The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Lenovo T400 9 Cell Battery Life

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Box801, Aug 1, 2009.

  1. Box801

    Box801 Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I've have many mixed opinions on this, I've heard 6 hours then 8 hours so I would just like to clear it up. What I'd be running is just Microsoft Word on XP most of the time, maybe an hour of web surfing, and 30 minutes of solitaire or minesweeper. Not all at once of course, and Wi-fi would be off.

    Thanks.
     
  2. usapatriot

    usapatriot Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    3,266
    Messages:
    7,360
    Likes Received:
    14
    Trophy Points:
    206
    It's hard to say, factors that may have a major effect on battery life are screen brightness, graphics card (integrated vs. dedicated), and whether WiFi is on or off.
     
  3. LloydChiro

    LloydChiro Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I have a T400, 9-cell, 2.8GHz, discrete graphics running windows 7.

    With the discrete graphics card running (not being able to switch graphics with Windows 7 yet), and wifi on, in battery saver mode, my battery indicator shows about 4.5 hours.
     
  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

    Reputations:
    6,668
    Messages:
    8,224
    Likes Received:
    231
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Windows XP gets quite a bit less battery lifetime than Vista. I'd expect some 6-7 hours on XP for the tasks that you do (8 hours if you stretch it), depending on screen type and brightness level, CPU throttling, your specific hardware configuration, etc. Also, this figure is when the switchable graphics is set to Intel integrated.
     
  5. keltix

    keltix Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    725
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    i have XP & Vista dual-boot, and I can tell you that they get the same battery life (with same settings, of course)

    with a 9-cell you should get at least 6 realistic hours.
     
  6. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    Doesn't XP not have switchable graphics? Is there a way you enabled integrated graphics to get the same battery life in XP as Vista?
     
  7. StealthTH

    StealthTH Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    281
    Messages:
    680
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    XP does not have switchable graphics option within the OS like Vista. In Vista users can switch on the fly without restarting the computer. With XP to switch the user must restart, go into the Bios and manually switch between gpu's then start windows again.
     
  8. MaX PL

    MaX PL Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    104
    Messages:
    1,042
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    i used to get 10+ hours using vista with some MS office use, and some light browsing... but that was with all the Thinkvantage battery saving options enabled. you should be able to get the same effect just by using windows 7 in power saver mode; and that was with my integrated card enabled.

    with that said, once lenovo releases their drivers for windows 7 i'm expecting another jump in battery life. hopefully my battery capacity doesnt deteriorate much by then.
     
  9. peli_kan

    peli_kan Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    228
    Messages:
    498
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Wow, 10+ hours with a 35W TDP processor? That is impressive.
     
  10. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    The TDP of a processor really doesn't make much difference. Most users will never reach that amount. Day-to-day tasks typically stress the CPU just a little more than idling and the difference in power consumption (especially when undervolting) is almost nothing compared to a 25W TDP processor.