Looking for long battery life...

olgita · 07-02-2008, 11:47 AM

Well, not necessarily the best battery life, but I would like somewhere between 4 and 5 hours on powersaver mode - maybe around 2-3 on the highest settings with a bright screen. I would also like it to have a discrete graphics card and a processor of around 2.0 GHz. A standard 80 G of hard drive space would be plenty, and memory doesn't really matter since it can be upgraded. I would prefer a 12.1" screen, though I'm willing to go a little up or down. Durability and weight don't matter. I live in the US and can buy laptops online.

Any recommendations?

lilblewskydragon · 07-02-2008, 09:45 PM

I think the laptops with the best battery life hands down would be any Apple laptop.
My Dell XPS M1530 gets a little more than 4 hours with the 9 cell battery on power saver mode.
I would think that the smaller XPS would have comparable battery life.

toxic_waste · 07-03-2008, 12:43 AM

you realize you're asking for a lot..? and is there such thing as a 12.1" laptop with a discrete graphics card....

just look at brands you like, find the models that have discrete graphics cards, and the find which ones offer larger batteries (~9-12 cells). the XPS is probably worth looking at.

BCEagle91 · 07-04-2008, 09:35 AM

My MacBook Pro will get over five hours on a battery and that's not even on the lowest power settings when running Mac OSX. It will get under three hours running Windows XP. Probably a lot less than that running Windows Vista. So the operating system makes a big difference. Sure, Dell can bump up battery life with a more powerful battery as they have to offer Vista (or XP for more money).

olgita · 07-07-2008, 12:20 PM

Thanks, everyone. I don't like working with Macs, but I'll take a look at the XPS.

ASC · 07-31-2008, 02:29 AM

Macbook, seriously. I've never seen a windows laptop get more than 3 hours. NEVER.

My macbook gets 10 hours if I'm not online and I dim the screen. No joke.

BCEagle91 · 07-31-2008, 07:25 AM

I've spent a week with my Dell M1330 and it easily gets over 5 hours on battery. But it doesn't have a discrete graphics card.

This is running Vista x64 with the 6-cell battery.

If you want something with strong battery life and a discrete card, you'd want an LED backlit screen, 4200 RPM disk, knowledge on undervolting your system, etc.

I'm in a conference where about 250 people have MacBook Pros. The most amazing thing about these people is that the MacBook Pro is like an extension of their body.

olgita · 07-31-2008, 09:35 AM

Thanks for all the help, but I've already got a laptop. Supposedly, it should have about 4.5 hours on an 8-cell battery, though I haven't tested it yet.

tomatoking · 07-31-2008, 10:33 AM

the battery most likely sticks out and makes the notebook weigh about 6 pounds

olgita · 07-31-2008, 10:42 AM

"the battery most likely sticks out and makes the notebook weigh about 6 pounds"

Check my other thread on the subject of sticking out. It terms of weight, it's still under 5 pounds w/o the power cord.

sleepyman · 07-31-2008, 05:11 PM

"Macbook, seriously. I've never seen a windows laptop get more than 3 hours. NEVER."

I get 4 hours on my Toshiba on basic settings, 5 hours on basic settings with the screen dimmed, and 6 hours with various powersaving settings. The notebook is about 6 pounds, though anyone who's not a wimp shouldn't mind the difference of a few pounds... :/

excelblue · 07-31-2008, 05:38 PM

Take a look at any laptops on the new Montevina platform. Most of them should be able to pull off 5hr on a 9-cell battery.

I'd also recommend the Thinkpad X-series if you didn't need a discrete card. Those can go up to 12hr in battery life.

A good integrated card these days can decently run even the latest 3D games, although not at max settings.