Hello!
I am looking at getting a 16 DIY and I am concerned about battery life and heat because I’ve read a bunch of reviews that said it only lasts like 4 hours? but others that say it will last like 8? I know this depends a lot on what you are doing and your program, so anyone have any info on running Windows on it, with the basic expansion bay and mid-line cards and such (I am just barely fluent enough in computer jargon for this apologies). I do a lot of stuff in the field and away from outlets so I need all the battery life I can get
I also have heard a lot of issues with heat and the fans not turning on until after it gets hot…most of these reviews were old is this something that has been resolved? And I am under the impression it’s less of an issue without the expansion bay?
Thank you so much, I imagine many of those issues have been answered on these forums but I am kinda overwhelmed so all help is appreciated!
I find the battery life pretty good. The amd gpu drivers are getting better battery life wise, with enabling panel self refresh recently.
I use Linux so cannot really comment on the battery life on Windows.
The FW16 manufacturing is moving from Liquid Metal to PTM7958. If you are purchasing a new FW16, I would wait until you can make sure your one will be using PTM7958.
Hopefully FW16 have or will (maybe someone else can answer this bit) publish a date when all new FW16s will be using PTM7958, and that there are no old LM ones being shipped from stock. FW are coming out with a kit to upgrade from LM to PTM, but my expectation is that it might be a tricky process, so best to wait so you don’t have to do it.
The PTM should sort out any fan problems.
There are some other problems with the FW16, but you don’t ask about them, so I won’t bring them up. They have been discussed at length on this community forum.