Alienware 15 r3, extending casual use while on battery

After reading through these forums and some others, I realize now that because I have a Gsync screen, the computer will never use the iGPU, instead, always using the GTX1070. I am struggling to even get 2 hours from the computer when on battery performing simple tasks like web surfing, Word, and email. I notice the computer is ALWAYS warm.

I downloaded Battery Bar to see what the battery discharge rate is while unplugged, and performing the functions above, the battery is discharging at 46,883 mW. So at this rate, it is dead in 1.75 - 2 hours. This draw seems awfully high for just normal "idle" work. This is on a balanced power plan at 30% brightness.

So, need some suggestions on how get more usage time from the computer when on battery. I have downloaded Throttle Stop but I am not sure what the proper settings to use would be. Is there any settings/program that can lower the power consumption rate of the GPU when not gaming?

Ideally, I want to be able to configure the computer for maximum battery life when unplugged and maximum performance when plugged in for gaming.

Any help is much appreciated!

System Spec:
Intel i7 7700HQ Kabby Lake
16gb memory
GTX 1070 8gb
Intel iGPU (not used at all apparently)
256 SSD/ 1 TB
Gsync Display
99 Wh battery

 

I realize this is not ideal, but it isn't actually that much trouble to just enable/disable the nvidia graphics card as needed in device manager. I just leave the window open and turn on the graphics card when I am going to game, doesn't require a restart and seems to work fine without any bugs. I do this because of the microstutters I have on my 13r3, but it does also help the battery life

 

I thought the 15 r3's that have the Gsync panel are hardwired to the dGPU. Wouldn't performing this action shut down the display entirely??

 

I can't comment on that, but you could always use a TV or external display to find out

 

I tried what you suggested. You can in fact disable the dGPU through device manager. It does shut down the HDMI port but appears to switch over to the iGPU as the overall battery draw reduced by ~15watts from 40watts to 25watts. Not a great solution but I guess it will provide an additional hour or so.

 

It's inconvenient, but useful if you know you are going to use the laptop on battery for non-gaming for a while. Hope you find a better solution!

Also, is that display 120hz? If the recent Razer phone is anything to go off of, using 120hz on battery will also destroy your battery life

 

Not it's an LG 60hz Gsync enabled panel.