Asus 1018PB . battery life

theinfiniti · 2011-05-26 05:21:19

Hey guys , I just got an Asus 1018PB a week ago and have been running Arch linux successfully on it.

Now they promote this netbook to have a 8 hour battery life . And i thought that given the Arch installation , it would serve me for more because of the light weighted-ness of this whole distribution .

But i am getting around 2.5 hours of battery backup (max) with continuous usage .

Any thoughts ? I could really be without carrying the damn charger all around with me.

Last edited by theinfiniti (2011-05-26 06:00:12)

useradded · 2011-05-26 07:08:06

Hi

The bad news is that power management under Linux is not very good with an out-of-the-box installation (the Arch equivalent might be core, xorg, some DE/WM). The problem is that while the kernel has a great deal of power management capabilities built into it, the userspace tools for tapping into those capabilities are not anywhere near as advanced.

The good news is that in my experience power management can be made as good or better than Windows with some manual tweaking - and this is Arch so that fits in great.

I would recommend laptop-mode-tools: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Laptop_Mode_Tools

This allows you to tweak a huge array of kernel and other parameters. For example, Arch by default uses the 'performance' CPU governor, which has the CPU always running at the highest available frequency (and thus using a lot of power), switching to the 'ondemand' governor when on battery - which scales CPU frequency to match current needs - can save a lot of power.

There are many such tweaks that can be applied and they are all explained in the extremely well commented laptop-mode-tools config files.

As you are using an eeepc, you could also save a great deal of power by enabling what (on windows, anyway) is referred to as the Super Hybrid Engine, which underclocks the front side bus.

It might also be useful to search the AUR to see if there are any ACPI scripts available for your model.

ngoonee · 2011-05-26 08:05:49

It may also be possible that your unit is defective, sometimes happens. Try another distro (like Ubuntu, which is running on my sister's netbook and gives her 7+ hours at least) to see whether its Arch's configuration. Or try the windows install which probably came with the netbook.

theinfiniti · 2011-05-26 09:27:58

useradded wrote:

This allows you to tweak a huge array of kernel and other parameters. For example, Arch by default uses the 'performance' CPU governor, which has the CPU always running at the highest available frequency (and thus using a lot of power), switching to the 'ondemand' governor when on battery - which scales CPU frequency to match current needs - can save a lot of power.
There are many such tweaks that can be applied and they are all explained in the extremely well commented laptop-mode-tools config files.
As you are using an eeepc, you could also save a great deal of power by enabling what (on windows, anyway) is referred to as the Super Hybrid Engine, which underclocks the front side bus.

So, These settings, are they specific to computers? In the sense , should i experiment with them (trial and error) before i can come across the "best" configuration? I've heard about this Super Hybrid Engine but can you do such a thing with Arch?

useradded · 2011-05-26 17:51:42

So, These settings, are they specific to computers? In the sense , should i experiment with them (trial and error) before i can come across the "best" configuration?

The "best" settings would depend on the balance between power saving and usability that you were comfortable with. The biggest drain on power in a laptop/netbook is the LCD screen - the more you reduce the brightness the more power you save - but how dim are you happy to work with?

The description and recommendations about each setting in the laptop-mode-tools config files is in general very good and I can only repeat the suggestion that you install it and have a look.

I've heard about this Super Hybrid Engine but can you do such a thing with Arch?

Yes. It is necessary to add "acpi_osi=Linux" to the boot options in grub so that the required kernel modules load, but then the SHE can be controlled from within laptop-mode-tools.

theinfiniti · 2011-05-27 03:35:41

Allright , so i got the laptop-mode-tools installed . And added it to the daemons along with acpid and enabled it in the config.

But somehow i dont see an increase in battery life . I see that i lose about 1% of charge within 5 minutes . Is that normal ?

