Poor Battery Life: zv5000z w/12 cell Li-Ion

I'm finding that I only get about 2.5 hours of battery life. I would expect that with an 8 cell, but I really was hoping for more like 3.5 or so. I know, I know, maybe I shouldn't have gotten the 64-bit processor after all. Anyway, besides turning down the brightness on the monitor to where I can barely read the text, is there anything I can do to extend the battery life? Maybe turn off some hardware things in the bios? Can I slow down the processor so it doesn't use so much power or generate so much heat (so the fans don't run constantly?) Please advise.
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

 

I don't think there is much more you can do that you have not already done. I think that the AMD64 by default goes down to 600MHz when on battery power as it is. Checkout the power saving modes under the power options in the control panel. If you need long battery life, you needed to get a notebook with the Pentium M CPU as all the others really drain a battery fast. 2-3 hours is about the most you can hope for with the AMD64 or P4. Is it too late to send back for a model with the Pentium M CPU??

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bootleg2go
Is it too late to send back for a model with the Pentium M CPU??
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>
Yeah, but that's ok. I got a great deal on this one and I've grown attached to it. It's not too big a deal, just a little annoying.

 

Assuming you have PowerNOW! power management enabled, which it is by default (set your Power Scheme to Portable/Laptop in Power Options on the Control Panel), 2.5 hours seems a little on the low side, but it depends on what you're doing. WiFi usage burns power, as does the large screen. Even when I undervolt the CPU down to single-digit-wattage power consumption I'm still limited to 3-4 hours usually (closer to 4) due to all the other components.

Normally you'll idle at 800MHz and jump to full speed as needed (or a couple of notches below that while on battery, it makes a HUGE power burn difference), which usually isn't very often. You can use MobileMeter to monitor CPU speed and temps.

In short, you're getting battery life that's in between a P4 and P-M and better performance than either, plus Enhanced Virus Protection and 64-bit capability. Given all the buffer overflow attacks on Windows, EVP is a Very Good Thing to have.