Laptop - Does disabling the touchpad via Windows settings save even a bit of battery at all?

[ShangWang]

Does disabling the touchpad on a laptop via Windows not save any battery life?

Apparently, it works by measuring changing capacitance and "disabling" it will only stop the mouse from moving.

Since the touchpad is always sending inputs regardless of being disabled or not, will disabling it only save power by not making the mouse move?

What about uninstalling the drivers for a laptop touchpad, will that remove the ability to measure capacitance, or will it still work without drivers and won't save battery?
I know the touchpad uses very little battery, but I'm curious if what I described is true or not.

 

[USAFRet]

What are you going to use in place of the touchpad?
A mouse? Or nothing?

I can only imagine the power used by the touchpad is so inconsequential as to be irrelevant.

 

[ShangWang]

What are you going to use in place of the touchpad?
A mouse? Or nothing?

I can only imagine the power used by the touchpad is so inconsequential as to be irrelevant.

It would be irrelevant, but I'm just curious if 'disabling' will actually save some kind of power if any.

 

[USAFRet]

It would be irrelevant, but I'm just curious if 'disabling' will actually save some kind of power if any.

While this does not give any specific numbers, interesting none the less.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w...mponent-guidelines/touchpad-power-consumption

 

[ShangWang]

While this does not give any specific numbers, interesting none the less.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/w...mponent-guidelines/touchpad-power-consumption

Thank you for that link! I would assume you can't get to the 'off state' unless the laptop was actually off, and you can only get to the 'Sleep (Armed for Wake) State' by 'disabling' the touchpad or putting the laptop to sleep.

I think it would not make a power difference if you touched the pad while disabled since it won't do anything, and that having the touchpad actually move the cursor would for sure consume power.

Maybe uninstalling the driver could render the touchpad into the 'off state' though.

 

[USAFRet]

But again, if you disable the touchpad, what will you use instead?

 

[kerberos_20]

laptops should have sleep mode in touchpads...just checked mine touchpad specsheet and powerdraw is:
15 mW (mili watt) active (finger on touchpad),
7.5mW idle (finger just left touchpad),
0.25mW sleep (no finger on touchpad after 5sec+)

this one is wired as ps/2 mouse btw

if you disable it in device manager, sleep mode might not activate as it is software (driver) controlled

you should instead use fN key to disable it

 

[USAFRet]

0.25mW sleep (no finger on touchpad after 5sec+)

And that negates the need for any messing around with trying to manually completely disable the touchpad.

After 5 sec, it is as near 0W as can be.

 

[Eximo]

Just need Doc Brown saying 1.21 Milliwatts!

 

[USAFRet]

In answer to the Question....yes. Completely disabling the touchpad would reduce power consumption.

But.....

What does that actually gain us?

Given a few assumptions:
A laptop at idle. Still ON, but not actually doing anything
Screen on.

Consumes 15 watts.
Gives a run time of 10 hours. 36000 seconds.
So it has consumed 150 watts total.

Given the above numbers from @kerberos_20 , the touchpad goes to sleep after 5 secs of inactivity, all by itself.
Consuming 0.25 milliwatts. Just enough to keep it alive, waiting for the human to do something.

Reduce that 0.25mW to zero.

We've added 0.0016% run time.

Giving us an extra 0.6 seconds at the end of 10 hours.
About the timespan of an eyeblink.

 

[ShangWang]

laptops should have sleep mode in touchpads...just checked mine touchpad specsheet and powerdraw is:
15 mW (mili watt) active (finger on touchpad),
7.5mW idle (finger just left touchpad),
0.25mW sleep (no finger on touchpad after 5sec+)

this one is wired as ps/2 mouse btw

if you disable it in device manager, sleep mode might not activate as it is software (driver) controlled

you should instead use fN key to disable it

Thanks, I'm not sure about the specifics of my Aorus 15P XD, but you can disable it in Windows too.

You think doing so is the same as uninstalling drivers? Would this disabled state count as being 'powered off,' or just on sleep? I'm lead to believe disabling it with FN does nothing but not allow cursor control since it still measures capacitance, but I don't know if uninstalling drivers will have the same effect or completely power it off.

 

[USAFRet]

You've still not outlined what you'd be using instead of the touchpad?

 

[ShangWang]

You've still not outlined what you'd be using instead of the touchpad?

Just using a mouse at the moment instead of the touchpad, my bad.

 

[USAFRet]

Just using a mouse at the moment instead of the touchpad, my bad.

So, as calculated above....completely disabling the touchpad, you increase your battery runtime by less than 1 second in a 10 hour battery run.

And in the system under use, the 0.25mW of sleeping touchpad is even less of an issue.

Is all this hooha really worth the eyeblink timespan?

 

[ShangWang]

So, as calculated above....completely disabling the touchpad, you increase your battery runtime by less than 1 second in a 10 hour battery run.

And in the system under use, the 0.25mW of sleeping touchpad is even less of an issue.

Is all this hooha really worth the eyeblink timespan?

It's not, I never intended to try saving more battery on these little changes, I'm just curious whether or not it's true doing x or y actually does what it's assumed to do. I'm sorry for asking the pointless question but I just couldn't stop thinking about it after going through and looking a bit into the possibility.

In that case I'm just wondering if disabling the touchpad via Windows or FN shortcut actually puts the touchpad into 'off state' or not, and if it doesn't and just makes the cursor not move, does uninstalling the driver put it into the 'off state,' or is it the same result?

 

[USAFRet]

It's not, I never intended to try saving more battery on these little changes, I'm just curious whether or not it's true doing x or y actually does what it's assumed to do. I'm sorry for asking the pointless question but I just couldn't stop thinking about it after going through and looking a bit into the possibility.

As said above...it DOES reduce the battery draw.
But at such a tiny value that it is pointless to chase that level of power draw.

Like with a car.
More weight = less gas mileage.

So, to reduce weight and get better gas mileage....
"If I take the carpet out of the rear floorboard, will I get better gas mileage?"

Technically, yes.
Less weight == better gas mileage.

But it would be such a tiny amount as to be completely pointless.

 

[ShangWang]

As said above...it DOES reduce the battery draw.
But at such a tiny value that it is pointless to chase that level of power draw.

Like with a car.
More weight = less gas mileage.

So, to reduce weight and get better gas mileage....
"If I take the carpet out of the rear floorboard, will I get better gas mileage?"

Technically, yes.
Less weight == better gas mileage.

But it would be such a tiny amount as to be completely pointless.

Thanks, so I'm guessing the FN key shortcut does put the touchpad into the 'off state.'

 

[kerberos_20]

Thanks, so I'm guessing the FN key shortcut does put the touchpad into the 'off state.'

fN key should disable it with ACPI hookups