Optimus battery performance

Hi everyone, so after taking the laptop through multiple charge cycles and using it fairly regularly for a good few days (I have until this Thursday to return it), I've finally seemed to managed to sap the expected battery performance out of this laptop. As I'm writing this, the laptop has lasted for 3 hours and 41 mins with 30% remaining with a supposed 1 hour remaining. I've set the laptop to "Office" mode and set the fan to "Sounds Loud", so I'm assuming that the CPU is being limited with those settings. I haven't done a clean instal of windows as I don't see the point in doing that unless I'm going to actually be keeping this laptop. Currently got 7 tabs open with one being a YouTube video looping at highest definition across my "test". I've also turned the Windows "Battery Saver" on too, brightness is on around half and RGB backlights are off. Is there anything anyone else knows I can do to help improve the battery life of this computer? I'd be willing to try an undervolt if I'm able to bring it back up automatically when it's plugged in somehow. The load on the CPU is very low as it's only got around 3% load with 1.40gHz.

TL;DR: Any possible way I'm able to bring the performance of this battery from 4 hours to around 6 - 8? If I can get it to that sort of level, I'd be able to keep this laptop and not have to say goodbye to things I'd really like in a laptop. If I can't, probably going to have to send it back and get something that's more battery focused, which I really don't want to do as this is the only place this laptop falters. It's understandable considering it's a gaming laptop but it should have a decent life on the battery when there's barely anything active right now.

Side question: Would I be able to get a better battery in the laptop itself? Due to the way the chassis is made, I doubt it, but I thought it was also worth asking.

Laptop Configuration:
Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 120Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 Eight-Core Processor 4800H (2.9GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 Card Reader (Full Size SD / SDHC / SDXC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 180W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Optimus Series Integrated 46WH Lithium-Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.1 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
OPTIMUS PRO SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
TongFang GK5NR0O (6GB RTX-2060, R7-4800H, 120Hz, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £1,199.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/optimusXI-pro-15/H6Q0jtSWkz/


I'll be posting another update after the battery on this laptop has run out and I'll be updating the time it lasted too. Again, any suggestions as to how I can further improve this is highly appreciated!
 
Thanks for the suggestion, under regular use, I'll probably do the same, but for testings sake, been running it at half since I tend to work early mornings too, I struggle seeing my screen if the sun shines right on the screen
 
For this laptop, I'm well aware it's pretty good, been lasting 4 hours 34 mins with 44 mins left to go too. Problem is, the load I'm taking it under is so light, fans aren't even running and the CPU isn't even running hot. So I don't understand why I'm not able to squeeze more power out of it.
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
So isn’t over 5 hours for a 4 hour battery squeezing 25%+ already pretty good then?

Don’t think you’ll get a lot more from it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
For this laptop, I'm well aware it's pretty good, been lasting 4 hours 34 mins with 44 mins left to go too. Problem is, the load I'm taking it under is so light, fans aren't even running and the CPU isn't even running hot. So I don't understand why I'm not able to squeeze more power out of it.
I rather think that's the nature of the beast. Four hours is pretty good for a gaming laptop when not gaming.
 
For this laptop, yeah, you could say I'm slightly happy now that I'm actually getting the predicted performance of it (before was only getting an hour to two hours from 100%.) But I find it strange. Could be the low watt rating of the battery. Would it be possible to get it replaced? (The battery with a higher rated one, I mean)
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
You will probably have to ask PCS that but if there was an option to do so then check your upgrade link to see if one exists in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
You are right. I was just thinking in case they have now been provided with options since you built. But looking at new builds the option is still only then one battery.

You would still be better off contacting them about changing to a different battery anyway to make sure the machine can take it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So would there be any point in calling since it's extremely unlikely that I'm going to be able to fit a better battery in this thing?
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
Your decision to make. I'm always of the view, you will never know if you dont ask, but as you said it is unlikely. An email may suffice to just ask the question but obviously you are wanting to make a time based decision.

Is this your only issue with this laptop or have you had other things that are swaying you to return it?
 
I would email them if I could, but my previous emails have taken almost a week to respond, and I need to make a choice by Wednesday. (Thursday is when I need to choose to return or not). And yes, this laptop runs perfectly as expected other than the battery, and now I know it's not exactly a "problem" in the sense that PCS had failed to do something, it's simply up to whether the battery can withstand my use case. Testing the battery again (100% is supposedly going to give 6 hours, if so, I can order a replacement battery and use that when this batter degrades, still a risk, however). I need this battery to last an average school day, so that's around 6 hours of constant battery use, with a few chrome tabs open and a word document. Other than that, it's a 10/10 laptop.

Going to be phoning them now, I'll post a reply when I get an update from them
 

Bhuna50

Author Level
Trouble is a lot of gaming laptops have poor performance on battery so its a compromise.

How much charge does the battery get when you plug it in for half hour / hour - any chance you can grab an hours charge over lunchtimes?
 
50% across an hour. And no, that's exactly why I'm looking for said better battery, as it's physically impossible for me to be able to get a charge while in school/class. Uni could be a different thing since I'm only in College, but I've got to be ready for that too.

And yeah, they do tend to have poor battery performance and I was expecting that, problem is, with the workload I give this thing while on battery, it should really be performing a lot better. 1-3% load on the CPU, fans don't even run because the CPU doesn't heat up at all. So I fail to understand why the battery is lasting as long as it does.
 
So, after a live chat with them (failed to get through to them through the phones), they said they weren't sure themselves. They say I'm going to have to risk the drive space I have in here, but it could be possible to get a bigger battery in there, again dependant on the space. So it's something I'm going to have to look into, but I doubt I have enough time to be honest.
 
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