Disappointed, very disappointed.

[JerryAttrick]

I got a laptop from PCS and although they said we could get "up to 3 hours battery life", this is not even achievable in airline mode, running a very dim screen, no superfluous packages, no WiFi or Bluetooth. It was bought for a course whose sessions last 90 minutes. From fully charged, not doing anything, I ended up with about 15 minutes left of battery life. Therefore, it is practically unusable as a portable laptop. Colleagues I have spoken to think that any laptop should have far more battery life - 10 to 12 hours. I would not recommend this without meticulous inspection of the specifications and full understanding the marketing speak of "up to..."

I am expecting to do presentation next time, so I might have to use my Windows 7 laptop that sounds like a steam engine. At least it will last 90 minutes.

However, my previous PCS desktop is very satisfactory.

 

[Ekans2011]

I got a laptop from PCS and although they said we could get "up to 3 hours battery life", this is not even achievable in airline mode, running a very dim screen, no superfluous packages, no WiFi or Bluetooth. It was bought for a course whose sessions last 90 minutes. From fully charged, not doing anything, I ended up with about 15 minutes left of battery life. Therefore, it is practically unusable as a portable laptop. Colleagues I have spoken to think that any laptop should have far more battery life - 10 to 12 hours. I would not recommend this without meticulous inspection of the specifications and full understanding the marketing speak of "up to..."

I am expecting to do presentation next time, so I might have to use my Windows 7 laptop that sounds like a steam engine. At least it will last 90 minutes.

However, my previous PCS desktop is very satisfactory.

What laptop is it? Could you please post the full specs from your orders page?

 

[JerryAttrick]

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 16" Matte FHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (1920 x 1200)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16 Core Processor 14650HX (5.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4050 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR, 1625MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
1 x Defiance Battery 54WH
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 x USB 3.2 PORTS (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
W
ows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licencend
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Miscellaneous
PCSpecialist Game Pass Sheet
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book

 

[JerryAttrick]

Detailed specification...


Dimensions & Weight
Dimensions (w x d x h)
361mm x 259mm x 25.1mm
Weight
2.3 kg
Colour
Black
Chipset
Processor Support
14th Generation Intel Processor Support
Memory
Memory Type
Supports up to DDR5 5600MHz
Number of Modules
2 x Modules
Maximum Supported Memory
64GB
Hard Drive Capacity
M.2 Port
3 x PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 Ports
Display & Graphics
Graphics
Choice of graphics cards - refer to configurator.
Screen Size
16 inch, 16:10 panel
Native/Maximum Resolution
2560 x 1600
Backlight
LED
Nvidia® Optimus™ Technology
Yes
Refresh Rate
Please refer to configurator.
NTSC
SRGB 100%
Graphics TDP (Thermal Design Power)
RTX 4050 105W|4060 105W Max
Audio
Chipset
Sound Blaster ™ Studio
Channels
2 channel HD Audio
Connections
Microphone-in and headphone-out
Speakers
2 x 2W Stereo Speakers
Integrated Microphone
Yes
Communications
LAN
Gigabit LAN
Wireless Support
Wireless LAN 802.11AC/B/G/N (M.2 Interface)
Bluetooth Support
Bluetooth V5.2 module support
Keyboard & Mouse
Keys
Multi colour backlit keyboard
Language Support
Multi-Language support
Pointing Device | Touchpad Mouse
Built in Multi GestureTouch pad
Backlit Keyboard
Yes
Ports
HDMI Ports
1 x HDMI
LAN
1 x RJ-45 jack
USB
2 x USB 3.2 PORT (TYPE C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Display
1 x HDMI, 1 x DP via USB-C
Microphone-IN
1
Headphone-OUT
1
DC-in
1
Webcam
Webcam
2.0MP FHD Webcam
Battery & Power Lead
Battery Capacity
4 Cell Lithium-Ion 54WH
Typical Battery Life
Up to 3 hours
Battery Type
Integrated
Power Lead & AC Adapter
1 x Power Lead included with AC Adapter
Security
Kensington Lock
Yes


See "Typical battery life Up to 3 hours" 3 hours doing what?

 

[Nat9320]

I’m sure somebody will look to help you shortly but in the meantime I would suggest that you edit you post to remove the Windows key … don’t want it stolen.

 

[JerryAttrick]

I’m sure somebody will look to help you shortly but in the meantime I would suggest that you edit you post to remove the Windows key … don’t want it stolen.

Thanks. Done. I think

 

[Ekans2011]

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 16" Matte FHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (1920 x 1200)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 16 Core Processor 14650HX (5.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB PCS PRO SODIMM DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4050 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3200 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR, 1625MB/sW)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
1 x Defiance Battery 54WH
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 x USB 3.2 PORTS (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE MULTI COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
W
ows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licencend
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (6 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Miscellaneous
PCSpecialist Game Pass Sheet
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book

The battery has a limited capacity (my Ionico has 99Wh and can be used for less than 2 hours, whilst yours only has 54Wh), and the autonomy is determined by how the energy profile is configured in the control center.

Can you post a screenshot of the control center settings? Have you turned off the dGPU?

For the record: I agree that the battery lasts too short, but that's how the performance laptops work.

 

[JerryAttrick]

The battery has a limited capacity (my Ionico has 99Wh and can be used for less than 2 hours, whilst yours only has 54Wh), and the autonomy is determined by how the energy profile is configured in the control center.

Can you post a screenshot of the control center settings? Have you turned off the dGPU?

For the record: I agree that the battery lasts too short, but that's how the performance laptops work.

Can you check back in a couple of hours? I have other things to do and the laptop is currentl;y charging. (I'm doing this messaging on my desktop!)

 

[JerryAttrick]

D

Can you check back in a couple of hours? I have other things to do and the laptop is currentl;y charging. (I'm doing this messaging on my desktop!)

 

[JerryAttrick]

D

View attachment 42736

I wasn't doing anything, yet the battery drained away.

 

[Ekans2011]

D

View attachment 42736

It does not appear to be a screenshot of the control center; who manufactured that laptop? Clevo or Tongfang?

 

[JerryAttrick]

It does not appear to be a screenshot of the control center; who manufactured that laptop? Clevo or Tongfang?

Sorry. I did not understand what you were looking for - CLEVO

 

[Ekans2011]

Sorry. I did not understand what you were looking for - CLEVOView attachment 42737

I'm not familiar with Clevos, but you should have installed a master driver (also known as control center) that allows you to establish multiple profiles, control fans, set CPU/GPU power limits, and perform other operations.
How did you set this up?

 

[JerryAttrick]

I didn't install anything like that. I thought it would have been up to date. Where is that?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I didn't install anything like that. I thought it would have been up to date. Where is that?

It's in your running programs, the up arrow on the bottom right of the desktop

It's still called control center but it's a different piece of software. It's the master driver that ties into all other drivers.

 

[JerryAttrick]

Got it! Fiddling with its settings isn't something I'm comfortable with. So what's the best setup for keeping the battery going for as long as possible? (Apart from turning it off!) Remember that the battery lasts just short of 2 hours when doing nothing. I have turned off the keyboard lights, though - a gimmick.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Got it! Fiddling with its settings isn't something I'm comfortable with. So what's the best setup for keeping the battery going for as long as possible? (Apart from turning it off!) Remember that the battery lasts just short of 2 hours when doing nothing. I have turned off the keyboard lights, though - a gimmick.

What are you using the dedicated GPU for? That’s what will be draining the battery on any gaming laptop.