New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Battery life for all? - Page 2

post #21 of 56
6/30/03 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting point. I doubt if it would make an actual difference though. Because the HDD still has to spin. But that would be cool if it didnt. Next Question what is the battery life of the 5670 with duals and whats the battery life without duals. Because if the 8887 can get two hours and the 5670 with duals only gets 2.5 that extra half hour might not be worth the sacrifice of the 16.1 screen (assuming it comes back or the 8890 is comparable)
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 56
6/30/03 at 3:06pm
i have been thinking about that dvd-rom thing. and i think that it would take more power because first the dvd-rom would have to read the disk (cause spinning) and then send it to the hard drive, where you PLAY the video you have to decode (or something) mabye encode... i dunno. so the hard drive is spinning too. also when you buy the dvd, you can buy them in full screen. most people do becuase they are used to the VHS feeling of the "FULL SCREEN AFFECT!" i really dont care, i have watched enough dvd and divX movies that i dont notice the black on the top and bottom anymore.

anyone with a 5660 or 5670 with one OR two batteries please answer my question.

thanks again.

-Jcc2k4
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 56
6/30/03 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
Does it send it to the hard drive after reading it off the disk? The hard drive would'nt be spnning the whole time, but the DVD drive would... i just think the energy would be negliable
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 56
6/30/03 at 3:24pm
if no one posts, then in a month when i get my 5670 (when 5680 is out) i will test it....

-Jcc2k4
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 56
6/30/03 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally posted by jcc2k4
sorry joined this thread kinda late, but when i search for battery life for the 5670 all i can find about movies are "dvd playback" i can only assume that is when your putting the dvd into your dvd-rom drive. but what people dont tell you is if you run a ripped movie off your hdd. will it still suck the same amount of power out of your batteries? or will it reduce it? (if you run at full screen about 1/2 of the screen is black)

has anyone ever tried this? it might 'boost' battery time for all

-Jcc2k4
Just because hlaf the screen is black doesn't mean the screen is using half the power. The backlight is a seperate unit from the screen, and whenever the screen is on, the entire screen is backlit. You cannot just turn off the backlight BTW, you wuldn't be able to see the screen anymore.

It would be best to play any movie off the HDD, the DVD generally uses more power, and if the HDD it spinning while the DVD is running, they are using almost twice the power.

However the whole thing is moot, because the CPU is doing a lot of work, and the CPU uses a LOT more power than the HDD or DVD.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 56
6/30/03 at 4:29pm
He is right. LCD's are "ALWAYS ON" when they're on. It actually takes MORE power to have a black screen than a white screen, as to get black, another charge must go through the liquid to "block" the backlight that is on, thus creating black.

-myrkat
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 56
6/30/03 at 6:03pm
Why would playing a dvd require the hard drive spinning? Doesn't the DVD drive just send data directly to RAM, where it's processed by processor and sent to the screen? Where does the hard drive come in? You may be able to save some power by telling the HD to spin down when you're watching a movie.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 56
6/30/03 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally posted by jamesshuang
Why would playing a dvd require the hard drive spinning? Doesn't the DVD drive just send data directly to RAM, where it's processed by processor and sent to the screen? Where does the hard drive come in? You may be able to save some power by telling the HD to spin down when you're watching a movie.
The media player needs to BUFFER the signal from the disc. There is no decoder built into the drive, so the computer has to read the compressed (MPEG-2) signal into SOMETHING (it would be nice if it was all in RAM like a component DVD player) but I think the way computers work (and Windows) is that it puts something on the drive.

Of course, the ideal low-power method for viewing movies is to view them from the hard drive, as that takes less juice than the DVD drive (which not only spins but has an energy-sucking laser).

