Lenovo X200s - Battery life difference between SU9300 and SL9400 CPU

I am planning on purchasing a new x200s to replace the X31 that I purchased new back in 2003 (best computer I have ever owned, but would really like something a little lighter with a long battery life) It appears that to get the ultra low voltage SU9300 cpu I have to custom order from Lenovo and the cost will be higher than purchasing a preconfigured model with the SL9400 from a reseller. I really couldn't care less about the CPU speed difference as the 1.4 Pentium M in my X31 is plenty fast for my uses..... my number one concern is battery life. TDP according to Intel is 10 watts for the SU9300 and 17 watts for the SL9400. Does anyone have experience with both models with a 9 cell battery running XP, preferably with an SSD?

I really wish Lenovo would come out with a Thinkpad with the specs and size of the Ideapad s10 with the ruggedized chassis, trackpoint and Thinklight, I would happily pay $800 for one tomorrow.

 

I think you're in the minority on that one.

It's only using 17w if you're maxing the CPU, which Office and Internet aren't likely to do.

 

TDP is not a figure to be used in assessing power consumption but is rather a figure given to system builders in order to properly design the notebook/desktop's heat dissipation. As an end user you really aren't interested in the maximum power that a processor can possibly use but rather what it can minimally use. With this in mind, there is little difference under normal operating conditions between the SU9300 and SL9400 in terms of power consumption.

In fact, tests have shown the X200s with the SL9400 doesn't gain much battery life over the regular voltage X200 - and even then some of the battery life is a result of the LED backlight rather than the processor.

 

I would expect a modest change at best when running under battery saving features.

On my x200 Tablet ( SL9400, 285nit LED, 320GB 5400RPM), I can get below 6 watts with a forced slow processor, 6/15 brightness, and Wi-Fi associated but not transmitting. On my x200 Tablet, this equates to 10 hours, it would be more like 12 on the x200s due to the larger battery. If I max out the screen brightness, power usage surges to 10 watts, and I am reduced to 6 hours at best.

At best, switching to a SU9300 and SSD will save you 1 watt from this configuration. This could in theory drop you to 5 watts (5.5 watts is more likely). On a 9 cell, this could give you 1 extra hour (go from 12-13), but it would only give you 2/3 of that benefit on a 6 cell, or 1/3 on a 4 cell.

There may be a more pronounced difference between these CPUs under load, but I still think the SL9400 is a better choice (it will stay at load for a shorter period of time due to its speed).

I would generally recommend you just go with the SL9400 CPU. The biggest power draw in any notebook (including the x200s) tends to be the screen. Additionally, the higher core speed and additional cache in the SL9400 should make the x200s a reliable performer for a long period of time (you may even get 5+ years out of it like you have your x31).

I love my x200 Tablet, and think the x200s would also be an exceptional computer (and far lighter than my tablet). I suggest you get the x200s with an SL9400 (probably a topseller model), 2GB single DIMM (this should use slightly less power than two DIMMs), and LED screen. Replace the HDD with the SSD of your choice (probably Samsung 64GB SLC or Intel x25-M), and get the largest battery you are willing to carry (or buy the 4 cell and 9 cell to have the option of going very light or getting superb battery life).

I also would like to see a ThinkPad netbook. In particular, something in the form factor of the Vaio P (nearly full size keyboard, TrackPoint, no space anywhere else) with ThinkPad build quality would be quite interesting. Because I already have the tablet I doubt I'd buy it, but it would be my preferred netbook by far.

 

Yeah, Lenovo could design a killer thinkpad netbook. If they could more or less replicate the Vaio P in all aspects except for price and use their standard keyboard they'd have a real winner.

But if you have an x-series, who needs a netbook? Most netbooks are about the same weight as an x-series without all of the benefits of a real notebook. I don't think giving up all the benefits of a real notebook is worth the very marginally smaller footprint.

 

I tend to agree (and for this reason would never buy a standard netbook). However, the Vaio P is only 1.4 lbs. and has a very small cross section. For that reason, a ThinkPad netbook of comparable size/weight would be quite interesting (it would be substantially smaller/lighter than an x200s/x61s).

One other thing, I forget to mention earlier. I am only able to achieve the 6 watt mark in Windows Vista/7. Under XP, I am lucky to hit 8 watts, and I have never got below 10 watts in Ubuntu. For that reason, if you are concerned with battery life I highly suggest Vista or Windows 7.

 

With almost 230 pixels per inch, the Vaio P has got to be tough to read, even heavy carrot eaters. Sure, they give you magnifying software, but what's the point of having to magnify everything on the screen?

 

The lack of vertical resolution would also be a killer for me.