Is The Epic Games Store Killing Your Laptop's Battery Life?
PC World's recent tests of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ (with 11th gen Tiger Lake processors) has revealed some shocking data about how the Epic Games Store application could be to blame for suffering battery life.
Gaming laptops require a few key things to be of use to a prolific gamer - a good processor, HDD and SSD space for days, and most importantly, the best battery life possible.
For those who use their laptop to take advantage of the many popular titles Epic Games have produced, and offer from their app/launcher (Fortnite and Rocket League as prime examples), this news could be devastating.
The PCW tests unveiled that having the app running (whether hidden in the taskbar or not) had a drastic effect on the test subject's battery life (in this case, the Surface Pro 7+), reducing the battery life in minutes to 449.
Click to enlargeThe PC World tests were broken down by several factors, but the battery test was run in aeroplane mode, and measured with both signing in/running/signed off modes to check impact.
The 20% drop on the Surface Pro is shocking, to say the least, and begs the question; why does the Epic Games Store affect battery life so heavily? We expect running games to need the brunt, but what of a simple launcher?
Epic Games themselves replied with this statement - “In general, we are actively working to improve the performance and reduce the power consumption of our launcher. The power consumption varies based on whether the launcher’s window is open.”
So, not much of an explanation, unfortunately, but for the time being, please be sure to check your hidden running applications are turned off and signed out, or your battery life will pay the price.
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Images via PC World | Epic Games