-myrkat
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 56
6/30/03 at 11:21pm
Can't the DVD drive buffer to RAM, instead of the power-guzzling hard disk drive? That was my question... I'm sure DVD's don't read THAT far ahead to require the HD as buffer, I'd figure the RAM would be enough for it.
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 56
7/1/03 at 1:07am
Quote:
Originally posted by jamesshuang
Can't the DVD drive buffer to RAM, instead of the power-guzzling hard disk drive? That was my question... I'm sure DVD's don't read THAT far ahead to require the HD as buffer, I'd figure the RAM would be enough for it.
Prolly depends upon the DVD software there.
Reply
Reply
post #31 of 56
7/1/03 at 2:59am
the best average time i'ver experienced with my 8887 is 1:45hr
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 56
7/1/03 at 2:58pm
I was concerned with the battery life and although the second battery option on the 5670 seems like a good idea. Another thread said the re-charge rate on both batteries might be quite long and Adam e-mailed me that there were no "external main or second battery chargers available" so the recharge time would require the notebook to be plugged in quite a lot. On PCTorques' web site under accessories they sell a portable battery pack called "power pad". I just purchased a 5670, HT, etc. DVD with one battery and the power pad. I will be using it full time at work with the power cord and main battery out (should reduce the heat because the recharge circuit won't be running.) and when I'm at home doing my school work on the couch I will plug in the power pad. Recharge the battery when ever to keep it up/recycle and put the recharge/discharge load on the power pad instead of the notebook. When the power pad wears out replace it plus it can be used with other notebooks. A rated 8 to 10 hours on the version I purchased should give me 4 hours of run time maybe more.(I'll find out and let you know.)
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 56
7/1/03 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally posted by nagam
...I just purchased a 5670, HT, etc. DVD with one battery and the power pad....
Unless something MAJOR has changed since I've been gone, those Powerpads DO NOT work on Sagers.

I would contact PC Torque ASAP to see if you can 86 the powerpad.

-myrkat
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 56
7/1/03 at 7:05pm
myrkat is right. There is right now no external power supply that works for a Sager. The powerpad was only offered by PC Torque because they also sold Acer computers which it does work with.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 56
7/1/03 at 7:34pm
oh well,my loss. These forums are great, if you ask the right questions. Seems like someone at PCTorque would have brought that to my attention. Thanks, maybe I'll have out electical engineer look at the two and see if he can suggest a way to make it work. Thanks to all who responded.
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 56
7/1/03 at 8:28pm
well if you really know what you are doing you could cut the plug off the end of the powerpad and then put a sager plug on it (like from and extra power cord or something) yet I would be careful with this. It seems risky to try on a new laptop. Also check to may sure the power supply would even be enough for the laptop.
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 56
7/1/03 at 9:22pm
I've requested it not be shipped; however, if they do I'll let our engineer look at it and see what he thinks. There are external chargers for IBM batteries as well as other brands and I doubt very seriously if Sager makes their own battery. There has to be an external battery charger solution out there somewhere.
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 56
7/1/03 at 9:34pm
The only thing I know of that has been found are things used to jump car batteries. They have a DC plug on them so you can plug a car adapter into them and power you laptop. This though is a bit extreme.
Reply
Reply
post #39 of 56
7/1/03 at 10:38pm
here is a link about a 'wire-free' charger.

http://www.pcworld.com/resource/prin...,106482,00.asp

or search Google for MobileWise && Power Pad.

seems like a nice concept yet requires a chip be inserted into the electrical component, be it the computer or the battery, PDA, etc. There is no mention on how much this chip costs.

Sager has created a market in the notebook world because of their business decision to make one that can be upgraded. There are sooooo many posts about batteries in this forum which indicates a huge market for anyone that comes up with an external battey charger system for the Sager brand.

I ran across a battery (li-ion) analyzer/charger with a capacity of 20mAh to 100Ah and a voltage of 0 to 24V. Programmable and controlled by a PC / serial connection. It's expensive but its not restricted to just one battery type/connection. Vencon Tech, Ontario Canada makes the unit. After I get my 5670 I'll send the battery specs to them and see what they say.
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 56
7/2/03 at 12:38am
Thread Starter 
that recharger would be cool, then i could have the laptop recharging in different places without moving the cord each time.. Like have the cord by my desk and the sireless charger by my bed. But if this technology goes off.. Everthing would have this in it and we would never need to charge out battery. These chargers could be built into tables, seats,.. everything!!!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Sager & Clevo Notebooks