Extreme Intel/AMD CPU and APU Underclocking and Undervolting For Maximum Battery Life Using Universal x86 Tuning Utility
YouTube channel Just Josh recently released a video review of Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i 14 laptop with Intel Ultra 7 258V CPU.
Terribly-named CPU aside, the laptop was able to deliver jaw-dropping battery life in the video playback test:
These are record-setting results that are even better than those of ARM-based Apple laptops, let alone other x86-based Windows machines! When I showed this review to a good friend of mine, we had quite a debate, since he couldn't or wouldn't believe those results. Afterwards, I decided to compare Yoga Slim 7i to my own Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 14ACN6 laptop in terms of battery life in such a use scenario.
My 14ACN6 (released Feb, 2022) features an 8-core AMD 5800U CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 56Wh battery. In conditions similar to those in the review (power saving mode, looping 1080p H.264-encoded H/W-accelerated video playback at 200 nits of brightness) The laptop delivered 7h 40m of battery life.
So about 8 hours for a brand new unit, considering the 96.3% battery health of mine. But then, the review model of Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i 14 had a fairly beefy 70Wh battery. To compare apples to apples, I'll simply add 25% to my test results, so that with the same battery the best theoretical case scenario for this laptop would allow for about 10 hours running off the grid. Certainly a far cry from the 7i's results…
Deep Dive Into NanoKVM Security Issues And Why You Should Consider Building or Buying PiKVM Instead
At the end of 2024, I heard some news about an incoming wave of cheap and compact IP-KVM devices to control your computers or any other hardware that outputs video over HDMI and accepts input over USB.
Basically an alternative to integrated KVM-over-IP remote control hardware and software solutions: iLO (HP), iDRAC (Dell), or IPMI (SuperMicro). The problem is that these devices are typically embedded into large, expensive servers. And external commercial options are often very expensive, slow, and bulky. They also in many cases require proprietary browser plug-ins or applets to be installed.
If you're familiar with this concept and are aware of the key differences between a hardware IP-KVM and software remote desktop solutions like VNC, TeamViewer and others, you might also be on the lookout for a low-cost device like this.
PiKVM To The Rescue
No wonder that such projects as PiKVM are a godsend for those of us who have server(s) at home running 24/7, and would like to access and control said machines remotely in cases where the server has crashed and doesn't boot, or needs to be hard-reset by "holding a button", or anything in between. PiKVM was originally created as a pet project to develop a DIY KVM over IP. A lot has changed since then!
Nowadays you can either buy a ready-made PiKVM device…
…or still follow the DIY way and build one of your own (more on that below).
PiKVM were among the first ones to offer a complete open-sourced similarly named software solution and a DIY guide on how to build your own affordable KVM over IP device that utilizes a modern, secure, linux-based software stack.
But now there are new kids on the block! Are they any good?
