Linux on laptop and battery life January 15, 2022, 11:53:04 pm I'm sure most of you run Linux on your devices, are any of those laptops?Battery life on mine could be better, or it's at least not as good as when running Windows.https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Linux-drains-lot-of-battery-compared-to-windowsHere I've read the following which makes sense to me:QuoteWhen a computer is sold with Windows installed, it has ACPI and chipset drivers that can manage the CPU power and overall power consumption.These generally do not exist for Linux, so when the CPU is idle, it is still running the CPU clock at full speed. While I struggle to find any chipset or ACPI drivers for my machine, I did find some stuff telling me to use TLP and powertop to optimize battery.Also to limit battery charging to 80% as to preserve its lifespan.Do any of you do this?Any pro-tips for the good ol' battery when running Linux?I don't think it's as much distri related as the problem is with driversOr are some distributions more driver-friendly?Cheers
Re: Linux on laptop and battery life Reply #1 – January 15, 2022, 11:53:22 pm Quote from: wehde on January 15, 2022, 11:53:04 pmI'm sure most of you run Linux on your devices, are any of those laptops?Battery life on mine could be better, or it's at least not as good as when running Windows.https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Linux-drains-lot-of-battery-compared-to-windowsHere I've read the following which makes sense to me:QuoteWhen a computer is sold with Windows installed, it has ACPI and chipset drivers that can manage the CPU power and overall power consumption.These generally do not exist for Linux, so when the CPU is idle, it is still running the CPU clock at full speed. While I struggle to find any chipset or ACPI drivers for my machine, I did find some stuff telling me to use TLP and powertop to optimize battery.Also to limit battery charging to 80% as to preserve its lifespan.Do any of you do this?Any pro-tips for the good ol' battery when running Linux?I don't think it's as much distri related as the problem is with driversOr are some distributions more driver-friendly?Cheers Make sure you are running latest kernel 5.2 or 5.3It contains many power saving enhancements that 3.x and 4.x kernels don't have.I suggest https://xanmod.org Kernel for Ubuntu and Debian distros.
Re: Linux on laptop and battery life Reply #2 – January 15, 2022, 11:53:32 pm Installing Xanmod was easy enough.Thanks, watching that battery percentage like a hawk now...
Re: Linux on laptop and battery life Reply #3 – January 15, 2022, 11:53:44 pm Quote from: wehde on January 15, 2022, 11:53:32 pmInstalling Xanmod was easy enough.Thanks, watching that battery percentage like a hawk now... You can also try lowering brightness on monitor/screen and installing ssd's and removing any spinning disks to also save power.
Re: Linux on laptop and battery life Reply #4 – January 15, 2022, 11:53:56 pm I've been running Xanmod for a little while now and it is definitely better.Me and my nerves thank you!