Laptop Component Power Usage and Corresponding Battery Life + M.2 Form Factor

[tlgriffith]

I've come to the conclusion there is no laptop product business on the internet which has a "true custom" laptop option. Unfortunately the limitations fall on the manufacturer and companies cater to the gamer. Oddly enough, other hardware is compatible and quite capable of being an alternative but not offered. Therefore, well informed decisions must be made!

First Question: An i7-6600U compared to a i7-6700HQ. How much does the TDP difference have on battery life? Is it detrimental? This article suggests having a lower TDP CPU is important.

http/www.makeuseof.com/tag/seven-laptop-components-that-can-improve-your-battery-life/

Second Question: The choice between an integrated graphic or a dedicated card. Easy if you know if you will be using the laptop for gaming. I will not be. Still easy right? Well I'm not so sure. Customization options are limited if you choose an integrated card. Most laptop branded models tend to come with a dedicated GPU as standard.

If I am not mistaken, the integrated graphics is part of the CPU. Therefore there is no additional TDP. A Dedicated GPU however like the NVIDIA GeForce 970M has a TDP of 100.

If there is no intensive use of the dedicated GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce 970M uses 'optimal technology' to disable itself and switch to the integrated graphics. How effective is this? (I have read on other threads people have issues.)

If I had a dedicated GPU (Which is already going to add weight to the laptop), is there still going to be an appreciable difference to battery life? I've noticed that laptops with dedicated graphic cards tend to default to non (U) denoted processors. Why limit yourself to two cores when you are gaming right?

Third Question: [Correct me If I am wrong]. M.2 SSD's are capable of using SATA or PCIe lanes if I am not mistaken. A M.2 SSD will use the PCIe lanes if they are available and not being used by other hardware. If I have two solid state drives and I know that 1 of them is installed as a PCIe SSD, how do I know if a second M.2 SSD will use SATA or a PCIe lane if I am using a HM170 or Z170 Chipset.

A Laptop which is near to what I am looking for is the HP Elitebook 840 G3. I'm Not a huge fan with the lack of a 16GB RAM option. Nor am I pleased with only one 512Gb SSD. Probably not a Samsung 950 Pro.

 

[geofelt]

You need to look at the important things first.
1. How much do you value portability vs. screen size. Lighter units need to be smaller.
2. What resolution and screen type. IPS screens have better images and viewing angles.
3. How much run time do you need?

TDP does make a difference.
But, primarily when running apps.
The 6th gen skylake processors will be the most efficient.

How strong a processor do you need?
The i7-6800HQ is as strong as it gets.
But, unless you are running an app that can fully utilize 8 threads, the i5-6600U will perform about the same.

Dedicated graphics will increase power when used. But for anything except fast action gaming, the integrated graphics is more than adequate.
Even for HD movie playback.
Dedicated graphics adds negligible weight, but considerable cost.
Avoid it if you are not a fast action gamer.

Few games can make use of more than 2-3 threads. A I5-6600U has two cores, but 4 threads.
The extra threads if a i7 will go largely unused for the gamer.

M.2 is a size format. Some chipsets will allow M.s pcie ssd devices. Yes, the transfer rate is impressive, some 4x conventional sata.
But, what windows does is mainly small random I/o and the perceived performance between a conventional sata and a 950 pro x4 pcie device is negligible.

Most laptops can be upgraded by the user to 16gb of ram.
Doing so, yourself is usually cheaper.

Similarly, a good way to get a ssd in a laptop(which I think is essential)
Is to buy one with a minimal hard drive that you can clone to a ssd of your choice.

Do you have a link to a laptop you are considering?