On: Windows needs a change in priorities

[tssva]

With Linux while sitting idle my laptop burns battery about twice as fast as it does on Windows while I go about my normal workflow. This is a laptop which is certified for both Fedora and Ubuntu.

[lproven → tssva]

Depends on the model and the up-to-dateness of its firmware.

My main travel laptop is still an old Thinkpad X220, because of the great keyboard.

It lasts considerably longer on Ubuntu 20.04 than in Windows 10 $LATEST. In Windows, it runs too hot to have on my lap, and the fans run constantly.

In Ubuntu, it runs cool and I rarely hear the fan at all.

Check your firmware is current: that's step 1.

[ihateolives → tssva]

I've been wondering about that as well, never found a comprehensive answer to why is the difference so stark. I'd be willing to use Linux on my laptop when the difference would be 10-12%, but as of now I just can't. I have laptop because I need to use it on the go and linux makes it harder for me.

[catfishx → tssva]

Using auto-cpufreq or other cpu frequency scaling services can make my laptop run way longer than with windows.

[tssva → catfishx]

I have tried tlp which includes cpu frequency scaling on numerous distributions over the last couple of years with little if any noticeable difference.

[catfishx → tssva]

Well for me the time running on battery jumps from 2 hours to +10 hours.

On an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U