I got 2 hours of battery life!?

[grumpy]

1. Gom Player (32 bit) CPU 9 - 14% Memory 180MB

Try a different video player. That is comparable to VLC which is also a bit of a hog. The included video app's CPU utilization is under 2% while watching 1080p video. On my SP2 the total CPU utilization is 5% while using the video app to play videos on my TV via miracast.

 

[markusbeutel]

How in the world do you get 6.5 to 9??? Please do share your settings! I wouldn't mind sacrificing some performance if I were to get 9 hours of battery life!!

There's no way anyone's getting 9 hours on the SP3 unless they have like 1 browser tab open, no other programs open, and they spend multiple hours on the one tab before powering down... I've gone through 5 SP3's, always got between 3 and ~4.5 hours of battery life while browsing with brightness set at 80%.

The battery blows, as it does on most of these hybrid devices (just look at the Yoga 3 Pro, it's even worse). Unless you want to minimize your user experience and squint at 5% screen brightness, do yourself a favor and buy the power cover. It doesn't fit the SP3 perfectly as it was made for the SP1/2 form factor, but it'll bump you up to around 7-8 hours of battery life which is acceptable.

If you want decent battery life the power cover is your only option, either that, or get another hybrid like the Dell Venue Pro 11 with Core M that has a legit keyboard battery and gives you ~ 15 hours worth. Probably the best hybrid on the market so far regarding battery life.

 

[jnjroach]

There's no way anyone's getting 9 hours on the SP3 unless they have like 1 browser tab open, no other programs open, and they spend multiple hours on the one tab before powering down... I've gone through 5 SP3's, always got between 3 and ~4.5 hours of battery life while browsing with brightness set at 80%.

The battery blows, as it does on most of these hybrid devices (just look at the Yoga 3 Pro, it's even worse). Unless you want to minimize your user experience and squint at 5% screen brightness, do yourself a favor and buy the power cover. It doesn't fit the SP3 perfectly as it was made for the SP1/2 form factor, but it'll bump you up to around 7-8 hours of battery life which is acceptable.

If you want decent battery life the power cover is your only option, either that, or get another hybrid like the Dell Venue Pro 11 with Core M that has a legit keyboard battery and gives you ~ 15 hours worth. Probably the best hybrid on the market so far regarding battery life.

So your stance is if you can't get 9 hours of battery life it is impossible? You're using 80% Brightness... of course your battery life dismal...

 

[Gerke]

I get between 8.5 en 10 hours on my SP3. Use most MUI apps, brightness around 50%.
For videoplayback I use Mobile.HD and File Brick.
I charge at night and can work al day without recharging.

I always check taskmanager to close the programs I am not using at that time. Try that and you will be amazed

 

[markusbeutel]

So your stance is if you can't get 9 hours of battery life it is impossible? You're using 80% Brightness... of course your battery life dismal...

Clearly said in my post if you want to minimize your user experience with 5% (10,20,50%, whatever) brightness, go right ahead. You might get 6-7 hours, you're not getting 9 though, unless you actually believe Microsoft and other OEMs regarding battery performance.

The sad thing is, with a 42 mWh battery the SP3 already has one of the larger batteries in a hybrid device - considering these devices are all about portability, you'd think battery life would be an area they excel at.

 

[markusbeutel]

I get between 8.5 en 10 hours on my SP3. Use most MUI apps, brightness around 50%.
For videoplayback I use Mobile.HD and File Brick.
I charge at night and can work al day without recharging.

I always check taskmanager to close the programs I am not using at that time. Try that and you will be amazed

That doesn't sound like typical usage regarding the OP though, watching movies, heavy browsing, streaming, etc, he'll be lucky to get more than 5 hours without a power cover on even the lowest brightness settings. It kind of sounds like he bought the wrong device if he's using the SP3 mainly for media consumption.

 

[Gerke]

So you call us liars?

Troll alert?

 

[jnjroach]

Clearly said in my post if you want to minimize your user experience with 5% (10,20,50%, whatever) brightness, go right ahead. You might get 6-7 hours, you're not getting 9 though, unless you actually believe Microsoft and other OEMs regarding battery performance.

