Key takeaways:
- Linux and Windows have similar power consumption levels, but Windows tends to be more power-efficient in most scenarios.
- The difference in power consumption is attributed to OEMs' power-saving practices and optimizations, which are more commonly implemented for Windows due to its larger market share.
- With sufficient tweaking and development, a Linux PC can potentially achieve or surpass Windows PC battery life, but it requires more effort and expertise.
Summary Objective: The objective of this blog post summary is to provide a concise and informative analysis of a YouTube video discussing the power consumption of Linux and Windows operating systems. The summary will highlight key findings, actionable insights, and direct quotations from the transcript to facilitate learning and practical application.
# Introduction
The video explores the question of whether Linux is more power-efficient than Windows, specifically on a laptop. The speaker conducts some "barely scientific testing" to compare the power consumption of Linux (Elementary, Fedora, Mint, and Ubuntu) and Windows 10 Pro with updated drivers.
# Testing Methodology
The speaker uses a kilowatt to measure the power consumption in real-time and removes the battery to avoid discrepancies caused by battery charging. The test records the average amount of energy and watts the laptop consumes over a 30-second period. The screen brightness is kept at 100% for consistency, and the load testing includes opening four tabs of different websites and playing a 4K video at VLC player to load the GPU.
# Results
The results show that power consumption is very similar when comparing Windows and Linux. However, overall, Windows pulls ahead in terms of lower power consumption.
"I would say it all boils down to how OEMs like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc., implement power-saving practices and optimizations into their products."
# Power Consumption Optimization
The speaker suggests that the difference in power consumption is attributed to OEMs' power-saving practices and optimizations, which are more commonly implemented for Windows due to its larger market share. The speaker cites a paper from Intel's open-source Technology Center, which explains that Linux, by default, is not as optimized as Windows in terms of power consumption.
# Market Share and Power-Saving Software
The speaker explains that Linux users make up less than 2% of the consumer PC operating system market share, making it less practical for OEMs to develop power-saving software for Linux. Instead, OEMs focus on optimizing power consumption for Windows, as most users are going to use Windows on their machines.
# Conclusion
While it is possible to tune a Linux PC to achieve or surpass Windows PC battery life with sufficient tweaking and development, the average user may still find that Linux has more to be desired in terms of power consumption.
"I'm not saying Linux is power-hungry; it is very possible that with enough tweaking and development, a Linux PC can be tuned to achieve or surpass Windows PC battery life. But overall for the average user, there's still much to be desired."
# Final Thoughts
This summary provides a concise and informative analysis of the power consumption of Linux and Windows operating systems. The speaker's testing and research highlight the importance of understanding the power-saving practices and optimizations implemented by OEMs for different operating systems. While Linux has the potential to achieve or surpass Windows PC battery life with sufficient tweaking and development, the average user may still find that Linux has more to be desired in terms of power consumption.
Summary for: LINUX BATTERY LIFE TESTED! | Windows 10 vs. Linux Power Consumption