16GB Ram = Less battery?

[Sinochick]

Hi guys,

I have the new 2017 13in Macbook Pro. (MBP 13.3SG/3.1GHZ/16GB/512GB). I previously had the same laptop but with 8GB ram and the battery life on that MBP was amazing....could get 10+ hours easily.

Using the same applications (everything is the same), I noticed my new MBP with 16GB Ram drains the battery...I probably can only get 7-8 hours battery on my MBP.

Is this normal? Does more RAM mean less battery life?

Thanks,

 

[Steve121178]

It will use an almost unnoticeable amount of energy. Is the CPU the same?

 

[Sinochick]

It will use an almost unnoticeable amount of energy. Is the CPU the same?

I think so. I'm wondering if I need to go through a few more battery cycles before I make judgement....I've only charged this MBP twice. Does the battery improve with more charges?

 

[913479]

Hi guys,

I have the new 2017 13in Macbook Pro. (MBP 13.3SG/3.1GHZ/16GB/512GB). I previously had the same laptop but with 8GB ram and the battery life on that MBP was amazing....could get 10+ hours easily.

Using the same applications (everything is the same), I noticed my new MBP with 16GB Ram drains the battery...I probably can only get 7-8 hours battery on my MBP.

Is this normal? Does more RAM mean less battery life?

Thanks,

I won't pass judgement yet because battery takes a bit to settle down... but I had same exact situation as you except 256 GB.

 

[AppleMacFinder]

The difference is tiny; also: if you have more RAM your computer works faster,
so you will be able to do more things before your computer completely discharges

 

[Populus]

Maybe it is the new Kaby Lake CPU. I've read that they are more power hungry than the Skylake equivalent. More MHz and same process, same architecture... More power demand.

I'm looking for a non-touch bar unit, and been wondering wich one to buy. I really want to buy the 2017, but man I want the 10-12 hours most people are getting from the 2016 model.

 

[ZapNZs]

With every upgradable RAM-model Mac I have used, I have not personally noticed a significant difference between 8 vs. 16. I'm not sure how much that experience carries over to the non-upgradable models tho.

Some of the differences could also possibly be explained by the strength of the individual batteries in the two machines (they can vary quite a bit.)

Were you using a different 10.12.x version with the older one versus the current one?

 

[TMRJIJ]

Maybe it is the new Kaby Lake CPU. I've read that they are more power hungry than the Skylake equivalent. More MHz and same process, same architecture... More power demand.

I'm looking for a non-touch bar unit, and been wondering wich one to buy. I really want to buy the 2017, but man I want the 10-12 hours most people are getting from the 2016 model.

It is actually the opposite. Kaby Lake CPU are more efficient with power than its predecessor. Real world performance may not be much different. Intel is doing away from the old tick-tock development cycle.

 

[leman]

Yes, more RAM consumes more battery. It's in the ballpark of 2-4 Watt per 8 GB, but with laptop battery sizes, the difference is far from being negligible. One problem is that unlike persistent storage, RAM needs to be powered all the time so that your data is not lost.