Also is there a way by which i can SEE if laptop-mode-tools is working ?

useradd wrote:

Yes. It is necessary to add "acpi_osi=Linux" to the boot options in grub so that the required kernel modules load, but then the SHE can be controlled from within laptop-mode-tools.

So , which is recommended ? The GRUB way ? or the LMT way ? or both ?

in addition , what do you think about this package: New ACPI events handling script for all Asus EeePC

skottish · 2011-05-27 03:46:32

theinfiniti wrote:

But somehow i dont see an increase in battery life . I see that i lose about 1% of charge within 5 minutes . Is that normal ?

If you average 1% every five minutes then that puts you at 8.3 hours.

theinfiniti · 2011-05-27 06:24:25

skottish wrote:

theinfiniti wrote:
But somehow i dont see an increase in battery life . I see that i lose about 1% of charge within 5 minutes . Is that normal ?
If you average 1% every five minutes then that puts you at 8.3 hours.

Eh hehhh . Maybe i pulled a ballpark figure out of thin air . I'm sure its more than that . My bad .

I'll update back with the actual thingie .

useradded · 2011-05-27 09:38:48

So , which is recommended ? The GRUB way ? or the LMT way ? or both ?

You need both. Without the line in grub the kernel won't load the required modules, but once those modules are loaded LMT can control the SHE.

Allright , so i got the laptop-mode-tools installed . And added it to the daemons along with acpid and enabled it in the config.

As I recall, laptop-mode-tools has one main config file, but also a selection of individual ones that enable other aspects of powersaving. It is well worth reading through and enabling as many of them as you can to get the maximum power savings.

Also is there a way by which i can SEE if laptop-mode-tools is working ?

Powertop is probably the best tool for monitoring the current usage in Watts. Disable laptop-mode-tools, then run powertop to see the power usage, then run powertop again once laptop-mode-tools is enabled.

in addition , what do you think about this package: New ACPI events handling script for all Asus EeePC

I've been using this set of scripts from the AUR: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=23318. They have worked perfectly for me, but then I have a 1005p, I don't know whether any of these scripts will work with your model. I haven't seen one that explicitly says it will, but many of the functions may be generic enough, you would have to either try them out or ask the author.

ewaller · 2011-05-27 15:47:10

theinfiniti wrote:

skottish wrote:
theinfiniti wrote:
But somehow i dont see an increase in battery life . I see that i lose about 1% of charge within 5 minutes . Is that normal ?
If you average 1% every five minutes then that puts you at 8.3 hours.
Eh hehhh . Maybe i pulled a ballpark figure out of thin air . I'm sure its more than that . My bad .
I'll update back with the actual thingie .

Also, I would not count on linear extrapolation of a couple points early in the discharge cycle. Some battery chemistries have a "surface" charge after charging that dissipates quickly before settling down into a more linear curve. Older chemistries have complex discharge curves. Lion are a bit more linear.

theinfiniti · 2011-05-27 15:54:44

theinfiniti wrote:

skottish wrote:
theinfiniti wrote:
But somehow i dont see an increase in battery life . I see that i lose about 1% of charge within 5 minutes . Is that normal ?
If you average 1% every five minutes then that puts you at 8.3 hours.
Eh hehhh . Maybe i pulled a ballpark figure out of thin air . I'm sure its more than that . My bad .
I'll update back with the actual thingie .

As useradd said , i tried the powertop thing , and it says

Power Usage (ACPI estimate): 12.0W (2.8 hours)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-05-26 05:21:19

Asus 1018PB . battery life

#2 2011-05-26 07:08:06

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#3 2011-05-26 08:05:49

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#4 2011-05-26 09:27:58

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#5 2011-05-26 17:51:42

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#6 2011-05-27 03:35:41

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#7 2011-05-27 03:46:32

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#8 2011-05-27 06:24:25

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#9 2011-05-27 09:38:48

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#10 2011-05-27 15:47:10

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

#11 2011-05-27 15:54:44

Re: Asus 1018PB . battery life

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