SB2 15" and charge wattage

[wynand32]

So, I saw a thread over at the Reddit subgroup (SB2 Faulty Charger • r/Surface) that has me wondering. The thread questions whether the SB2 15-inch power supply is providing full power or if the SB2 15-inch is receiving full power from the supply.

If you have an SB2 15-inch, could you run BatteryInfoView (BatteryInfoView - View battery information on laptops / netbooks) and report back with what's shown as the Charge Rate? This is when it's below 100% and actively charging the system. If you're using BatteryBar, it shows close to the same value as well.

For the record, mine varies from a low of around 15,000 mW (15 watts) and 46,000 mW (46 watts). Just trying to see if there's any "normal" rate here.

Edit: Note, it might take a few minutes after plugging in to reach its maximum charge rate.

Edit 2: What's weird is that mine starts out charging at a fairly high level, as indicated above about 46 watts. But it drops off steadily, down to under 20 watts. I'm wondering if this is normal, or if my machine has an issue.

 

[sharpuser]

Here you go, @wynand32

I was about 5 minutes from being out of battery power, then plugged in for about 5 minutes before taking this screenshot:

 

[wynand32]

Great, thanks. What I believe I've discovered (haven't confirmed because mine hasn't run down that low yet) is that the system starts out at 40+ watts charge rate, and then as it approaches 90% it starts to drop off and then trickle charges as it approaches 100%. I suspect that yours maintained that charge rate until dropping off as I suggest.

 

[sharpuser]

@wynand32,

Here is a report with 15 minutes until full charge. Does not have a charge rate much different than the previous report, when charging had only been going for 5 minutes.
​

 

[wynand32]

Okay, thanks. I'll need to go ahead and let mine run down a bit and test it, because I've started all of my tests at around 88%. That means that the SB2 could be dropping the charge rate at around 90% specifically and finishing with a trickle charge.

I'll let mine run down today and then see how it behaves.

 

[JoHooTiE]

I've got the 15" maxed out customization.. I'll download the software and do some tests and let you know the results.. do you want any info on power drain with load (ie: while running games) and of course I'll supply info on no load first.. I'll do this when I get home later.

EDIT: Also I have the 200$ dock and the one that came with the sb2, I could also see if I have any way to use the usb charging if you want. Just lemme know what info you would like.. or just everything..

 

[wynand32]

I've got the 15" maxed out customization.. I'll download the software and do some tests and let you know the results.. do you want any info on power drain with load (ie: while running games) and of course I'll supply info on no load first.. I'll do this when I get home later.

Thanks! I think it would be valuable to gather as much info as possible, just in general. At this point, I haven't looked ad the power drain during gaming all that much, so just seeing how much power is provided for charging (including beyond 90% charged) would be very appreciated.

The power drain during gaming is a difficult thing to pin down. I've read accounts of people suffering massive drain during gaming with any kind of modern title (not just the most intensive games). And, I've read accounts of people who say their SB2 15's don't drain at all during gaming (even set at Best performance on the slider).

My SB2 15" drains when running Halo Wars on Best Performance - and I honestly don't know if that's normal behavior or if mine has a problem here. I do know that mine drains when encoding video in Premiere Pro 2018 using the GTX 1060, and according to Microsoft that's not supposed to be the case. But I hesitate to exchange because there are other problems that I'd hate to run into.

 

[JoHooTiE]

Thanks! I think it would be valuable to gather as much info as possible, just in general. At this point, I haven't looked ad the power drain during gaming all that much, so just seeing how much power is provided for charging (including beyond 90% charged) would be very appreciated.

The power drain during gaming is a difficult thing to pin down. I've read accounts of people suffering massive drain during gaming with any kind of modern title (not just the most intensive games). And, I've read accounts of people who say their SB2 15's don't drain at all during gaming (even set at Best performance on the slider).

My SB2 15" drains when running Halo Wars on Best Performance - and I honestly don't know if that's normal behavior or if mine has a problem here. I do know that mine drains when encoding video in Premiere Pro 2018 using the GTX 1060, and according to Microsoft that's not supposed to be the case. But I hesitate to exchange because there are other problems that I'd hate to run into.

IMO: We need to use the same game for an approximate baseline for a benchmark.. actually when I get home I'll see if I can find any stress test software that I can use that will emulate the same type of load for multiple tests..

After reading the reddit post this issue may be more of a larger problem than I originally thought.

 

[wynand32]

IMO: We need to use the same game for an approximate baseline for a benchmark.. actually when I get home I'll see if I can find any stress test software that I can use that will emulate the same type of load for multiple tests..

After reading the reddit post this issue may be more of a larger problem than I originally thought.

Yep, there's a ton of stuff on reddit about this. If you come up with a good piece of software for testing, let me know and I'll run it on mine. If you happen to have Halo Wars sitting around, that's what I've been using lately to test because (I think) it's a relatively low-intensity game and so should serve as a decent low-end test.

FYI: I can't play FPS-style games because they make me nauseous, which is a real bummer and makes my own testing a little more difficult.

 

[JoHooTiE]

Yep, there's a ton of stuff on reddit about this. If you come up with a good piece of software for testing, let me know and I'll run it on mine. If you happen to have Halo Wars sitting around, that's what I've been using lately to test because (I think) it's a relatively low-intensity game and so should serve as a decent low-end test.

FYI: I can't play FPS-style games because they make me nauseous, which is a real bummer and makes my own testing a little more difficult.

No worries, I'll get a 3d benchmark that is fully automated that's free also.. it needs to keep the same load avg for every test to get the base line so we shouldnt "play" the game, just need the background load for the power draw.. so in theroy I think to test the battery benchmark we just need an automated test that runs a decent demanding 3d render for a while so we can see the load on the battery while the system is at a 90-100% load.. I will also get some cpu and ram benchmark software and see how that does also.. I doubt that will diagnose anything in this type of test..

 

[wynand32]

No worries, I'll get a 3d benchmark that is fully automated that's free also.. it needs to keep the same load avg for every test to get the base line so we shouldnt "play" the game, just need the background load for the power draw.. so in theroy I think to test the battery benchmark we just need an automated test that runs a decent demanding 3d render for a while so we can see the load on the battery while the system is at a 90-100% load.. I will also get some cpu and ram benchmark software and see how that does also.. I doubt that will diagnose anything in this type of test..

Sounds like you have a good handle on testing things like this. I'll be glad to duplicate whatever you come up with.

 

[wynand32]

Alrighty, so it might just be of academic interest, but I ran mine through a good bit of a charge cycle and the system does reduce the charge to the battery as it passes 90%. And it's smart about it: as it reduces charge to the first battery that hits 90%, it increases charge on the second battery until it hits 90%. Then it starts reducing charge on that battery as well. So, anyone who thinks their battery isn't getting sufficient charge might be looking at things with either or both battery having over 90% charge.