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    Bootcamp: Windows 7 batterylife vs. XP

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Phil, Jul 25, 2009.

  1. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I just installed Windows 7 on my MBP 13". Seems like battery life is a little shorter, about 4:37 max, while I got just over 5:00 hours in XP.

    Is this consistent with what other people found?

    I'm considering going back to XP.
     
  2. qhn

    qhn Notebook User

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    Is this W7 set up the same as it was when you used XP? It will be interesting to benchmark both environments using the same set of configuration.

    cheers ...
     
  3. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    try Vista- from my expirience, w7 and xp get same time,while vista gives you 20% more
     
  4. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Interesting. I did not think I would consider Vista. Now I do.
     
  5. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

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    Anybody tried notebook hardware control in xp to see if you get any more battery life.
     
  6. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I tried RMClock but it did not give me the right VIDs for undervolting.
     
  7. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    I did not install Vista on my macs, but with m4400 and 8530, I get much better battery life under Vista!
     
  8. StrongerThanAll

    StrongerThanAll Notebook Deity

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    how do u guys get over 2 hours under windows?

    on my unibody 15" MBP i can't get over 2 hours and the temperatures are ridiculously high when idle (around 60 celsius)
    (on win XP)
     
  9. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I guess it has to do with your GPU...
     
  10. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    thats totally normal temp.I get same on my m4400 an 8530.
     
  11. chris-m

    chris-m Notebook Evangelist

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    I've read that Windows automatically uses the 9600M GT. It would be interesting to compare battery life if you could get it to run on the 9400 (maybe in BIOS settings? I dunno).
     
  12. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I've done some more testing. Windows XP is the clear winner in battery life.

    Also in boot time by the way.
     
  13. EnterKnight

    EnterKnight Notebook Evangelist

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    That's because you're using fresh Vista/7. They get faster the more they are booted... ReadyBoot goes over the boot logs and changes the boot files to speed up subsequent startups.
     
  14. StrongerThanAll

    StrongerThanAll Notebook Deity

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    damn, i forgot about this detail
     
  15. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I'm still surprised by how much better XP does.
     

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  16. Luke1708

    Luke1708 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    xp was great on mine but it made my mac run hotter than vista and 7. that's the reason i'm using windows 7. i may go back to vista when apple releases the next version of bootcamp but im not going back to xp.