Do processor speeds make a big impact on battery life?

[Crath]

I am considering the 13" MBP base model, or the higher model, and am wondering if the battery life of the higher would be noticeably less due to more power consumption. thanks!

 

[GGJstudios]

Not enough difference for you to notice.

 

[TheRekz]

I am considering the 13" MBP base model, or the higher model, and am wondering if the battery life of the higher would be noticeably less due to more power consumption. thanks!

I don't think the impact is that significant. It does have an impact, but really small I would say. It's not like going from a 65nm to a 32nm processor, which would have a huge impact... you could check the power consumption of the processors listed on the MBP at Intel's site to see how many watts they use just to compare if you want

 

[Crath]

I don't think the impact is that significant. It does have an impact, but really small I would say. It's not like going from a 65nm to a 32nm processor, which would have a huge impact... you could check the power consumption of the processors listed on the MBP at Intel's site to see how many watts they use just to compare if you want

Yeah, didnt think so. the 2gb more of ram as well shouldnt add much either

 

[spinnerlys]

Yes, CPU speed will have an impact on battery life, but only if you use the CPU at 100% all the time, will you be able to tell the difference.

Example:

MBP with 2.26GHz has battery life of 7 hours with the CPU at 100/200% all the time, MBP with 2.53 will have maybe 6h and 40m with the CPU at 100/200% all the time.

But as you most likely only use the CPU for normal uses like browsing or writing or whatever else, the battery time will be the same, as the same processing power is used, whether it be the 2.26 or 2.53 MBP.


PS: The battery time of 7 hours is only an example, as there is no current laptop battery to hold a charge that long while being under constant full load, except if you use the MBP's battery with an under clocked Atom or A4 CPU.

 

[GGJstudios]

Yeah, didnt think so. the 2gb more of ram as well shouldnt add much either

If anything, additional RAM could extend battery life. With more RAM, you're less likely to be paging to the hard drive, which does put more drain on the battery.

 

[sycho]

RAM is a power hog, I found about 20 minutes less battery when I upgraded my old 2.4GHz Mid 07 MacBook Pro when I upgraded to 4GB.

 

[seepel]

I remember reading a review somewhere and they compared battery life on the 3 15" Macbook Pros while running HD h.264 video. I think it came to about 5 minutes difference between the models.