QUESTION: Power Requirements

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi All,

Does anyone know of a good list of laptops and their respective power
requirements (amps/volts)? I am looking for a laptop that draws as little
power as possible.

Regards,

Paul

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

> Paul Brant wrote:
> > Does anyone know of a good list of laptops and their respective power
> > requirements (amps/volts)? I am looking for a laptop that draws as
little
> > power as possible.
>
> For what purpose?
>
> Most laptop adapters pull in normal AC, do you have a specific purpose
> in mind for what you need a laptop to pull and how are you pulling it?

I currently use my laptops on a yacht. I need a new laptop and would like to
find a comparison between the power consumption. My old Fujitsu (3.36amps/16
volts) for example draws a little under 54 watts while my new Centrino based
Toshiba M200 (4amps/15 volts) draws 60 watts. I need to get power
consumption as low as possible, I do not want to add more batteries.

I have looked at Micro ITX type technology and have a quote for one system
from G2 Digital Video(http://www.g2digitalvideo.co.uk/) that will draw 35
watts less the screen. The only real issue there is that I loose the
flexibility/portability of a laptop.

Regards,

Paul

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Paul Brant wrote:
> I currently use my laptops on a yacht. I need a new laptop and would like to
> find a comparison between the power consumption. My old Fujitsu (3.36amps/16
> volts) for example draws a little under 54 watts while my new Centrino based
> Toshiba M200 (4amps/15 volts) draws 60 watts. I need to get power
> consumption as low as possible, I do not want to add more batteries.
>
> I have looked at Micro ITX type technology and have a quote for one system
> from G2 Digital Video(http://www.g2digitalvideo.co.uk/) that will draw 35
> watts less the screen. The only real issue there is that I loose the
> flexibility/portability of a laptop.

Well... My Ispiron 1100 here draws 20V/5.4amps according to the back of
the AC adapter, but I think that goes down dramatically when the
laptop's battery is charged. You should be able to see power
consumption on the detailed specs of a laptop.
- --
David Wade Hagar AKA Cyclops

http://members.cox.net/dwhagar
http://www.livejournal.com/users/dwhagar
http://genius-of-lunacy.blogspot.com/

"It's sick, but it serves a purpose." - Bill Cosby
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (MingW32)
Comment: http://members.cox.net/dwhagar/personal-key.asc
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iEYEARECAAYFAkHTEWkACgkQbPwf4VgkRDuS8ACeIkHpgcLzJNlQNbEo11TQeFfS
1fIAnAyAnspAkRHOEZ0UNw343bZxdpsz
=8Yvq
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

<larwe@larwe.com> wrote in message
news:1104331215.648450.187420@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> If you want the maximum efficiency, consider making a special
> hollowed-out battery containing a regulator that taps off your yacht's
> batteries directly, rather than going through an inverter to bring it
> up to 110VAC and then a switchmode power supply that brings it back
> down to the laptop's DC input voltage.
>
> My HP ZE4805 (2.1GHz Athlon XP-M) pulls about 1.75A @ 16V out of the
> battery, depending on what exactly you're doing of course. That's under
> 30W including screen.
>

Can you please post a little more information on what it is you have done? I
don't anticipate dropping below 11 volts and when charging the alternator
pumps in around 14.6 volts peak. In terms of a DC regulator I assume ( maybe
incorrectly ) this to be pretty standard.

Maximum efficiency is a must.

Many thanks,

Paul

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I'm saying, supply the laptop through its _battery_ input terminals,
not through its _charger_ input. This will necessitate buying a
disposable battery (a dead one off eBay is fine). Remove all the cells
and the on-board gas-gauge circuitry so all you have is an empty
housing with the battery connector inside it. What I would then do is
put a connector on the outside of the battery housing, routed directly
to the +ve and -ve terminals of the battery connector. So what you now
have is an empty fake battery that you can put in your laptop, which
has a connector somewhere accessible on the outside. Basically you're
bringing the laptop's proprietary, inaccessible battery terminal
connector out to a standard connector that's accessible on the outside
of the machine.

Then build a small boost converter that takes your yacht's 11.0-14.6VDC
rail and brings it up to the nominal battery voltage expected by your
laptop. You can _probably_ find something off the shelf to do this,
although it is more educational to build your own Connect this to a
cable with a connector to mate with whatever you used in the previous
step.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On 30 Dec 2004 05:39:08 -0800, larwe@larwe.com wrote:

>I'm saying, supply the laptop through its _battery_ input terminals,


Boy, that sounds like tons of work.

I am saying, one of those car/airplane adapter have a step-up
transformer for 12v to 18v (typical) of what your box requires, no
12-110-18.

So u are saying the regulator circuitry built into the laptop is
inefficient and u can do better. I wanna see some comparison numbers.