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XP Still Beats Windows 7 in Netbook Battery Life

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US

Windows XP continues to roll on with nice little things.

Windows 7 is here and it brought with it a huge list of improvements that should have many users wanting to upgrade if they haven't already – unless if you have a netbook.

Recent tests from Laptop Mag, Liliputing and jkOnTheRun all show that netbook users will get longer battery life while running Windows XP than Windows 7. This is slightly surprising given that Microsoft have boasted about all the work that's gone into power efficiency and how it's been improved over Vista. While Windows 7 may be better than Vista, it's not besting XP just yet.

Laptop's tests found that netbooks running Windows XP ran for 47 minutes longer than those with Windows 7. Numbers across tests show varying differences in battery life, but the consistent result is that XP is a better choice for those who need all the battery life one can get.

Of course, Windows 7 is a more demanding operating system with its more advanced (and graphically pretty) UI as well as all the added security layers in the background, which may explain the drop in battery life. Either way, it seems that Windows XP isn't quite all washed up just yet.

There are 9 Comments. B
Other Comments
  • 0
    delayedreaction , November 13, 2009 3:50 AM
    All that extra eye candy and security in 7, it's not surprising.
  • 0
    McDethWivFries , November 13, 2009 8:05 AM
    cool, 47 extra minutes of Diablo II has got to be a good thing! (o:
  • 0
    cashews , November 13, 2009 11:18 AM
    An article dissing Windows by Marcus Yam... that's original... [/sarcasm]
  • 0
    Hiniberus , November 13, 2009 2:43 PM
    McDethWivFriescool, 47 extra minutes of Diablo II has got to be a good thing! (o:


    Well I'm pretty certain that they didn't do it under gaming conditions as well. They simply said "47 minutes more" without stating in what conditions such as running in sleep, running on high preformance or anything of the sort. So that is not quite cleared up, for me at least.
  • -1
    timah1987 , November 13, 2009 4:44 PM
    why would you want 47 minutes more on a netbook? Seriously if you do buy a laptop! The quicker netbooks get the boot the better!
  • 0
    Hiniberus , November 13, 2009 4:53 PM
    Well if you're a business man type, a netbook can actually be quite handy. Be it to finish reading/writing a contract or doing work of some sort on it, every minute would count. Alongside the reduced physical size and weight helps alleviate the shoulder from the weight of a normal laptop. Netbooks should be kept on, though I can't see any high-preformance netbooks coming out any time soon.
  • 0
    Dandalf , November 14, 2009 1:11 AM
    How does linux fare with regards to battery life?
  • 0
    Hiniberus , November 14, 2009 1:16 AM
    That's more of something you should ask on the forums, my guess at least.
  • 0
    dia-j , November 15, 2009 11:31 PM
    Any way, Mac OS X is the best