More Memory mean Less Battery Time?

[doc412]

Hey, I just got a 4gigs of memory on my new MBP and I feel like the battery does not last as long when it is running on the battery as my old computer which had 2gigs of memory.

is it possible that having more memory runs your computer's battery down faster? has this been documented anywhere?

 

[PkennethV]

I'm not an expert but I think that having more physical sticks of RAM might, but I don't think the same number of sticks with different capacities should matter.

 

[ntrigue]

I'd imagine the increase in productivity would result in finishing a project 'sooner'. Furthermore, the 4GB RAM is not always being utilized.

 

[kockgunner]

battery life should be better since the hard drive spins less.

 

[sycho]

RAM is a power hog, more RAM = more switching transistors = more power used. Ever felt the vents on a Dell laptop where the RAM is? They get mighty hot.

 

[doc412]

seems like a lot of conflicting info here.... has anyone ever seen any data on this?

 

[kockgunner]

isnt that what SSD drives are for --for better battery life? they're basically like ram that can store things without electricity aren't they?

 

[heatmiser]

battery life should be better since the hard drive spins less.

Agree with this; the screen, cpu, fan, and drives are the primary power drains. Anything that reduces drive spin should have a positive effect on battery life.

 

[sycho]

seems like a lot of conflicting info here.... has anyone ever seen any data on this?

Honestly, my post sums it up as someone who took electrical engineering and used laptops. From the simplest point of view, more RAM will use more power. More RAM will equal faster drain while in sleep mode. Although some say that the hard drive will spin less, that is totally dependent on the situation.