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    Why is my power consumption higher/lower by 1W at times?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by vinuneuro, Apr 7, 2012.

  1. vinuneuro

    vinuneuro Notebook Virtuoso

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    This has me really baffled. Batterybar and Lenovo Power Manager both show my power consumption is higher or lower by around 1W randomly. Nothing causing CPU usage to spike, 0-2% idle in both scenarios. Is there something in Windows that can use resources without it showing up in task manager or resource monitor?
     
    vinuneuro, Apr 7, 2012
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  2. olyteddy

    olyteddy Notebook Deity

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    What unit does your meter measure in? Watts, tenths, hundredths? If it only measures in whole units that is perfectly normal. Any digital measurement is plus or minus one digit (at least).
     
    olyteddy, Apr 7, 2012
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  3. vinuneuro

    vinuneuro Notebook Virtuoso

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    Batterybar measures to thousandths. Power Manager measures to hundredths.
     
    vinuneuro, Apr 7, 2012
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  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    I'd imagine it's just the combination of various components' power usage fluctuating slightly. When accessed, an SSD's power usage will increase; when the CPU moves up a single power state (common even when "idle"), there will be some slight variations; when the WiFi adapter is receiving/sending some information, there will be a small jump in power usage; other laptop components' power draws may change slightly as well, I think.

    I think 1W +/- is pretty stable, so I wouldn't worry about it.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 7, 2012
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  5. Generic User #2

    Generic User #2 Notebook Deity

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    'idle' is a little bit misleading...modern systems are CONSTANTLY performing background operations. Not necessarily alot, which is why your system is only fluctuating by such a small amount.

    idle means not especially busy, NOT doing nothing.
     
    Generic User #2, Apr 8, 2012
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  6. vinuneuro

    vinuneuro Notebook Virtuoso

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    Let me clarify that. It's 1W higher across the board whether idle or a normal activity like browsing (which is typically .8-1W higher than idle).

    MS, I think that may be all there is to it.
     
    vinuneuro, Apr 8, 2012
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  7. Gandalf_The_Grey

    Gandalf_The_Grey Notebook Evangelist

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    Couldn't it be the garbage collection process of your SSD?
     
    Gandalf_The_Grey, Apr 11, 2012
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