REAL Battery Test for Asus C90S for all College students, etc

Here it is for us college students to see if this laptop is worth enough to take to class or just people who like battery life. There have been other results but they were either just letting the computer completely do nothing or they were watching video which hinders the battery life.

I have just finished a battery test for the Asus C90s and here are my results:

E6700 2.66ghz cpu
3GB ddr2667mhz
100gb 7200rpm
512mb geforce 8600m gt

This battery has only been fully charged really once- to 100%. i receieved it today and just before starting this test i got to 100% so your battery life should increase a bit more once you have more charges.
Windows Vista 64 bit
Running in Power Saving Mode in TurboGear
Running in Power Saver mode in windows power plan

Programs opened and closed during this test MUTIPLE times: explorer, microsoft word, calculator, cpu-z, pc folders in general - alot of "my computer and control panel/power settings"

internet explorer had mutiple tabs opening and closing and the actual explorer itself was opened way more than a few times instead of just once and using the tabs.

during this test i was browsing the computer folders, typing on word as if in class and mainly browsing the internet - i figured browsing the internet would be the most cpu intensive and i do that during class but did it in this test much more than usual BECAUSE id rather have a worst case scenario on a test then the best

CPU-Z shows my speed of 1050mhz (175mhz x 6.0) downlocked for power mode - 700mhz FSB and this speed did not change during this test.

Windows aero was running in this entire test (disable and get better battery life)

The brightness on the this screen was 6/16 - which is not bad by no means, going lower would help with battery but, 1/16 is not good at all in my opinion so i left it at 6.

Here are my results and i tried to be pretty detailed with different percentages of battery remaining:

You are only allowed to pick between: shut down, sleep, or hibernate when your battery hits critical - you can not change to a mode of Nothing - However u can change what percent your battery is considered "critical". 5% is typical for this so i have a result form that but i also have a 1% result as i changed it to 1% to see what the absolute maximum battery life you get before your computer turns off

at 100% - 0 minutes passed: "1 hour and 34 minutes remaining"

at 50% remaining: 49 minutes passed: "48 minutes estimated remaining"

at 25% remaning: 1 hour and 12 minutes have passed, "24 minutes estimated remaining"

at 20% remaining: 1 hour and 16 minutes passed, "19 minutes remaining"

at 15% remaining: 1 hour and 22 minutes passed: "14 minutes remaining"

at 10% remaining: 1 hour and 26 minutes passed: "10 minutes remaining"

at 5% (which is the normal critical battery notification and your computer goes into hybernation): i had a total runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes "4 minutes remaining"

at 1% or right when it turned to 1% because it went into hibernation immediately (which is the critical battery amount i changed to as being when the computer went into hybernation): I had a total runtime of: 1 hour and 34 Minutes

Almost an equal 1 percent:1 minute ratio - and the original esimate was actually right with what i was doing

2 batteries and you can get over 3 hours just fine

SuperPi speeds:

Overclocked: 2.93ghz 1179mhz fsb: 45 seconds on 2M, 18 seconds on 1M
Not overclocked: 2.66ghz 1066mhz fsb: 47 seconds on 2M, 19 seconds on 1M
Battery Mode: 1050mhz, 700mhz fsb: a whopping 1min, 57 seconds on 2M, 49 seconds on 1M

Wprime speeds:

overclocked 2.93ghz 1179mhz fsb: 28.624 seconds
not overclocked: 2.66ghz 1066mhz fsb: 31.506 seconds
battery mode: 1050mhz, 700mhz fsb: 80.736 seconds


Hope this helps alot of people with their decision because this computer is pretty impressive with its battery life and its MUCH faster than any santa rosa edition laptop i have ever tried, including the macbook pro, sony fz190, etc.

 

Wow, excellent, I think a lot of people were waiting for this!

 

yah lol - i was one of them i didnt care about gaming or overclocking battery life because u know that its not even worth mentioning because u have t have it plugged in but everyone said this would get decent battery life with power save mode and in fact it does!

im getting a 2nd battery and at atleast 1 hour and 30 min - and remember, thats a worst case scenario, i could have over 3 hours just fine!

 

Nicely done... Too bad most of my classes are once a week and three hours long... Oh well, now I have an excuse to sit in the back where all the power outlets are.

