For a Macbook Pro, what are some recommend power plan settings for Windows 7 via Bootcamp

Question

I would like to ask if anyone has some recommendations on some of the specific settings for Window power plans (especially advanced parameters) for a Macbook Pro. For me specifically I have an early 2011 17".

As I understand it, OSX is better able to make use of the battery with specialized code that Windows lacks (or drivers from Apple perhaps?). I'm particularly interested in settings in Windows that make the most of the battery life as well as more generally any info that specifically addresses using Windows 7 with Mac hardware when it comes to power options.

e.g. what is Hybrid Sleep in Windows 7 and what does it do for Mac hardware? e.g. what quirks to Windows power should be known when using Mac hardware?

Answer 1

Yes, as has been found through testing, Windows 7 gets lower battery life than OS X, for light usage, because OS X has more fine-grained and integrated power management, in a nutshell. There's not much you can do about it in Windows, except for the usual tricks - put down your backlight brightness, disable inessential wireless services like bluetooth or wifi, and allow the system to sleep the display when not in use.

It seems your particular model (MBP 2011) doesn't allow the integrated Intel graphics to work under Windows - this is going to have a huge impact on battery life. Hopefully Apple fix this, follow the issue on their discussion forums.

Hybrid sleep is primarily a desktop feature, according to Microsoft. Read more at Microsoft's sleep and hibernation FAQ.