How to estimate a laptop's battery life before purchase?

I am looking to buy a laptop and one of the criteria, of course, is battery life. But how do I compare?

Most online shops will only tell me that the battery is "6-cell"
Should I go check the producer's website? Even if I find number of hours active this way, are they going to be comparable i.e. do different producers measure the laptop battery life at the same conditions?
Do embedded graphics save power and roughly how much? I am looking for a medium-low internet and movies laptop, with elipse IDE - that sort of things.
Any other factors, that can be taken as a hint for battery life?

Vorac

Posted 2013-03-11T07:39:05.490

Reputation: 457

Also, what about ram?

– Vorac – 2013-03-11T10:07:24.333

I purchased a laptop with Intel HD Graphics 4000. No glitches or strange behavior so far, but I really haven't used it for anything 3D. If someone needs some specific benchmark, please ask here and I will run it if I can. – Vorac – 2013-03-20T13:56:21.050

I have discovered that there exist "9-cell" batteries. That is, just a large battery - bulky and with more capacity. – Vorac – 2013-03-29T08:50:28.063

Answers

Yes embedded graphics save power, especially if they are integrated on your processor! Compare processors and see how much power they consume. And i recommend buying SSD not standard HDD, resulting in 30+ minute battery boost!

Davidenko

Posted 2013-03-11T07:39:05.490

Reputation: 1 279

You can try to find reviews for your particular notebook model.

Usually you can find battery lifetime in technical specifications on official website of company who made this laptop.

If it says, for example, that battery longs for 4 hours, then it usually means, that under full load (gaming, compiling) it will last 70-80% of that time.

int

Posted 2013-03-11T07:39:05.490

Reputation: 406

470-80% sounds pretty optimistic for heavy load. I usually estimate about 70-80% of the advertised lifetime under normal use, and less for heavy use. Finding specific reviews for the laptop in question is usually the most accurate though! – nhinkle – 2013-03-11T10:03:10.333

So reviews and manufacturer's specs. However, would there be another approach for screening i.e. initial evaluation of the multitude of available products? – Vorac – 2013-03-11T10:06:31.807