 

yah i usually have 2-3 classes a day, usually 2 though and each is about 50 min which is why i wanted this test and glad i only need 1 backup battery

 

You know people have low expectations when "1.5 hours" and "3 hours on 2 batteries" are considered "acceptable".

I get 7 hours on my Z33. Yup, 7.

 

and what is the 3Dmark score 1000?

 

lol true but i was looking at a sager 9260 which is like what? 20 minutes?

if you look at all the old desktop processor laptops, compared to this, this is amazing

and i was gonna get the m1330 but this kills any santa rosa notebook and i think it will win any mobile processor laptop of 08 also


superpi and wprime scores have been added for OC'd 10%, standard, and power saver,

 

The Z33 has a weak integrated graphics card, a single core laptop processor, and 12" screen. Plus, 7 hours is on a nine cell battery. These guys have the equivalents of a pretty decent desktop with a larger, higher res 15.4" screen, desktop Conroe/Allendale CPUs, and an 8600GT. And its on a 6 cell battery, if I am not mistaken. Its all about perspective, people just don't end up expecting much battery life out of desktop replacements. Maybe its cause they aren't really meant to leave the desk? Kinda like a desktop?

Its closer to 100. And thats being rather optimistic, assuming you can run 3DMark06 at all (I failed in doing so on the same GMA900 graphics card)

 

Different machines different jobs.

that simple.

 

hey vicious, u know why wprime doesn't use all of the cpu? watch cpu-z as im doing it and it doesnt move above 1600mhz or 1759 depending on if im OC'ing or now

 

does for me, you sure your in game mode?

try starting w prime and then start cpuz while its running.

 

well the reason i asked you is because you have it registered online at 1600mhz which is why i thought same thing was happening

 

it is virtualy inpossible put a 9cell battery in this laptop ?

 

Traditionally batteries hold less and less of a charge with each successive charge as more oxydiastion occurs in the battery.

-PS Woo 1000 posts.

 

can you run two batterys on this laptop at once i know some you can use the optical drive space to place a second battery?

 

Rep up for you.

 

no not possible with this laptop, atleast o my knowledge

if you just have a backup battery with you though, you shoudl be fine, go into hybernation, switch batteries, go back

 

Asus batteries SUCK. Their wear level drops down 10% every three months. I've had three different exchanges. They've all had this problem.

 

7% after a year and a half.

The A31p in my sig did an hour and a half on a 4 year old battery with 55% wear, a hot-ass P4 and a FireGL CAD card.

I don't get the whole C90 thing though, I think it has about the stupidest combination of design decisions I have ever seen in a notebook. I'm going to laugh my ass off at the first person who manages to snap off the fan module by accident.

I am also 90% sure there will never be a significant upgrade for any of the C90 "modular components" (which aren't particularly more modular then any other whitebook), despite the Asus marketing speak.

 

10% after 19 months

 

i agree with you that this notebook isnt very much different than any other notebook in terms of upgradeability because the only real thing we can update right now that is the not the same is the video card.

everything else, like the cpu and ram in particular, already have released the highest this computer can hold so if you buy it now (either the e6700 or x6800), theres really no upgrading of them. the hard drive and dvd drive is just like any other laptop too.

but the power of this laptop from the cpu is better then any mobile laptop, and will be for a while and with the gpu being able to upgrade, the graphics power can continue also

 

2% after four and a half months, after which I sold my laptop for more than its original cost...

You are one of those unlucky souls who think the problem lies with the battery....

 

I think asus was trying to recapture the audience that generally goes to clevo or the like for dtr at a fraction if the cost. Although i like the c90s i think they did a ****ty job of introducing their first dtr in 3 years. That may change if they introduce upgrade video cards. I am not going to poop on anyones parade because if someone presented proof that they had no such plans some people would have to go on anti depresants. Time will tell i guess.

 

From an engineering perspective, the thermal envelope and packaging issues don't seem to be any different with the C90 then with any of the other MXM whitebooks.

