I bought an SP4 M3 about 2 weeks ago and I really like it but, I am really concerned about battery life. Today I was at lunch and did light web surfing and dropped to 80% in around 30 minutes. That works out to be roughly 40% per hour and 2.5 to 3 hours of battery life overall. I had screen set to 50%. I looked in settings to see what used the battery and it mainly showed IE which is what I was using. I went out after lunch and bought a base model Surface Book and I really like it also. If the extra weight will get me extra battery then it will be a keeper and the SP4 will be returned. The larger screen of the SB is great and the tablet portion seems much lighter than the bare SP4 but they are nearly the same. A kickstand would be nice but I have found myself reversing the clipboard on the base when sitting on the couch. I think if I keep the SB I will soon get the larger charger of the i7 model to bring charging to around 2 hrs instead of 4+ hrs. I will miss the small carry around size of the SP4 if I keep the SB, but I need battery! Let the battle begin.
My SP4 vs SB battle
- Thread starter Mikewired
- Start date
Zkyevolved
Active Member
Wow, that's horrible battery life. With no changes, I got 4-6 hours of battery life. Dropping my i5 to M3 speeds by limiting the processor by 50%, I got 8-9 hours of screen on time with mixed usage... Mostly web browsing of course...
I don't know if you've done any tweaks or not but my i5 SP4 using Chrome with HostsMan running will give me a minimum of 5 hours battery life.
If you're not worried about extra weight and you like the SP4 form factor I can recommend this battery Aukey 28000mah Multi-voltage External Battery Pack: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics with this cable Buwico® Power Charger Charging Laptop Adapter Cable: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics which may be a more cost effective solution and provides me with 15-20 hours mobile life (including the SP4 battery life)
If you're not worried about extra weight and you like the SP4 form factor I can recommend this battery Aukey 28000mah Multi-voltage External Battery Pack: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics with this cable Buwico® Power Charger Charging Laptop Adapter Cable: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics which may be a more cost effective solution and provides me with 15-20 hours mobile life (including the SP4 battery life)
starstreak
Member
Stammie- Wow they make a charger for the Surface? cool.I'm amazed MS never made a pack like that. I would want one that is at least 1/2 the weight. At 4lbs it is heavy to lug. I want enough charge to give the 9hrs+ use. Not while gaming or heavy CPU use. That's understandable. But if a browser that's using flash or something can drain the battery in 4-5 hrs that's wrong.
mikewired- Yeah... Always bothers me to see my battery drop fast just surfing the net. I have the i7 model tho. I wanted portable, battery life, pen, and minor gaming. I havn't gotten the SB because it's almost $500-600 more than the similar model SP4 but w/nvidia. But with the screen being bigger, I have a feeling batter drain will be a bit better but not dramatic. no kickstand. And I would hope games would launch with the nvidia. but I think it's Fallout 4 and the IRIS 540. it just crashes to desktop. I wish they would hurry and update the driver. I don't blame MS for that tho.. I think they knew this. Only reason why they said it's not a gaming computer during the Surface event although they did show it playing a online game.
mikewired- Yeah... Always bothers me to see my battery drop fast just surfing the net. I have the i7 model tho. I wanted portable, battery life, pen, and minor gaming. I havn't gotten the SB because it's almost $500-600 more than the similar model SP4 but w/nvidia. But with the screen being bigger, I have a feeling batter drain will be a bit better but not dramatic. no kickstand. And I would hope games would launch with the nvidia. but I think it's Fallout 4 and the IRIS 540. it just crashes to desktop. I wish they would hurry and update the driver. I don't blame MS for that tho.. I think they knew this. Only reason why they said it's not a gaming computer during the Surface event although they did show it playing a online game.
Last edited:
Chris Grew
Member
My SP3 i7 with the display at 100% runs down with permanent use in about 5 hours. I do this every week to 'exercise' the battery.
When I am on the road, I turn the display down if I am not plugged into the 12V supply in my motorhome.
Have not tried the SP54 i7 yet.
Regards
Chris
When I am on the road, I turn the display down if I am not plugged into the 12V supply in my motorhome.
Have not tried the SP54 i7 yet.
Regards
Chris
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