Laptop power saving - Hardware & Software

Hello! My college starts soon (in 6 days) and I think I will need to configure my laptop to use less power than needed. My model is Lenovo Y500. [url]http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/lenovo-ideapad-y500-review/[/url] Some facts that might matter with questions: - Laptop has LCD - TFT display - would darker background help? - It also has 3 USB ports, Ethernet port, VGA port, HDMI port and audio out / in(mic) - would disabling any un-used ports help? - Laptop has 3 GPUs, one intel (unused) and 2 nvidia. The one that runs when laptop is in battery mode is only one nvidia GPU - Would running Intel instead work better? Any more tips? Know good applications that can do some sick optimisations? The laptop on full charge can work for 2 hours... quite bad if you ask me! Thanks for help!

[QUOTE=Fourier;46065045] - Laptop has LCD - TFT display - would darker background help?[/quote] No, only the brightness level effects power consumption, pixels do not actually emit any light. [quote]- It also has 3 USB ports, Ethernet port, VGA port, HDMI port and audio out / in(mic) - would disabling any un-used ports help?[/quote] You're unlikely to get any significant power saving with exception of Wifi and Bluetooth which is a major power consumer. [quote]- Laptop has 3 GPUs, one intel (unused) and 2 nvidia. The one that runs when laptop is in battery mode is only one nvidia GPU - Would running Intel instead work better?[/quote] The intel one would probably use the least amount of power. If you've had the laptop quite a long time you may need to get a new battery, they don't have a unlimited life span and tend to degrade in performance if you don't allow them to discharge fully before charging again, there is plenty of software to test battery performance. Any good college should allow you to charge your laptop.

Try out Nvidia Optimus. It only uses you Nvidia GPUs if you play a game or enable them.

If you can somehow enable the Intel HD4000, take the other GPU out of the computer and get an ultrabay battery. Having both GPUs (SLI) enabled sucks down battery life. If you can't get the HD4000 working, sell the thing and get a contemporary ultrabook with ded. graphics like the Acer V7 or a Zenbook.

[QUOTE=fishyfish777;46069458]If you can somehow enable the Intel HD4000, take the other GPU out of the computer and get an ultrabay battery. Having both GPUs (SLI) enabled sucks down battery life. If you can't get the HD4000 working, sell the thing and get a contemporary ultrabook with ded. graphics like the Acer V7 or a Zenbook.[/QUOTE] Yeah, can't really enable the fucking HD4000, even with BIOS flash mod. Shame on Lenovo. Also no ultrabay battery. Fuck my life. Maybe next option is doing my own battery pack and plugin it in 14V port where power should come in. Btw, SLI mode is automatically disabled when on battery mode. I know because FPS from games is dramatic. [editline]25th September 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Original User;46066875]Try out Nvidia Optimus. It only uses you Nvidia GPUs if you play a game or enable them.[/QUOTE] Disabled HD4000 [editline]25th September 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Chryseus;46065786]No, only the brightness level effects power consumption, pixels do not actually emit any light. You're unlikely to get any significant power saving with exception of Wifi and Bluetooth which is a major power consumer. The intel one would probably use the least amount of power. If you've had the laptop quite a long time you may need to get a new battery, they don't have a unlimited life span and tend to degrade in performance if you don't allow them to discharge fully before charging again, there is plenty of software to test battery performance. Any good college should allow you to charge your laptop.[/QUOTE] Battery has not degraded too much luckily. [editline]25th September 2014[/editline] Looks like I got the worst laptop when it comes to battery consumption.

That's really bizarre that they disabled the HD4000. Usually the HD4000 acts as the primary GPU and the Nvidia GPU just sends its video output to the HD4000 framebuffer. That's how most sane laptops do it anyway.

[QUOTE=Demache;46074506]That's really bizarre that they disabled the HD4000. Usually the HD4000 acts as the primary GPU and the Nvidia GPU just sends its video output to the HD4000 framebuffer. That's how most sane laptops do it anyway.[/QUOTE] It's because Optimus can't do SLI. For SLI to work one of the GPUs has to be connected to the screen.

[QUOTE=Demache;46074506]That's really bizarre that they disabled the HD4000. Usually the HD4000 acts as the primary GPU and the Nvidia GPU just sends its video output to the HD4000 framebuffer. That's how most sane laptops do it anyway.[/QUOTE] Yeah, agree. It is bizzare. [editline]26th September 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=rhx123;46080962]It's because Optimus can't do SLI. For SLI to work one of the GPUs has to be connected to the screen.[/QUOTE] Makes sense. I am not dissapointed with laptop, it is gaming monster after all. Maybe I will trade it for something more battery efficient. If half of the classes will have power outlets, it will solve all problems.

If you don't mind a hit to your performance you can try undervolting your processor.