INTEL HASHWELL

Hey readers!!

Intel always makes two claims when launching a new line of mobile processors: better performance, and better battery life. Traditionally, performance has taken precedence over battery life, but the company’s message was different with Haswell. We were promised the best improvement in battery life ever delivered by a new architecture, with some systems seeing up to 50 percent better endurance.

Claims are only that, however, and are often optimistic. Now that we’ve reviewed a handful of Haswell-powered systems, with both dual-core and quad-core processors, we’re going to take a closer look at just how much the new 4th-gen parts outpace their predecessors. Has Intel delivered, or was it all just marketing hype?

 

 

Apples to apples

Though we’ve now had a solid array of Haswell laptops to test, there is one particular systems that stands out as a great benchmark: Acer’s Aspire M5 Touch. What makes the M5 a benchmark is its consistency. Processor aside, the updated model we received for review with a 4th-gen Core i5 processor is almost identical to the older version with a 3rd-gen Core inside.

So, what did Intel’s latest and greatest do for endurance? Take a look at this handy graph.

As a reminder, we use three tests to judge battery life. The first test is the Battery Eater test, which is a load benchmark designed to eat through battery life quickly. The second test is Peacekeeper, which is a Web browsing benchmark. And the third test we do is the Reader’s Test, which is a near-idle test that opens and scrolls through a text document.

Now, with these benchmarks in mind, the graph above shows some interesting results. In our Battery Eater load we see that the new Haswell-powered M5 actually goes flat more quickly than the older Ivy Bridge laptop. The situation reverses in Peacekeeper, however, where the new M5 has a 40-minute advantage. And when we look at the Reader’s Test, we see the gap grow to over 3.5 hours.

Clearly, the new model has better battery life overall, but not in every situation. Is this true of other Haswell laptops?

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