Laptop Basics / Mobility

[akasixcon]

on my laptop, is there a better way to optimize it to get more than 3.5 hours? I am using the Gateway p-7811fx


I usually put my laptop to sleep mode when walking around campus and such. Should I hibernate it instead or perphaps shut down? Which of these should be done?

 

[KurrentEweser]

How do I maximize my battery life? - Ask Leo!

LIVEdigitally » Blog Archive » 10 Tips on Maximizing Laptop Battery Performance

PC World - Hardware Tips: Maximize the Power From Your Notebook's Battery

 

[akasixcon]

thanks!

what about the 2nd part of the question? like how should one put the state of the laptop (sleep, hibernate or shutdown) when moving from one class to another?

 

[KSoD]

I would say that standby is jsut fine. Depending on the time it takes you to get from class to class. Hibernate can cause issues with some laptops. Shut Down will force you to have to wait for it to boot again. If you dont have much time to wait for it to boot and get access to the OS before class begins i think that standby would be just fine. Unless the battery issue is so large that you cant afford to lose that time. Then i would suggest shut down.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Standby is awesome when you have to go from class to class. I hardly ever used it at home, but now at school I keep my laptop in standby all the time. I've left it in standby all day in my backpack and it barely used any battery (maybe 1-2% for the whole 12 or so hours, that's it). Also use power saver/low speed mode on your CPU if it has one, cutting CPU speed saves a ton of power, also if you have an nVidia GPU, use PowerMizer (reduces GPU speed to save battery).

 

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

As well as optimising your laptop, buying a larger capacity battery is a good way of increasing run time, but at the cost of adding weight. Remember that over time, your notebook battery's useful life decreases, so it's wise to buy a new battery of the same or higher capacity after 1 to 1.5 years time if battery life is of importance.

I use my laptop on the go a lot, especially at uni. Personally, I prefer to hibernate my laptop. So far, I haven't experienced any Hibernation issues on my previous of current laptop and I can benefit from zero power usage while having my session saved.

On an important note, remember to save your files before you put your system in standby or hibernate.