2.66 Core i7 15" Macbook Pro battery tests I've done...

So I just got a new Macbook Pro and wanted to share my battery life experience with you guys:

- Safari open with 5-6 tabs, WiFi on, Bluetooth on, full brightness, just browsing random websites + youtube = 5h:18m

- iTunes playing in the background, Safari with same random websites open, about 60% brightness = 6h:09m

So far the display eats up a lot of battery life.

- Watching HD YouTube (I was watching the Home Project), 100% brightness: 4h:41m, 60% brightness: 5h:23m.

- SD video with Quicktime: 5h:10m with 100% brightness
- HD video with Quicktime: 4h:38m with 100% brightness

Playing the Sims3 with everything max details (1440x900 resolution on OS X) and 100% brightness: 2h:58m (wifi on bluetooth on)

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That's pretty much all the testing I've done. Let me know if you guys want me to test anything else, or give your input on the tests I've done so far.

Obviously these are not exact times, I just timed everything with my iPhone timer until the 10% reserve battery warning kicks in and then I stopped.

So far, it's looking like a great machine. Performance is amazing.

Cheers!

 

great news and thank you for this.

+ rep to you.

do you have photoshop, by chance? I'd like to know how much PS affects battery life.

 

great. looks like some amazing battery life numbers.

 

I wonder how many more minutes the i5 would net?

 

WOW.. Those times sound really good compared to my older Macbook Pro 15" times. I get about half if not less Congrats on your new laptop :smile:

 

Thanks everyone, glad the numbers helped in any way.

@ajreynol: I have CS4, will test it today.

Cheers!

 

Damn, most notebooks can't even do 5 hours when you are trying to save battery.

 

@ajreynol: Photoshop CS4 @ full brightness, WiFi on, Bluetooth on, working with a 1280x800px (72dpi) file, 4-5-6 layers, transforming, moving, always smooth zooming (the one that uses the GPU), etc. 2h:49m until 10% battery warning dialogue.

edit: as a side note, in the whole 4 days since I got the new Macbook Pro, I can feel that the build quality is even better than my old late '08 MBP. Everything seems much more solid, from the hinge strength to the magnet strength when clipping down the display, everything just seems much better put together. Can't really explain it in words.

Even the headphone jack seems to be more solid, as well as the FW800 port (which I use quite a lot).

The two year difference is huge though.

 

Why are these numbers so different than what Engadget and Gizmodo posted? Those websites actually post 8-10 Hr battery life. What are thhey doing that you aren't? Are they being completely biased with apple in their reviews?

I don't get it.

 

damn it. lol.

based on your prior measures of 60% brightness, that should put that time around 3:18 minutes. Give or take.

+ maybe 10-20 minutes if using an i5?

man...I was really hoping/expecting for more.

there's no way to disable the GPU, right? If not...the playing field is much more wide open than I thought it was. considering how often I expect Photoshop to be open, this is a big development for me.

Thank you for taking the time to check into this. I can't help feeling disappointed.

 

Keep in mind also ajreynol, that when you have photoshop opened, but merely minimized, it is going to use drastically (DRASTICALLY) less resources and power than if you are smoothing out edges and altering layers, etc.

So unless you are constantly working on a file you can expect 3-4 hours battery life I bet. Which is damn good sir, don't be disappointed haha.

 

doubt you would gain 20 minutes. You only get about 30 minutes (more like 20-25 at best) going from an i7 (quad) to i5 (420m, weakest of the i5).

i7-620m is very energy efficient. It downlocks and overclocks on it's own like the i5s so the few hz is default clock speed really wouldn't drain every much battery.

And I think the numbers from the blogs are for standard "note taking mode" Brightness set to 20%, nothing on except wordprocessing.

That or they're full of crap. The company rated 10hrs, that means in a realistic situation there's no way you can reach it XD

 

Thanks for sharing your battery life test cdnasl.
+1

Lynn

 

I think 3 hours (more or less) with WiFi and bluetooth on and decent brightness is great for Photoshop work. (remember you've got a quad underneath)

I work in a place where almost everybody has laptops and all kinds of brands too. I still look at new Sony Vaios, HPs and Dells and can't figure out how the maximum brightness is so low.

So putting the MBP's brightness to 20% like Engadget or Gizmodo do might actually bump the numbers to be like they write on their websites.

But I hate having to squint at the screen. I like brightness

 

not a quad, a dual with hyperthreading, a qad shows 8 threads.

 

my understanding is that even if the background is in the background or minimized, the discrete GPU stays on. you have to quit the apps in question to down the 330M.

 

4 physical cores, 4 virtual cores, whatever. Not like any program really utilizes either very well yet anyways.

 

the hell are you babbling about?

 

um... you mean 2 physical cores and 4 threads..? the i7-620M is just clocked slightly faster than the i5-540m and has a larger cache... so its not "whatever" cuz your understanding of the MBP i7 is already flawed.

 

he was wrong on the cores and he was wrong on apps using the cores.

his post was all fail. remarkable, considering how few words it contained.