get home and use the laptop on a desk? I usually take the battery out on weekends when i know i wont be using it in school, but i start to find it a bit annoying.

Also, someone else from another forum just told me that when the blue light comes on the battery is off. I looked in the manual and it states that it goes into AC mode when the light is blue. I assume this means the battery wont be topped off and it'll just sit there. Guess im not gonna take out the battery anymore, just gonna leave it in. Just wanna relay this info to you guys.

thanks