

Why does I7 get worse battery life than I3? - vezycash

I know I7 consumes more power than I3. But my question still remains.<p>Is it impossible for the processor to throttle itself on lower load e.g. Web browsing, document typing? I.E. If I&#x27;m just browsing, why can&#x27;t I7 last as long as I3?<p>Better still, can&#x27;t users get a SWITCH to optimize for battery life or power.<p>SP3 spurred my question. Many would love the I7 version for the horse power. But would have to settle for considerable less battery life.<p>Can&#x27;t Intel make some changes that would allow more powerful processors to last as long as the less powerful ones at lower load?<p>Lastly, am I the only one who desires this?
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Ardeof
When looking at a comparison of an Intel i3-4370, and an Intel i7-4790k
(coincedentally, the score difference is about double...), you'll notice that
the 4790k actually gets about double performance at 88W, in comparison to half
the performance of the 4370 at 54W. This shows that the efficiency of a 4790k
is actually greater than a 4370. Part of the reasoning behind that is because
while the cores and the threads double (As well as the Smart Cache), the GHz
ratio lowers overall, even though the 4790k has a higher clock rate. This
makes the efficiency of the CPU much better than the i3 being compared.

So realistically, the i7 is actually a better option when using CPU intensive
tasks, while the i3 is preferable when doing simple tasks such as browsing
online. So while the maximum watt draw of the i3 is a flat amount, the i7 can
potentially draw 30W more, which could cause a significant drop in battery
life.

Another issue with watt usage could be because of the extra 2 cores. The i7
would basically be keeping both cores powered and ready, which could cause
some extra watt usage even when not needed.

Look into Power Options, as well as CPU throttling and turning off cores if
the extra Watt usage is that much of a bother.

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PaulHoule
When a CPU is made they can change the process parameters to affect the
voltage range it works at and the speeds it works at. So some of the
difference is baked in, and this is the point behind the BIG/LITTLE
architecture.

As for power management, this seems to be the new way computers rot. What
tends to happen is that you get more background processes that get in the way
of turning the power down. That and the way lithium batteries lose capacity
over time.

I have a "desktop replacement" laptop that runs Windows and I have a profile
where the CPU is limited to 15% and I usually use that when I am putting it on
my lap because I don't want to get burned.

