Gaming Laptop Power Consumption

[hpsauce13]

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a new gaming laptop, thinking of going for a GTX 765M, i7 4700QM with 8GB memory and a 1Tb hard drive, all in a 15.6" case.

However I'm a bit worried that this may mean I could have a laptop thats takes too much power and so might have a reduced lifetime, and will have a shoddy battery life, I'd be really grateful to hear what you guys have to say?

The only thing I can think of to limit the heat problem is a 17" case or drop to a 650M with a 3rd gen i5/i7

 

[jaguarskx]

I would guess such a laptop will come with a 140w - 160w power brick and can be quite big. I would go no smaller than a 15.6" laptop. If possible drop down to a dual core CPU and / or the GT 750m. Going with a dual core CPU and 750m will likely mean a smaller 80w - 90w power brick.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the GPU temp. At in my 14" Lenovo Y470 the GT 550m maxes out at 65C which is not bad at all. The primary concern will be the CPU. Whether you decide to go dual or quad core, if the temps are too high for your liking, simply go into the "advanced power options" and look for something like "processor maximum performance". Setting it to 99% will disable Turbo Boost. Setting it lower will reduce the CPU's clockspeed.

"Processor max performance" does not operate like you think it should operate. Setting it to 98% is not any different from 99%. For my i5-2410m, 99% means it running at the standard speed 2.3GHz or 2.4GHz. The clock speed does not change unless I set it to 90% which lower the max clockspeed to 1.8GHz I think. 75% lowers the speed to 1.6GHz and so on.

 

[jaguarskx]

If you are ordering from a site which give you the option to apply a specific thermal paste like IC Diamond, then do so. It may add $25 - $35 to the cost. Pro-Star and XoticPC does it for $25. They also offer a $79 option to add little copper heatsinks on top of the default heatsink that comes with the laptop. This will delay the shipment of the laptop because someone needs to partially disassemble the laptop to attach those little copper heatsinks which explains why it costs $79.

I've seen the heatsinks they use selling for $10 on Amazon, however taking apart the laptop to attach the heatsink yourself means the warranty is voided. Therefore, if you want more cooling but do not wanna fork over $79, then wait for the warranty to expire before attempting do it yourself.

 

[Prostar Computer]

We have a unit with a 765M and 4700MQ, and it uses a 120w brick. Don't let the output fool you into thinking that makes for a much larger transformer, though; it really just varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The amount of power consumption really does not have a lot - if any - bearing on longevity. What matters most is how you treat it and the construction quality.

But yes, such a system is most likely not going to have good battery life. Although Haswell and many 7xxM NVidia GPUs have a lower operating power requirement than their predecessors, you're still probably looking at right around two to two and a half hours with that configuration.

 

[hpsauce13]

Hi guys, thanks for the answers, they've both been really helpful. jaguarskx I'm probably going to order it from PC Specialist, they can give me something called Arctic MX-4 paste for an extra £9, so I'll probably go for that if I get it from there, but theres no extra heatsink option.

Also how much do you think the case size affects things? I could go for a ~17" case, but I'm not sure I want something that bulky.

As for limiting the CPU, I wanted a 4th gen chip to help with battery life, but the only ones out I can find are quad-core (however I did want a quad core for future proofing for games), if I wanted a dual core I would have to use a 660 as I cant find anything with a 3rd gen and 700 series.

Prostar Computer - that is really helpful, especially the battery life estimate. Is that for intensive use? Im not too bothered about battery life whilst gaming, I'll be plugged in then, but when I'm not gaming, will I have a better battery life? (esp with things like graphics switching?)

Thanks guys

 

[jaguarskx]

ProStar will be able to answer you question better regarding the chassis, but my take on it is as follows:

Based on my research of the Lenovo IdeaPad 14" Y470 and 15.6" Y570, the CPU temperature is lower in the Y570 laptop even though both have the same CPU. The i5-2410m in my Y470 would hit 90C - 92C when playing games. That matches what other owners have stated as well as in professionally written reviews of the same CPU. However, the 15.6" Y570's max CPU temps for the i5-2410m was 75C based on what owners have stated and also professionally written review. The Y570 has the GT 555m instead of the GT 550m in the Y470.

Based on the above, I will assume the difference in temps between the Y470 and Y570 is due to a larger heatsink in the Y570. Additionally, since the Y570's chassis is bigger than the Y470's chassis, it may have slightly better airflow as well. Since excess heat can eventually kill any laptop, I recommend that you avoid 14" and small laptops at all cost.

A 17" laptop may offer better cooling than a 15.6" since the chassis itself allows for a larger heatsink. But the size and weight becomes a concern if you plan to lugging it around with you. I think a 15.6" laptop offer a very good compromise.

The size of the chassis itself is not the "be all / end all" for a cooler running laptop. It depends on how well the layout of the chassis has been designed. Since you are looking at buying a new model laptop there will likely be no reviews for them. I recommend you that as soon as you get the laptop install some games to test it. You can download HW Monitor to measure the temperatures. If it runs too hot then you should be able to return it for a refund.

 

[Prostar Computer]

jaguarskx has a very good understanding there, and I'd say that just about coincides with my findings as well. 😀

Battery life I will say - optimistically, while NOT gaming, but under mild to moderate load - will be around 2 hours, only because of Haswell. In quad core Ivy Bridge systems, the battery life in a 15.6"+ class laptop was only around an hour and a half (and that was tops; the 17.3" gaming models were closer to only an hour).

