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    Optimus questions

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Communism, Oct 5, 2011.

  1. Communism

    Communism Notebook Geek

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    ok, i went 10 pages deep, and read some reviews online and can not for the life of me find an answer to my question.

    first, how much of a difference does optimus make on battery life? I'm purchasing an m17x to use at school to take notes and browse the internet during class and to take to a buddys house to game and of course to use at home for gaming. I'm just trying to justify the extra cost on the card, because if it makes an extra hour difference i think it's worth it, but if it's only like 20 minutes over the switching on the 6990 then probably not so much. I'm just trying to figure out which card to go with, that's all.

    Thanks guys.
     
    Communism, Oct 5, 2011
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  2. Communism

    Communism Notebook Geek

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    I take it no one knows? =/
     
    Communism, Oct 5, 2011
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  3. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    the only reivew i ever read on optimus showed a comparison of using the intel integrated graphics vs a low end nvidia 210 card. The difference was about 40%...like 3hrs more. However, if you have a power hungry card like the 580m in there, optimus will make an even larger difference. The other thing to note is that the Alienware uses more power than your average laptop.
     
    SlickDude80, Oct 5, 2011
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  4. Roykirk

    Roykirk Notebook Consultant

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    If I'm on Optimus I usually get a couple of hours of battery life. That's with the screen set at 50% and nothing too taxing, though Wi-Fi is on and I am browsing and such.

    If I turn on a game that uses the 460M, my battery life tanks to about 30 minutes or so, so in that configuration, Optimus is definitely worth it.

    YMMV.
     
    Roykirk, Oct 5, 2011
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