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    Battery drainers in laptop: any info on breakdown?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by pro101, Aug 31, 2007.

  1. pro101

    pro101 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm wondering, out of all the energy a laptop consumes, how much is taken by:
    - CPU/motherboard/memory
    - Wireless
    - Display
    - Hard drive
    - other components?

    I'm looking to maximize battery life in the next notebook and am wondering if I'm better off focusing on integrated graphics vs. dedicated, or if getting a low voltage CPU is the way to go.

    Nick
     
    pro101, Aug 31, 2007
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  2. moon angel

    moon angel Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    Dedicated graphics will always draw more power than Integrated, an example would be the Zepto 6*14 series where the dedicated machine's battery life is half an hour less than that of the integrated, all other things being equal.

    LV cpus are a good way to go, otherwise normal cpus can be undervolted and set to run on power saving modes etc. An application like RMclock could restrict the higher cpu multipliers to gain more battery life. Also, extra drives like optical drives and higher rpm drives will take more power, so no optical drive with an external or a docking station and a smaller (in size not capacity)/lower speed hard disk might help.
     
    moon angel, Aug 31, 2007
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  3. pro101

    pro101 Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks. I always thought that integrated graphics consumed less than adding a dedicated card. How does adding a card with its own GPU save power?
     
    pro101, Aug 31, 2007
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  4. powerpack

    powerpack Notebook Prophet

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    Got Ya I know what happend. :D I will never tell. ;) And you are correct!
    You are a victim of slow typing.
     
    powerpack, Aug 31, 2007
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