[TriLUG] Dear lazyweb^WTriLUG, Laptop suggestions?

[David Burton]

On Thu, Jan 3, 2013 at 3:43 PM, Alan Porter <porter at trilug.org> wrote:

>
>  Two big things to do for better battery life: (1) install an SSD, and (2)
>> lower the screen brightness.
>>
>
> On that Dell, I am convinced that most of the power goes to the built-in
> hair dryer that continuously blows hot air out of the side.
>
> I will be happy when we can finally replace the power-hungry Intel CPU's
> with something a little more miserly like ARM.



The Intel i3/i5 SandyBridge & (newer/better) Ivy Bridge, and the AMD
A4/A6/A8 Llano & (newer/better) Trinity use a *LOT* less power than earlier
CPUs & GPUs. The recent model laptops using these new CPUs don't blow hot
air out the side anymore, unless you opt for an expensive "gaming"
machine. (Even the desktop versions are power misers -- the CPU fan on my
SandyBridge i5 Dell barely turns.)

The LED-backlit displays also help, compared to
earlier fluorescent backlights.

An SSD (esp. a Samsung) would help, too.

But if you don't want to scrap your current machine, then just buy more
and/or bigger batteries. They're cheap: $18 for a 6-cell, or $46 for a
9-cell.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dcat=14295&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Dell+XPS+L501X+battery&rt=nc

Dave