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How has your experience been with battery and portability? I'm leaning towards buying a new laptop that I can carry around comfortably. I'm comfortable with rem

How has your experience been with battery and portability? I'm leaning towards buying a new laptop that I can carry around comfortably. I'm comfortable with remotely working on a more powerful PC if needed. Any models you'd recommend? I much rather would pick anything else over a MacBook.

indiandennis 8y ago
The xps 15 is quite good in terms or performance and battery life. I have the 1080p model and it usually lasts around 9 hours with light usage on battery.
ATsch 8y ago
I use a x230 with the biggest battery. It's decently thick/heavy compared to the modern ultra-slim laptops, but it's compact, fast enough and it set me back barely over 300€ total and the battery lasts 9+ hours. It sounds like budget is not your problem, but I thought I'd just mention this for any students etc. passing by.
- TimmyMustGo 8y ago
  I use a x220 because it has a better keyboard. I'm limited to USB2 but honestly I never use them except for my mouse and iOS devices, which are limited to USB2 speeds anyway. But I'm able to hook it up to dual external 1080p monitors. Cost me less than US$100.
  - wilsonnb 8y ago
    If you get the x220 with an i7 it comes with a single USB 3, in case anyone is looking to purchase one.
  - ATsch 8y ago
    note that you can also use the x220 keyboard in the x230. x220 keyboards are a bit hard to source for a good price, though.
tannhaeuser 8y ago
I've got a Dell XPS 13", and I'm absoluting loving it; especially the keyboard works great for me as a touch typist/vi user, which I didn't expect since the keyboard is what ThinkPads are acclaimed for. That said, battery mileage is no match to Apple notebooks in my experience. I can get 3 to 4 hours max, though I'm occasionally doing CPU-intense stuff which will reduce this to 1-2 hours. If Apple actually would produce a "Pro" notebook with a usable keyboard and without the TouchBar thingy, and with actual "Pro" port options and replaceable parts, I'd be considering Apple again since I had a good experience with my PowerBook back in the day.
- greggarious 8y ago
  Does it have a replacable battery? I'd be less annoyed about 4 hours of battery if I could swap. (Also if anyone knows of a model that's got more of a focus on battery life for someone who is SSHing into external machines for most CPU intensive tasks I'd be all ears)
  - dzjkb 8y ago
    I have the Dell XPS 13 9350, bought used. When doing standard programming stuff (firefox + sublime + spotify, no CPU intensive tasks), I usually get around 8 hours of battery, so in practice it's never a problem.
  - tannhaeuser 8y ago
    No, the XPSs don't have replaceable batteries either. The XPS 13 is a very tiny notebook/subnotebook, yet with full-size keyboard and all the performance of a larger notebook (it's very noticeably faster than my 2012 MacMini which also has an i7). I guess battery mileage is mostly a function of the O/S and drivers, and your power settings and what you actually do on the notebook.
- smhg 8y ago
  My XPS 13 (second gen) had much better battery life with (what sounds) similar usage. - you have a recent kernel? Also, 4.17 should bring battery-related improvements - did you install TLP[0]? [0] http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-man...
rianmcguire 8y ago
I've got an X270 with the extended battery. Running Linux, it lasts over 20 hours with light use. It weighs less than the 15" MBP I had previously.

indiandennis 8y ago

The xps 15 is quite good in terms or performance and battery life. I have the 1080p model and it usually lasts around 9 hours with light usage on battery.

ATsch 8y ago

I use a x230 with the biggest battery. It's decently thick/heavy compared to the modern ultra-slim laptops, but it's compact, fast enough and it set me back barely over 300€ total and the battery lasts 9+ hours. It sounds like budget is not your problem, but I thought I'd just mention this for any students etc. passing by.

TimmyMustGo 8y ago
I use a x220 because it has a better keyboard. I'm limited to USB2 but honestly I never use them except for my mouse and iOS devices, which are limited to USB2 speeds anyway. But I'm able to hook it up to dual external 1080p monitors. Cost me less than US$100.
- wilsonnb 8y ago
  If you get the x220 with an i7 it comes with a single USB 3, in case anyone is looking to purchase one.
- ATsch 8y ago
  note that you can also use the x220 keyboard in the x230. x220 keyboards are a bit hard to source for a good price, though.

tannhaeuser 8y ago

I've got a Dell XPS 13", and I'm absoluting loving it; especially the keyboard works great for me as a touch typist/vi user, which I didn't expect since the keyboard is what ThinkPads are acclaimed for. That said, battery mileage is no match to Apple notebooks in my experience. I can get 3 to 4 hours max, though I'm occasionally doing CPU-intense stuff which will reduce this to 1-2 hours. If Apple actually would produce a "Pro" notebook with a usable keyboard and without the TouchBar thingy, and with actual "Pro" port options and replaceable parts, I'd be considering Apple again since I had a good experience with my PowerBook back in the day.

greggarious 8y ago
Does it have a replacable battery? I'd be less annoyed about 4 hours of battery if I could swap. (Also if anyone knows of a model that's got more of a focus on battery life for someone who is SSHing into external machines for most CPU intensive tasks I'd be all ears)
- dzjkb 8y ago
  I have the Dell XPS 13 9350, bought used. When doing standard programming stuff (firefox + sublime + spotify, no CPU intensive tasks), I usually get around 8 hours of battery, so in practice it's never a problem.
- tannhaeuser 8y ago
  No, the XPSs don't have replaceable batteries either. The XPS 13 is a very tiny notebook/subnotebook, yet with full-size keyboard and all the performance of a larger notebook (it's very noticeably faster than my 2012 MacMini which also has an i7). I guess battery mileage is mostly a function of the O/S and drivers, and your power settings and what you actually do on the notebook.
smhg 8y ago
My XPS 13 (second gen) had much better battery life with (what sounds) similar usage. - you have a recent kernel? Also, 4.17 should bring battery-related improvements - did you install TLP[0]? [0] http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-man...

rianmcguire 8y ago

I've got an X270 with the extended battery. Running Linux, it lasts over 20 hours with light use. It weighs less than the 15" MBP I had previously.