Why gaming laptops have so bad battery life?

Andy Nguyen

Estimable
Apr 8, 2014
4
0
4,510
I mean, almost every laptops with discreted graphic processors today has the technology to turn off the dedicated GPU and use only intergrated GPU when normal tasks like Words, Excels or browsing webs are performed, so basically a gaming laptop when under normal use is exactly like Ultrabooks.
For example, a Macbook Pro 15 has Core i7 6700HQ, 16GB Ram, Intergrated Intel HD Graphics, a 76Wh battery and it can run like 6-8 hours before it needs to charge. My Aurus X3 Plus v5 has exact same specifications except for the nVIDIA GTX970M which is not used when not gaming and it can runs like 3 hours on light to normal use.
Can someone please explain? Both laptops mentioned runs Windows 10 Pro x64 with latest updates.
 
Solution
It's very simple

gaming laptops tend to have high performance parts such as quad core CPUs and dedicated graphics cards that are very power hungry and at times the battery size doesn't help much either. They sometimes fit 3 or 4 cell betteries

I mean how do you compare a laptop that has an Intel "M" or "U" processor with a TDP of 15W including the graphics with a gaming laptop that has a 45W CPU along with a 75W-122W GPU but the performance is far better

Now, thankfully there is a technology called optimus that automatically switches to the intel GPU when your nvidia GPU is not required then I don't know why you are getting so poor battery life, try lowering the brightness down. In regards to the comparision don't compare a macbook...

lifespill

Estimable
Oct 25, 2015
33
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4,610
A better battery its sure the reason,given that macbooks are advertised more for effieciency than perfomance.

Gaming laptop are made most of the time for heavy usage while plugged on ac adaptor.
 

cosmoji

Estimable
Aug 7, 2015
16
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4,570
also be aware that when a company puts out specs on stuff like battery life, its usually under specific low power conditions to make it sound better. lower brightness than you'd be comfortable with is a good example. but lifespill is definitely right. macbooks are super engineered to use just that very specific hardware and software to get the most out of everything, and its not even comparable to a gaming laptop which isnt meant to last forever and expects to be plugged in when in use for any length of time. especially when gaming.
 

Oliver_21

Commendable
Feb 17, 2016
122
0
1,710
It's very simple

gaming laptops tend to have high performance parts such as quad core CPUs and dedicated graphics cards that are very power hungry and at times the battery size doesn't help much either. They sometimes fit 3 or 4 cell betteries

I mean how do you compare a laptop that has an Intel "M" or "U" processor with a TDP of 15W including the graphics with a gaming laptop that has a 45W CPU along with a 75W-122W GPU but the performance is far better

Now, thankfully there is a technology called optimus that automatically switches to the intel GPU when your nvidia GPU is not required then I don't know why you are getting so poor battery life, try lowering the brightness down. In regards to the comparision don't compare a macbook pro against your gaming laptop because you really don't know what the mac settings are, what type of tests they did with the laptop, what aplications they used so it's not a fair comparison

However, I don't like people to generalize concepts. Some laptops like the gigabyte aero 12 have very decent betteries therfore they can last up to 2 hours while gaming which isn't bad at all
 
Solution

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