Looking for laptop with longest battery when doing stuff (like gaming)

[kanik87]

1. What is your budget?

$400-600

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

From 10-15 inches

3. What screen resolution do you want?

No preference

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Something portable, already have a desktop. Would like to do light gaming on it via flights and also be able to hook up a mic to it and do voice recordings on the go via Audacity.

5. How much battery life do you need?

Ideal is 5+ hours when in actual use. I see reviews with "5 hours...of video playback" but I intend on doing more than just watching movies.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Do want to play games, but nothing out of this world / brand new. Maybe games from 90s-2010. Again, my issue is whether the battery can handle playing lets say, Diablo 2 for more than 3 hours.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Light photoshop, mostly audio recording / editing.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

100GB is good.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Was looking into either this tiny laptop from HP or the larger version...larger is more powerful and has a 9-cell battery but for some reason I have this notion that tiny laptops go on for longer than larger ones.

HP DM1Z-4000
http/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/B1F62AV;pgid=WI5w5ucsRmFSRpoOCZ4wAjLM0000ONwR0qg2;sid=fpcHyJ06HrXbydLFiGpbXEQ1SovCnakmu8JJFHufdEyKYxZBprykS0lG?HP-Pavilion-dm1z-4200-Entertainment-Notebook-PC

HP DV6Z-7000
http/www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/A3H21AV?HP-Pavilion-dv6z-7000-Entertainment-Notebook-PC

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

If it can do what I need of it, probably a few years.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

None needed

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Don't have a preference - just what is reliable and afforadable.

13. What country do you live in?

USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I basically want something that can do light gaming, won’t be terribly sluggish but most importantly, has good battery life. The last laptop purchase I made was for an acer netbook that boasted 8 hours of battery life – but turned out it would only do 2 hours while playing a game from the 90s. This made the remainder of my 7 hour flight to California boring when it ran out. Switched over to an Android tablet, which I love the battery life of but would rather prefer a real OS so I’m trying for a laptop again.

 

[namdlo]

Gaming and battery life typically don't co-exist.

"Typical" battery life is usually measure with an application that uses very little gpu.

 

[kurjack]

The thing is, when manufacturers rate batter life performance on a notebook, its measured for light web browsing/productivity software usage. Games use alot more power and therefore drain the battery alot faster. No matter what laptop you purchase, 2-3 hours battery while gaming is probably the max you will find.

 

[dudewitbow]

the hardest part about the budget is that it may be used for games, and the budget is very limited and the battery life expectancy is extremely high. The only remote thing that can fit that niche would be like a laptop without a dedicated gpu(as they will drain laptop battery quicker) and relies on igpu. like an i3/i5/APU assuming you don't want to carry an extra lithium ion battery with you. also battery life deteriorates overtime

 

[inanition02]

The E series APUs would get you better battery life...but wouldn't game as well.

And the A series would game, esp with a discrete GPU (can Xfire them), but wouldn't last quite as long. How much of the time will you be gaming? Will you be near a plug?

 

[kanik87]

The ideal situation where I would be gaming is on a plane or on a bus during a commute so no plug. So 4+ hours without turning off would be ideal. The games I would play aren't so much Batman/Skyrim/Diablo 3, but rather 2D games like Cave Story or older games like Diablo 2.

If it really isn't possible to get 4+ hours, then I could get a spare battery.

Ran two configs on the HP site:

HP Pavilion dv6z-7000 Entertainment Notebook PC
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Dual-Core A6-4400M (3.0GHz/2.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)
AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7600 Series Discrete-Class Graphics
FREE Upgrade to 6GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
FREE Upgrade to 640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
No additional security software
One 6 Cell and One 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone + HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Gets me a 6 cell + 9 cell battery...running on that bigger machine: $532

HP Pavilion dm1z-4200 Entertainment Notebook PC
ash black
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
E2-1800 + AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6300 series Discrete-Class Graphics
FREE UPGRADE to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
320GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
No additional security software
50% OFF!! Two 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Batteries
11.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
No Internal DVD or CD Drive
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R)
Standard Keyboard
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Gets me two 6 cell batteries and the recovery Windows disc: $452

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Entertainment Notebook PC
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3110M (2.4 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)
Intel(R) HD Graphics
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
FREE Upgrade to 640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
NO mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
No additional security software
30% off 9 cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

And this i3 for $547, only one 9cell battery (are those 9-cell batteries bigger than normal?)

Of course, if you have a better computer option I should look into, let me know! The only reason I would opt for the cheaper, smaller, less powerful computer is if it runs cooler / longer. I still keep thinking in my head that the bigger it is, the faster the battery dies due to screen size.

 

[kanik87]

I was about ready to go for the bigger 15" model but then read about some people experiencing overheat issues.

Would the 11" computer generate less heat / overheat less than the 15"?

 

[dudewitbow]

heat is generally caused by how well the laptop is built overall, and how much air can circulate in that small case that laptops are always in. as well as thermal paste integrity

 

[Pyree]

I was about ready to go for the bigger 15" model but then read about some people experiencing overheat issues.

Would the 11" computer generate less heat / overheat less than the 15"?

No. If same hardware but in a smaller chassis, the overheating problem will be worse.

Go for the DV6z.