Y470p Battery Life with graphics card turned off???

[mcfatty_22]

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a y470p because I'd like to be able to do some gaming, but not too much.  I would mostly use my laptop for college.  Integrated 3000 won't cut it for any games I'd like to play.

I see the battery life is listed as 4 hours for the y470p.  But what if I use the switch to turn off the AMD Radeon card?

I talked to a sales rep for lenovo and he said I'd get 6-7 hours if I do that, but he can't provide me with any proof.  Everywhere I look for reviews, I only see 4 hours.  Even for the y470 which has a lower graphics card and is out of stock is listed as 4 hours.  Heck, the z470 only lists 4.5 and that's integrated.

So, what is the deal? Will I really get 6-7 hours if I shut the card, or will I get 4 (most likely 2 the way laptop companies "test" their batteries?

Thanks!

[yigit]

hi mcfatty_22

when you select energy star ( power management option ) it shows that the battery may last at least 6-7 hours when it's full but it depends on the usage. for example, if you watch a movie or listen music, due to speakers working, the battery will last less so i don't think the battery will last for 6-7 hours at usage.

also, if there's an option to select the battery, you can choose 9 cell battery instead 6 cell which lasts longer.

hope this helps.

[mcfatty_22]

That helps somewhat, but I need more detail.

For example, can you tell me what the energy star option does?
Can you tell me all of the things it effects.
Does it affect the processor? How so?

Would turning off the AMD graphics card help save on battery life when I'm not using it for gaming?

I rarely use the speakers on my current laptop unless it is plugged in. I sometimes use headphones, but not too often.
I only ever watch a movie when it is plugged in.

I see that it says up to 4 hours so I'm assuming that it is really less than that. If I knew it could run for 5 hours with brightness all the way up doing nothing more than using wifi word and onenote.

No, there's only an option for an extra 6 cell battery. Do you think they will come out with a 9 cell at some point?

[mcfatty_22]

Sorry, I meant if I knew it could run for 5 hours with brightness all the way up doing nothing more than wifi, browsing online, word and onenote, I'd probably be okay. But I don't want the processor to go slow.

Also, is there any way I can actually see something that says 6-7 hours? How do you know? Do you own a y470p?
I just don't want to make a mistake by ordering it.

[Zehnsteine]

Hi McFatty

please have a look at these Y470p reviews, battery life looks like 5 to 7 hours...

http://www.laptopreviews.com/lenovo-ideapad-y470p-review-2012-03

http://randomgorp.blogspot.de/2012/02/lenovo-y470p-initial-impressions.html

Enjoy... Zehn

[dragnoak]

When you buy a new car, do you really believe the sticker that says how many miles per gallon you will get? 

There is no way anyone can tell you, how many hours of battery life you should expect, under any given configuration. Plus, if the battery life is the ONLY reason you will any particular machine, you "should" just buy a secondary battery on your order. Batteries are not that expensive, and you will have that "dead battery anxiety" put to rest.

I have the Y470, (not the P). The battery is a 5.8 WH. However, my processor is the i7. I think you only get the 5.8 WH battery for the i7. If you get a i5 and below, the battery is only the 4.8 WH, but don't quote me on this. I could be wrong. I always (90% of the time) run my machine plugged in, so I can't tell you what the actual battery run time is. Also, I keep the battery charge at 46%, for "best battery health".

DragonRider

[Zehnsteine]

Hi DragonRider,

my Y560p Battery has a capacity of  57.7 Wh (5.2 Ah x 11.1 V) and I believe

most laptop battery packs have a capacity of around 40 to 70 Wh.

I fear your Y470 reports a wrong Wh value as seen from Y570 models before.

Regards... Zehn

[dragnoak]

Zehnsteine,

Thanks. Yeah, I believe I put a period (.) in error. It should have been just 58 period.

I was using the information from my LTT toolbox. (Isn't that redundant?)

The HWiNFO64 has it in mWh, which more closely reflects the true capacity.

By the way. You'll notice that I currently have a full charge. This is due to all the storms moving through the mid-west. I don't want to be caught with no electricity, should a power line go down. 

Edit: I still think if you order the i5, you'll only get a 48 whatever, battery. Can anyone confirm this?

DragonRider

[Zehnsteine]

DragonRider...

it looks like all Y470/Y570 models give false readings of battery capacity to System Information software,
just another but harmless bug.

Fortunately the correct data is printed on the battery pack itself.

I hope you are save from the storms, take care... Zehn

[dragnoak]

I just remembered, I posted something like this on the NBR site:

My Y470 I7 shipped with a PABAS024 rated at 10.8 V, 5.4 Ah (taken off the sticker on the battery).

So according to this formula:

"Battery capacity can also be measured in Watt-Hours. Watt-Hours are calculated by multiplying Volts x Milliamperes. Here is an example:
14.8 Volts X 4060mAh
Is also equivalent to:
14.8 x 4.06 = 60.09 Watt-Hours"

So my Y470 battery is a "58" (10.8 Volts X 5.4 Amp Hours = 58.32 Watt-Hours)

I hope this helps clarify the situation.

DragonRider