The sad thing is, with a 42 mWh battery the SP3 already has one of the larger batteries in a hybrid device - considering these devices are all about portability, you'd think battery life would be an area they excel at.

I use 40 to 50% with adaptive brightness, on the lowest end which means Lync Conference Calls I get 5.5 hours, I consistently get 6.5 to 7.5 if I'm doing Office, Browsing, Reading and some Video. If I'm doing just browsing including watching videos I get 8 to 9 hours....

 

[markusbeutel]

So you call us liars?

Troll alert?

Clearly said your usage stats are not applicable for his usage. I'm sure you get tons of battery life. Not helpful for OP though when he's clearly a power user. I could give an SP3 to my mom and she could probably get 50 hours of battery life. 9 hours just isn't realistic for most tech savvy people that put the device through its paces. If it is, I'd question why you bought an SP3 when a chromebook, or some cheaper option would suit you much better.

 

[markusbeutel]

I use 40 to 50% with adaptive brightness, on the lowest end which means Lync Conference Calls I get 5.5 hours, I consistently get 6.5 to 7.5 if I'm doing Office, Browsing, Reading and some Video. If I'm doing just browsing including watching videos I get 8 to 9 hours....

And that's really impressive, but from my experience, having been through 5 SP3's, none of them were able to make it through two 3-hour block, back-to-back classes, even when I had them set to basically 10% brightness (as dim as possible while still being legible in a dreary classroom setting). This consisted of multiple browser tabs open, a couple of pdf's, one note, Word, and Powerpoint. Despite my hardware issues with the SP3, I loved the form factor so much that I kept with the device, but in the end, I just needed more battery as it's always a struggle to snag one of the 3-4 plugs in each class before someone else. Went through a bunch of hybrids b4 I found the Dell, (although the Helix 2 might have been doable too once their battery keyboard is released).

It all comes down to the user, but from a student's perspective, anything above 5 hours on even the lowest settings is pretty much impossible.

Edit: Shouldn't say impossible, I'm sure if you're super diligent and min maxing what programs you have open 6 hours might be doable from my experience...

 

[Gerke]

I'm a heavy user. I use mine aprox 3 hours a day together with the wireless Media Adapter, BT always on, Wif always on. Including streaming.
With my tips, it is possible to get > 7.5 hours with heavy use.
The only thing you have to look for is processes which are not necessary at the time. It's called resource management in IT, which is absolutely applicable on the SP3, when you use a little bit of common sense

The only thing which can kill your batteryusage is bad wifi access, which unfortunately in Holland is mostly the problem on Universities etc

 

[markusbeutel]

I'm a heavy user. I use mine aprox 3 hours a day together with the wireless Media Adapter, BT always on, Wif always on. Including streaming.
With my tips, it is possible to get > 7.5 hours with heavy use.
The only thing you have to look for is processes which are not necessary at the time. It's called resource management in IT, which is absolutely applicable on the SP3, when you use a little bit of common sense

The only thing which can kill your batteryusage is bad wifi access, which unfortunately in Holland is mostly the problem on Universities etc

See I wouldn't describe you a heavy user though... On my busy days, I'm in University for 3 classes, a lab, and a tutorial spread out over 8 hours. WiFi on the entire time, One Note and Word open in every class, along with multiple PDFs, Powerpoint, BT, etc. Avoid video at all costs during this time, as well as any browsing that's not related to schoolwork, and I'm lucky if I got 5 hours.

During the 4 months I had an SP3, I was on it around 12-15 hours a day between classes, HW, and leisure time after class. At school, the majority of its usage was on super-dim brightness, like 10-15%, while at home it was always at 80%. I averaged just under 5 hours with this setup according to powercfg /batteryreport. I then purchased the power cover and got around 7 hours, which sometimes let me get through a day at Uni if I managed to find a plug outlet at the cafeteria during lunch.

See how the definition of power user varies?

For some comparisons to think about, the problem with the SP3, is that MS advertises it as the tablet that can replace your laptop, while specifically attacking the MacBook Air, which gets a legit 10-12 hours of all-day usage, when the SP3 is advertised as getting 8... which just isn't the case under the same sort of power usage. The 13' MBA has a 54 mWh battery, with a far crappier resolution, and dimmer brightness settings than the SP3, while the SP3 has a 42 mWh battery...