 

So what's the problem if not Samsung batteries (Asus uses samsung)? Asus laptops themselves? Or the three different, independent programs used to test these batteries? I've had Dell and Sony laptops for 4+ years that have 1% battery wear. You guys are too brand-loyal. Check out this thread.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread190302.html

 

nothing wrong with asus batteries. thus far z71v and v6j have had confirmed actual issues. The others mentioned have had no problems. Battery wear as stated numerous times before is not an indication of anything but the fact that all batteries wear. the batteries that dont wear are just fooling you into believing that they dont wear. I repaired hundreds of dells and sonys and a good half of them had 100% dead batteries if the laptop is over a year or more. What you just said is just rubish. all batteries wear though certain batteries can wear slower then others. Dell sony hp and every brand in the world has all the same issues as asus. If they did not then all manufacturers would offer more then 1 year battery warranty. Last i checked ALL manufs offer 1yr warranty regardless of extensions. Am i wrong?

 

Try and get a clue... no offense. All batteries suck! they are designed to break down.

 

I work as an engineering consultant. My Sony and Dell, although they're crappy machines compared to Asus, have similar battery life performance since my company first bought them (15 min drop over 3-4 years). Meanwhile my Asus laptop has had a noticeable battery life drop within 4 months (over 30 minutes).

I love Asus except their Samsung batteries. I am not a dealer for any company. I am not affiliated with any company. I have no brand loyalty.

 

They have used samsung in the past and i am sure still do but they are not the only manufacturer to make batteries for asus.
People can make the same point about asus batteries on machines that have been in the field years however batteries are designed to wear if used especially li-ion, if your batteries are being used and are not wearing you have exceptional batteries. All rechargeable batteries wear. I always thought this was common knowledge even before i started using laptops

 

And as an engineer myself, I fully understand the wearing of batteries over time. But to have battery life drop 30 minutes within 3 months is inexcusable. This has happened with three different batteries that I've exchanged (all labeled Samsung). Even the Asus rep (John Yan) acknowledged that batteries should not be wearing down this much and apologized for it.

This is what happened and the Asus rep acknowledged it. It's a bit silly to be defensive about products unless you're a dealer. Oh wait, you are one.

 

It is veru excusable. All depends on how you use it. I would expect such wear on a battery that gets alot of usage. You see the same in cellphones, laptops, tools, and any other battery. They get worn, some faster then others. If that was not the case then you would have more then 1 year battery warranty. If your logic had any thruth to it then there would be many manufacturers that offered a 3 year warranty. You know of any?

 

It looks nice enough for me.

I'm probably getting one next months. I'll be using it for college next year (2008) and the year after since I'm going on a programm where I get all my classes are on a laptop. So they should have somewhere to plug it anyway... right? I'll probably get a second battery anyway (you can change them in hibernation mode without shutting it down right?).

I'm also getting the E6320 (will be oced to 2.6-2.93 while gaming anyway!) so the battery should do abit better right?

 

HI

I also want a little more confirmation before buying. The battery-life review that the initiator of this thread did, was on a 6700 processor, 3 gb's of ram and a 7200rpm HDD. The C90s I'm getting (if I'm getting one) is going to be E6600, 2GB of 667, 5400rpm HDD (though 160GB) and 512mb gddr2 8600GT so basically more power saving both cpu speedwise and RAM amountwise, which should increase battery life a little bit further, correct?

Also, where I live I can only get this laptop from a single source and that source sells these notebooks as a single setup, coming with Vista HP. Interesting is, that in that source, details about the C90s state that it has an 8 cell battery. What is the chance of that being true (i.e. a newer build with a newer battery?) or is this more probably an error?

It really is funny that on ASUS homepage, they're promising 4.5hours of runtime life for this baby

 

:sigh: Geared2Play: I think we've been through this on several other threads... The battery wear issue signaled in this thread is not normal, not excusable, and does not come from inappropriate usage patterns... It is a fault in the battery and/or motherboard and/or BIOS.

Also, the issue is confirmed on: V6J, V1J, R1F.

If the sales are dropping because of it, I really don't understand why it is not being fixed... there must be a cost advantage somewhere of not fixing it, otherwise it would be fixed.

jjohan: what model are you talking about? It would be interesting if the C90 has the issue, I think it has the potential of finally kicking ASUS into doing something about it given that it's having such large sales.

moskwiz: I don't really have experience with different hardware components but I do expect a battery saving from those components, although not larger than say 10-20%.