What is the best way to extend battery life?

FuturDreamz · Dec 3, 2009

Do any of you have any tricks or tips to extend battery life as long as possible?
I use my computer to brows the internet when i have a chance for on average 15-minutes then i put it to sleep for about an hour or long interval. My current power plan is a slightly modified turbo battery plan that extends the length until the computer hibernates. I have aero enabled (it looks like crap without) but I have "show contents while dragging" disabled (hard on the gma500).
I'm looking at using CrystalCPUID to "undervolt" my computer (RMClock is incompatible with Atom processors).
any tips will be helpful.

Jonathan_King · Dec 3, 2009

You could under-clock the processor and dim the screen.

Brink · Dec 3, 2009

Hello IceFire,

Replacing your laptop's standard SATA 2.5" HDD with a SSD instead can extend the battery life quite a bit.

FuturDreamz · Dec 3, 2009

How about this one?
It's the cheapest 64gb one that I can find, and the enclosure will be handy.

dave1812 · Dec 3, 2009

IceFire said:
Do any of you have any tricks or tips to extend battery life as long as possible?
I use my computer to brows the internet when i have a chance for on average 15-minutes then i put it to sleep for about an hour or long interval. My current power plan is a slightly modified turbo battery plan that extends the length until the computer hibernates. I have aero enabled (it looks like crap without) but I have "show contents while dragging" disabled (hard on the gma500).
I'm looking at using CrystalCPUID to "undervolt" my computer (RMClock is incompatible with Atom processors).
any tips will be helpful.

Reduce any non-essential services, dimmer screen, set HDD to spin down sooner, change settings for wifi to use less power. If you want a portable computer that lasts all day long, buy an Acer netbook or other brand that touts an 8+ hours battery life. We have a couple of Acer AO-150's with the 6 cell batteries and they do last at least 8 hours. Amazing little netbooks. Just don't expect much in the way of video performance. oh, and I put Win 7 on my Acer. Works like charm, including Aero functions despite the Windows Upgrade Advisor claiming it wouldn't.

michael123 · Dec 3, 2009

To be honest I think it's fairly tricky to significantly extend battery life without buying a different laptop, but the tips mentioned should certainly help (though buying an SSD might be a bit of an expensive solution). Hibernation is more energy efficient than sleep, as obviously it turns your computer off, wheras sleep I think just suspends your RAM.

Also bear in mind general battery care tips, i.e. don't leave the computer charging for excessive periods of time, try to use it regularly and fully flatten/fully charge it, and if you aren't going to use it for a while keep it flat.

Brink · Dec 3, 2009

IceFire said:
How about this one?
It's the cheapest 64gb one that I can find, and the enclosure will be handy.

If you can hold off for about a 3 months or more, prices on the latest SSD models (Ex: Intel X25-M G2 or Patriot Torqx M28) should start dropping in prices to where you may be able to get a faster, newer model, and more energy efficient for closer to the same price.

I would recommend doing everything else for now though to see hoy much that can help until prices drop.

FuturDreamz · Dec 3, 2009

ok. I should have my loans cleared up by then.
One last question; i'm looking to get an 8-cell battery to replace the 4-hour 4-cell battery, however i can only find them on eBay but they are New in Box.
slim but expensive OEM
Cheap but bulky third-party
Slightly cheaper third-party that does not show side profile or safety logos clearly
I'm deciding on if the second option would bee too bulky or not, and I'm wondering id the third option is narrower because I cannot tell from that pic.

FuturDreamz · Dec 9, 2009

'allo?
and one last question: do I only need 32gb or should I get 64gb?
as of now i'm looking at the Imation 32gb $99 and the Imation 64gb
you can fit a lot more onto a 64gb drive, but I checked and without my dvd collection I only use 21gb for OS7 and a bunch of cache crap. also I've heard that ssd's power efficiency is reduced when you are doing large file reads, so I probably would just plug in the old drive into a usb port via enclosure to watch movies.
so, should I consider a 32gb drive as a possibility?

Brink · Dec 9, 2009

Hello IceFire,

32GB would be plenty for Windows 7 by itself, since it only needs a minimum of 16GB for a 32-bit Windows 7 or 20GB for a 64-bit Windows 7. However, it really depends on how many other programs and files that you plan on installing. While you can save files (ex: music and pictures) to another hard drive, most programs will only install on the C: drive.

FuturDreamz · Dec 9, 2009

right now I have all the applications that i expect to ever use installed, which is what contributes to that 21gb size.
I'm keeping my music on, i'm just going to keep my 50gb video collection on my old drive which will be in an enclosure. I'd be doing that anyways, because it won't fit onto even a 64gb drive.

Brink · Dec 9, 2009

You may be cutting it close, but it sounds good.

FuturDreamz · Dec 9, 2009

yeah i checked and the entire drive, minus the 2gb hibernation file windows.old and my my movies, is about 19gb.
on a ssd is restarting almost as fast as hibernation on a hdd?

Brink · Dec 9, 2009

A SSD will allow everything to load and save faster since the read and write speeds are much faster than with using a standard HDD.

FuturDreamz · Dec 10, 2009

but is a ssd reboot faster than a hdd hibernation?

Brink · Dec 10, 2009

Oh yeah, it will be faster.

hlnkay · Dec 10, 2009

Hello

It's really hard to extend the battery life of your laptop besides the normal windows battery savings options, i think buying a larger battery is the best option, makes your system's ass fat but for me the extra hours are worth it.

FuturDreamz · Dec 10, 2009

I just want to maintain 4+ hours battery life (get just under 4 now)
i've looked at external batteries as seen above, but i can only find them on ebay for this specific laptop, and they are either bulky and crappy looking or expensive.

Lens Pirate · Dec 10, 2009

Have you tried CPUgenie to undervolt your cpu?

FuturDreamz · Dec 10, 2009

I keep thinking about doing so, but I don't fully understand the apps and testing will take a while so i keep on putting it off.
BTW CrystalCPU is free.

Also, my X320 has an Atom processor, so I don't think undervolting would make a big difference without reducing the stability of my computer.
the components that use the most power (the way i use it)
Display (lowest setting)
GPU
CPU
HDD
WLAN
the cpu is already pretty efficient, nothing I can do about the GPU or the WLAN, which leaves getting a SSD.
theoretically I could install a LED screen but it would have to be one that fits and plugs in, so i expect it doesn't exist.

What is the best way to extend battery life?

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