Yes, you can configure the maximum CPU power consumption.
Yes, you can configure the maximum CPU power consumption.
My desktop is stored away, and most of my gaming happens without using grid electricity on an Asus u524uqk. It runs an i7 7500u with 940MHz, 2GB cache, and 12GB DDR3 RAM on Windows 10. Since my laptop gets power from either my car or solar, I'm trying to extend battery life while playing less intense games like TF2 or GMOD. The 300fps isn't needed on my heat-affected, 60Hz IPS display. The BIOS doesn't have any power-saving options, but I turned on Max CPU frequency in Power Options. Using CPU-Z shows that running at 1GHz (which is about 2.7 MHz) uses around 3.1 of the 15W power limit at full load, still providing decent performance. Older games with big cores and fewer slow ones work better. Ideally I'd disable one core and keep the frequency steady, but that's not what my X79 setup is. If I leave it untouched, I can play for roughly 90 minutes. With a single-core boost to 3GHz, I get about 4 hours at 20-25fps, but sometimes the CPU throttles to 1GHz for efficiency, drawing only 4-5 watts. The system should easily run three hours or more if I stick to the hardware limits. It seems like much of the power is being used unnecessarily in the background. Is this really what I'm experiencing, or am I just feeling a bit confused? Thanks for your help!
Consider using an Intel XTU laptop. You may be able to adjust the voltage or clock speed of your CPU. This could bring it very close to your desired settings. Additionally, I believe Windows offers a power settings option for maximizing CPU clock speed.