I'd prefer it if you didn't quote me on the Haswell battery estimate though, as I have yet to really stress test one for definitive measurement. 😉

 

[hpsauce13]

Cheers guys, you've both been really helpful with this, can't say thanks enough. I think I'll probably go with the 15.6" and the quad core, as I decided I'd rather have the performance, but I may well choose to limit the CPU if I think it runs too hot. The larger case I think would be too big, and costs another £30, so probably not worth it. Plus I have a 7 day return period in case I find it really isn't for me.

As for battery life, again I suppose I have to sacrifice something for performance. Since I doubt I'll ever using it regularly in places away from a socket its not too much of a factor.

Thanks again guys

 

[Prostar Computer]

Haswell is capable of new power states which run very low, so if you set the Windows power scheme to balanced or power saver when you're on battery, you'll take a big performance hit, but it will preserve the battery quite a bit.

Glad we could help, hpsauce!

 

[GSW]

I'm considering a Sager NP7352,(15.6") with the same CPU and GPU, etc... There apparently is a button on these, that can turn off the GPU entirely??

But I'm wondering, if a person were to not uses the GPU for anything in particular, and maybe turn the CPU down to say 75%... anyone have any sense of what the battery life a person might reasonably expect to get?

 

[hang-the-9]

It's not "too much power", it's exactly the right amount of power for a fast laptop with a powerfull video card. A gaming laptop not gaming would probably run for 3 hours, depending on the model of course.

Using more power does not mean lower laptop life, but a gaming laptop may be running an overclock of the CPU and GPU which may decrease component life span.

 

[Prostar Computer]

I'm considering a Sager NP7352,(15.6") with the same CPU and GPU, etc... There apparently is a button on these, that can turn off the GPU entirely??

But I'm wondering, if a person were to not uses the GPU for anything in particular, and maybe turn the CPU down to say 75%... anyone have any sense of what the battery life a person might reasonably expect to get?

Button? Are you thinking of Optimus? That is a combination of software and hardware that allows the video card to become disabled when it is not needed to prolong battery life. While disabled, the Intel iGPU handles graphics.

The CPU can be throttled per Intel SpeedStep or when it begins to overheat.

 

[GSW]

From the general description of the Sager keyboard... "Independent GPU button, support UMA and Optimus mode"
The Clevo web page describes it a bit further by saying...

Switchable Graphic butoon v.s. nVIDIA Optimus technology
- nVIDIA Optimus technology automatically control to enable dGPU or using UMA mode
- CLEVO W350STQ's switchable graphic butoon which let user enable the NVIDIA Optimus by themselves

It's a little unclear exactly what the button does at this point, but it's my impression that it disables the Nvidia card entirely, but that's potentially reading a lot in between the lines...

I'm considering a Sager NP7352,(15.6") with the same CPU and GPU, etc... There apparently is a button on these, that can turn off the GPU entirely??

But I'm wondering, if a person were to not uses the GPU for anything in particular, and maybe turn the CPU down to say 75%... anyone have any sense of what the battery life a person might reasonably expect to get?

Button? Are you thinking of Optimus? That is a combination of software and hardware that allows the video card to become disabled when it is not needed to prolong battery life. While disabled, the Intel iGPU handles graphics.

The CPU can be throttled per Intel SpeedStep or when it begins to overheat.

 

[Prostar Computer]

From the general description of the Sager keyboard... "Independent GPU button, support UMA and Optimus mode"
The Clevo web page describes it a bit further by saying...

Switchable Graphic butoon v.s. nVIDIA Optimus technology
- nVIDIA Optimus technology automatically control to enable dGPU or using UMA mode
- CLEVO W350STQ's switchable graphic butoon which let user enable the NVIDIA Optimus by themselves

It's a little unclear exactly what the button does at this point, but it's my impression that it disables the Nvidia card entirely, but that's potentially reading a lot in between the lines...

I'm guessing it is either to selectively enable/disable at will, or it is used to overclock the GPU (similar to MSI's turbo button). The description is a little ambiguous, but the latter makes a little more sense if Optimus is still in play.

 

[squareenixx]

It's not "too much power", it's exactly the right amount of power for a fast laptop with a powerfull video card. A gaming laptop not gaming would probably run for 3 hours, depending on the model of course.

Using more power does not mean lower laptop life, but a gaming laptop may be running an overclock of the CPU and GPU which may decrease component life span.

Why are the people on here always so stupid. Sorry but yes running anything with more power lessens it's life span.
Running a CPU overclocked reduces it's life span. Running an LED at it's nominal or slightly higher reduces it's life span compared to slightly running it at a lower current. Running an electric motor more than it's nominal reduces it's life span and again running it below it's nominal increases it's life span. Same goes for Incandescent bulbs, Florescent bulbs, Even combustion engines, Air conditioners, Simple capacitors, Transistors, Batteries, Speakers.

So you are so very wrong. A laptop that is a super low wattage laptop is far more likely to last a lot longer than a high powered laptop that has more power going through it's transistors, Capacitors and faster spinning fans and just more power running into everything. Batteries also die quicker with more powerful laptops because while there are slightly more cells and the battery is bigger it still is drained faster. This is just because of battery ratios to gadget sizes. A laptop that uses 3 times the power of a low wattage laptop wont actually have a 3x bigger battery. They usually put better cells in the batteries but even still it's ratio of battery amp hours to the current the laptop draws is a far worse ratio than a low wattage laptop.