Does removing the second GPU increase battery life significantly (e.g. no gaming, just general browsing, Word/Office)?
282005
This is a question for the Lenovo technical group. They are very helpful: in the realm of being the creators, they definitely are going to have the answers. Answer from Austin is good, but I would still contact Lenovo.
282006
Not sure, it's my sons and he uses it for gaming only, which is the point of 2 graphic cards. For browsing and word/office only, why buy a "gaming" computer, it seems like overkill and overpaying?There are lots of other options out there. Also with reference to the battery, my son says the frame rate drops from 60 to about 10 when you unplug and go only battery power, which is not good for gaming, but it may not matter for word/office. Hope this helps.
282007
The second GPU is only active 1) if you have SLI mode turned on and 2) if you are actually using a program that needs advanced graphics. I wouldn't think removing it would improve battery life at all.
663559
I've been using my Eee Slate 4gb/64g version since the end of Jan. I can get 4-4.5hrs easy on battery in power saving mode with the screen dimmed, and at it's lowest setting its quite bright and clear. This is no noticable lag, only glass effects are turnedoff in power saving mode. I did this yestuday while in a meeting, running excel, ie8 or or ie9, and an X-server (cygwin) using wireless and keyboard/mouse. The latest service pack (Win7 sp1) stopped the fans from running too.
385050
RE: FriedhoffJust a friendly reminder: HD level performance w/ GN40 means battery life will drop. Likely a lot. Link above shows current set up consumes 8W whereas GN40 setup consumes 14W... That *roughly* translates to only 40% drop in battery life, so 9 hours would become 5 hours!
2200455
No. It's really hard to upgrade a GPU in a laptop. Even if you could; a more powerful GPU means you would need a new power supply as well.
116861
I just got the 16GB for Christmas. After reading all the battery posts, the first thing I did was charge it fully, then play it until the battery died. I got 20+ hours. I think a lot has to do with how often the screen is "lit". If you're constantly shuffling through, picking songs, adjusting volume etc. i think one would get less life than just playing it like I did (the screen was black most of the time since I wasn't adjusting anything). And of course, i would expect video or games to kill the battery even quicker. That would be a good test, play a video straight through and see the life. I don't have any videos loaded, so I can't really test that.
709207
The battery life has been pretty great for me. I've played Star Craft 2, a very resource-intensive game, for a few hours before plugging in. You might eventually consider a laptop cooling pad, as the small case can sometimes lead to overheating.
701701
No. I bought this item for Christmas this year and it is very powerful. I use blender, maya, photoshop, c ++, 3d games, and other programs running many at the same time and I haven't had any issues what so ever. If you did end up having a problem, I have no idea how you would cause the cooling is great and if needed you could replace the second graphics card for an extra cooling fan in the ultrabay or use a program to tweak the fan power inside to cool it down. Very good laptop! Hope this helps. =)
780145
Power draw depends on the power settings. As I have turn down the settings when on battery mode to LOW, I get 7-8 hours. This is achieved when my display settings is only 35% brightness. Which is fine with me.What I do not like about the battery is there is already a 6% capacity wear the day I received it. So from day one, my capacity is only 94% of capacity. One other thing, the upgrade to win 8.1 Update 1 is complicated and error prone using MS files. Better use a ISO with upgrade already built in. Mine is now Entreprise 8.1 Update 1 after some difficulties. Remmember to load drivers in certain order or your MSATA cache will not work. Power draw depends on the power settings. As I have turn down the settings when on battery mode to LOW, I get 7-8 hours. This is achieved when my display settings is only 35% brightness. Which is fine with me.What I do not like about the battery is there is already a 6% capacity wear the day I received it. So from day one, my capacity is only 94% of capacity. One other thing, the upgrade to win 8.1 Update 1 is complicated and error prone using MS files. Better use a ISO with upgrade already built in. Mine is now Entreprise 8.1 Update 1 after some difficulties. Remmember to... » Read More Power draw depends on the power settings. As I have turn down the settings when on battery mode to LOW, I get 7-8 hours. This is achieved when my display settings is only 35% brightness. Which is fine with me.What I do not like about the battery is there is already a 6% capacity wear the day I received it. So from day one, my capacity is only 94% of capacity. One other thing, the upgrade to win 8.1 Update 1 is complicated and error prone using MS files. Better use a ISO with upgrade already built in. Mine is now Entreprise 8.1 Update 1 after some difficulties. Remmember to load drivers in certain order or your MSATA cache will not work. « Show Less
820265
I don't use my MBP for gaming, but I do use it for processor-intensive video editing, for hours at a time. FWIW, I haven't encountered any heat-related issues when using the mTower with an separate Lightning display.
133427
It could be better: I get about 4 hrs with intensive graphics use/video; 5-6 hrs if I'm just editing documents or surfing the web (no video). I leave it plugged in when I can.
774075
It depends on your performance settings and what you're doing on the laptop. I use mine with high performance and generally use light programs (MS Office) and web browsing and it generally lasts about 2-4 hours depending. The life of the battery can extend quite beyond that I believe by turning off features and downgrading performance, but I have not really explored those features fully.
202618
Well, unfortunately I'm not an avid gamer so I am not on it that often, but I have found that if you have it in sleep mode it does a very good job of retaining power. If I were to estimate, if you played it as much as the average owner, I would say you could get a guaranteed couple days out of it...I might even venture and say three days. Again thats just a guess. You might wanna poke around online and google some sites that will give you some good insight on the battery life. Hope I was able to help at least a little. Have fun and keep gaming! ;)
1015509
Ha...I guess the one down side...I get about two hours on max performance. I have been thinking about getting a better battery for the laptop (4 hour type or more). However, I need to add my purchase was more for a portable desktop than a mobile computer (tablet, etc...) so it stays plugged in about 85% of the time.
1059890
I Have many computers in my house and for years I always left them on. Turning them on and off can damage the Boot Sector Over Time. As for leaving the Envy Rove Unplugged. The Battery needs to be exercised to retain it's potential. (Use then recharge then use etc.) I would not leave it unplugged for to long a time.
864951
When playing games about 2 hours of battery life. Doing Microsoft office or other things about 4 hrs
1398445
I doubt it. One the best ways to increase battery life is to reduce the intensity of the display. The Kira does have a power management option, but I've never tested its ability to extend the battery life.
796537
Hi! For my use (I don't do gaming, just regular internet stuff...videos, etc) I found it to have the expected amount of time - between 2 & 3 hours. I tested it out the second day I had it, although I use the ac adapter most of the time with my laptops. But I wanted to know what to expect, so I ran it on the battery just to test it out. I don't know if games and the like make a big difference on battery life or not, though. I hope that helps some. It seems like your basic battery life for a 15-17" laptop from my experience. I have 3 laptops. Two of them (this 16" and my other Toshiba, a 15.4") have 6 cell batteries and the battery time is about the same. I have a Dell 15.4" laptop with a 9 cell battery and get 4-6 hours with that.