X1 - high power consumption (>20W), GPU 100% all the time, short battery life, loud fan-noise

[x1_user]

My new X1 is great for crunching through data but the power consumption seems very high at idle or when I am doing simple tasks.

I have BIOS version 1.27 (released 21/Oct/2011) and Power Manager 3.62

I have used Power Manager to set Power Use to "High energy savings". However, the power used is always >20W and usually around 25-27W. This results in excessive heat (so the fan goes at 4500rpm all the time) and the battery is lasting less than 1 hour if I give a Powerpoint presentation (no movies).

Also, the Power Manager shows GPU at 100% all of the time - is this normal or might it be a cause of increased power requirements?

I have tried all the solutions to fan noise in this thread:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/x1-fan-Noise/td-p/469001

I have tried setting all power settings to maximise battery life in Windows 7 and then also in Power Manager but to no avail. Please help! What are the ormal power requirements and GPU% at idle?

[ColonelONeill]

Check Task Manager to see if there's anything running that is using CPU.

As far as I know, there aren't any tools for determining which program is using the integrated GPU. You may try ending services one at a time.

[MarcXW]

That's very weird, I'm often around 9-13W when using the X1 for non intensive tasks. Check to see if there aren't any driver updates available. I really don't know what else it could be unless you have some very intensive background processes running.

[x1_user]

Thanks. I have the latest drivers, and the computer is brand new.

I have checked through the processes and can't see anything obvious. I have included a screen shot of Power Manager and the Performance tab in Task Manager whilst 1) at idle, 2) power manager set to maximise battery life, 3) running from battery.

Results:

Task Manager shows that the CPU is hovering around 3%, but this is shown as 32% in the Power Manager. The power consumption is 24W and steady.

Do you also have GPU readings of 100%? What do your Power Manager speed dials indicate? 

Thanks for your help.

Link to picture

Moderator note; picture(s) totalling >50K converted to link(s) Forum Rules

[MarcXW]

Wow, I'm astonished that the power reading is so high. When on battery at maximum battery life settings, my power usage usually hovers around 6-11 Watts when idling. The problem doesn't seem to be with your graphics card though, my readings are the same as yours, 32%CPU and 100%GPU. I'm sorry but I really don't know what else the problem could be, if I were you I would try contacting support, they might know what the issue is. I read another post though in which it was indicated that the issue was with add-ons in Google Chrome, try checking if your browser add-ons aren't increasing your power usage.

[x1_user]

OK - thanks for the info. Am using Internet Explorer for now, and disabled all add-ons but no difference.

I also did a full 'restore to factory settings', reinstalling windows etc. Before installing any other software, and before connecting to the internet, the problem was still exactly the same.

I'll give the support desk a try ...

[x1_user]

Phoned customer support - and they say that the power consumption is normal - but this seems out of keeping with others experience.

MarcXW - what is the configuration of your X1? [Mine is 12942NG (i5, 8 GB RAM, 160 GB SSD)].

[joncordova]

Variations in power draw ought to be normal, but not 24 Watts.

You've even reinstalled Windows. Try creating a new Windows user account, just to rule out some software issue. Does the power draw vary depending on screen brightness? I don't think it should be 24 Watts at idle, but the X1 does have a 300 nit screen. Then try HWinfo64 to view the hardware voltages.

[MarcXW]

My config is a litlle different, it's core i5, 4 gigs of RAM and 320 HDD, but even though there should be some slight variations in power usage, it should never be as high.

[x1_user]

Thank you all. I am sending it back to Lenovo for inspection, as still within warranty. Will post the outcome!