NP8150 Battery Life?

Hey everyone,

I am trying to decide which laptop to get for college. I would like one that plays games well, but also need one with a good battery life. How well is the battery life on the np8150? Does it switch to integrated graphics when not gaming?

Thanks

 

It depends on which GPU you are choosing. The max battery life quoted from one of the user is around 3 hrs.

And all 8130/8150 series does not support integrated graphics.

 

For most users, the battery life that I see is around 2 hours (up to 3 for basic usage) but it does depend on your configuration as cryo noted. Generally, performance machines and long battery life don't mix as that is one of the things you trade for the better performance.

 

I do not have the laptop yet, but from what I know, the CPU does have the integrated graphics, but unfortunately there is no way to use it as Sager has decided not to hard-wire it in. The reason being that it interferes with performance, which is exactly what the 8150 is all about.

Battery life should be around 3 hours with light browsing on the web and working in Microsoft office - the CPU and GPU downclocks significantly when running on battery. There is no battery management software as of yet, which prevents the AC adaptor from charging the battery when it is full, thus it would be wise to remove the battery when using the laptop as a desktop replacement.

I'm considering this laptop for college as well, and I have just refunded my AW m14x for it. I'm not sure if I've made the right choice yet since portability and battery life are imo the 2 most important aspects for a college catered laptop.

 

Can I ask why did you refund your alienware m14x? That one looked decent as well, and uses optimus. That was another one of my choices.

Thanks

 

I got a lemon, it came with dings at the back which took the metal coating off, light scratches on the screen, scratched plastic around the front edge lights, bent RAM module retainers which I had to bend back myself and the rubberized finish at the bottom edge was peeling off.

Build quality was not excellent as well, with some signs that it was hastily put together. I get a nice hand mark (may be a L4D spin off given that it's a gaming laptop except that the mark is in black paint instead of blood) complete with fingerprints on the underside of my bottom lid as a personal touch from the guy who did the coatings.

Now the interesting thing is that this laptop is extremely well designed. Spring loaded screws on all major components so you avoid losing them, efficient and neat usage of space, reinforcements on fragile areas (the battery connector wires were actually secured with an additional layer of epoxy such that if you accidentally yanked on it while detaching the battery it will not snap the cable). There is also rubber lining the entire edge of the screen such that when you close the lid it prevents the panel from coming into contact with the keyboard to a certain extent. Most laptops only incorporate 4 tiny round rubber feet which is relatively useless to prevent this screen-keyboard contact. A lot of effort has gone into the design from the Alienware team. Now if only it was as well-built by them before Dell bought over the company for mass production...

Dell only agreed on a 1-to-1 replacement after I sent them a strongly worded email explaining how a brand new out of box laptop should be perfectly fine, but thankfully I got an understanding rep in the end.

The entire episode left a horrible taste in my mouth which was why I refunded the laptop instead of having a 1-to-1 replacement, because I did not know how well the replacement would turn out to be.

Then the Sager 8150 caught my eye twice as fast GPU in a laptop 0.15 kg heavier and 1 inch wider and longer. 95% Adobe RGB gamut screen as a choice instead of the 40% in Alienware. Bad Company 2 was so washed-out looking to me. Like seriously bad.

Also according to windows, the Alienware lasted 3 hours 50 mins on battery with light usage and optimus, while the 8150 will last 3 hours so it's about a 25%-30% difference. That + the weight gain is a decent price to pay for a GPU twice as capable.

Overall, the Alienware was a love-hate relationship for me and simply wasn't worth the price. Support wasn't as great as expected, the battery fix for the gaming on maximum settings issue was a meh attempt and QC is a gamble, even on the other Alienware models.

On the other hand, you have Sager with its own issues and workarounds, such as the battery life, lack of a backlit keyboard and ghosting issues, lack of blink depending on your personal preferences, freezing problems for the earlier models, lack of support if you're out of the US and repair downtime which is crucial especially in college.

I also thought that a plain looking laptop like the Sager would be more appropriate for college as simply looking at the Alienware makes me want to play games instead of listening during lectures

In the end, when both systems are well-built to specs, the Sager was simply a better value for purchase and relatively more future-proof.

Edit: Perhaps something is wrong with my battery as well as I get 3 hours 50 mins after a clean boot to desktop on 2 bar brightness (Ranges from 0-6 bars). Typical m14x battery life from other users is 5-6 hours.