Topic: 3DS Battery Tests

[Traveller]

How long does the 3DS battery really last?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26166

Over the past few weeks I have been conducting a series of battery life test on the Nintendo. Much has been made of the rather paltry battery life, which Nintendo estimates at three to five hours, depending on system settings. However, the best way to understand the capabilities of the 3DS battery was to test it.

Procedure

The tests were conducted using Rayman 3D and leaving it idle for the majority of the test's duration.

These tests represent the absolute best you would be able to achieve, as the game is not having to process player input. I decided against playing the system as it would not be possible to give each test the same play sessions and because it would be impractical to play Rayman 3D for so many hours.

Settings (variables)

Nintendo states that features like the Power Saver mode, the wireless toggle, and the brightness settings can be adjusted to achieve better battery life. Similarly, the level of the 3D effect and volume also effect the draw on the battery. These settings are the variables for the tests.

Power saver mode is a technology that allows the 3DS to determine when the screen is dark, and dim the backlighting, in order to preserve power.

The wireless toggle turns off the systems on-board wireless communications, which will save power.

Volume settings effects the rate at which the battery is expended.

The 3D Depth Slider allows players to adjust the strength of the 3D effect that lends the 3DS its name. By turning it down power is saved.

The 3DS features five brightness settings, where five is the brightest and consumes the most power.

Test Results

Test 1: 3D Depth Slider - on, sound - on, Power Saver - off, wireless - off

First Brightness - 6 hours, 19 minutes
Third Brightness - 4 hours, 15 minutes
Fifth Brightness - 3 hours, 30 minutes

Note: The Power Saver mode is on by default. There isn't much a reason to deactivate it, but this provides a good baseline to judge the effect of Power Saver.

Test 2: 3D Depth Slider - on, sound - on, Power Saver - on, wireless - off

First Brightness - 6 hours, 30 minutes
Third Brightness - 5 hours, 07 minutes
Fifth Brightness - 4 hours, 46 minutes

Note: This is a more normal case than Test 1. It is very easy to turn off wireless, and if you're not playing multiplayer there would be no effect on gameplay by turning it off. 

The effect of the Power Saver mode is very slight on the lowest brightness, as there isn't much the screen can do to dim it more than it already is. It is interesting that the effect on the middle setting is more significant than the higher setting, but that could be a result of the specifics of the test.

Test 3: 3D Depth Slider - off, sound - off, Power Saver - on, wireless - off

First Brightness - 6 hours, 36 minutes
Fifth Brightness - 5 hours, 26 minutes

Note: It is worth noting that turning off sound and 3D had a much larger effect on battery life on the brightest setting. The effect on the lowest setting was nominal. This could be related to the fact the system was sitting idle, and was not having to process the 3D images at the same rate it would be during normal gameplay.

Test 4: 3D Depth Slider - on, sound - on, Power Saver - off, wireless - on

First Brightness - 5 hours, 33 minutes
Fifth Brightness - 3 hours, 25 minutes

Note: This is a sort of worst-case test. Comparing the results to the first test (here the Power Saver is off, versus on/wireless on, versus off) the effect was much more pronounced when comparing the lowest brightness to the highest. In the case of the highest setting Power Saver only garnered five additional minutes, where as on the lowest setting it was a difference of 46 minutes.

Test 5: Nintendo DS Game (Mario Kart DS), sound - on

Third Brightness - 6 hours, 53 minutes

Note: Comparing the 3DS game to DS game, under the same settings, the DS game offers about two hours of additional gameplay in this test.

Test 6: Sleep Mode, wireless on

74 hours

Note: Not much to chart here. While asleep the 3DS goes for a long time.

[AV]

Very nice work.


The battery could be better but it's nowhere as bad as the reports state. I love that if your playing a game, you can easily go back to the menu change the settings to be lower, than go back into the game and find a stopping point. I did that in pilotwings and was soooo happy.

[Jonnyboy117]

Charts! I love charts!

Do you guys think having the 3D slider on makes any difference in battery life when playing a DS game? Perhaps Nintendo disables the parallax barrier (and extra screen) entirely in this case, regardless of slider position.

I would like to see a comparison between a DS game and a 3DS game with 3D turned off. This would reveal the effect of the extra processing power used by 3DS games.

Also, could there be a difference between the two display modes for DS games? If the native resolution mode actually turns off unused pixels, that might save a significant amount of battery power.

[pololmejor]

What's the Power Saver for, why should I turn it off, i mean it saves power doesen't it? what are the cons on the power saver, what exactly is it?
I read the manual but I didn't get it so well

[pololmejor]

oh.... umm sorry for double posting I read what it is and I got it.

[Traveller]

Charts! I love charts!

Do you guys think having the 3D slider on makes any difference in battery life when playing a DS game? Perhaps Nintendo disables the parallax barrier (and extra screen) entirely in this case, regardless of slider position.

I would like to see a comparison between a DS game and a 3DS game with 3D turned off. This would reveal the effect of the extra processing power used by 3DS games.

Also, could there be a difference between the two display modes for DS games? If the native resolution mode actually turns off unused pixels, that might save a significant amount of battery power.

The 3D slider did seem to make a difference when it was off for the 3DS game.


If people want, we can perform more tests between the 3DS and DS modes.

[Rize]

Nice.  Was there any pair of tests were all variables were constant except the 3D slider?  I'd be curious to see the difference on the battery for no 3D, mid 3D and max 3D.  My guess is that you'd see a small gain only for no 3D (significantly less CPU/GPU usage is required) and no difference at all between mid 3D and full 3D.

[MegaByte]

Yeah, you can see the light output actually change when turning off 3D... there's a slight tint difference when the parallax goes off.

[Nin10do-Fan]

Thank you for these test results. Now I know what should I have on at least.

[ShyGuy]

This battery life seems less than I hoped.

[Crimm]

Charts! I love charts!

Do you guys think having the 3D slider on makes any difference in battery life when playing a DS game? Perhaps Nintendo disables the parallax barrier (and extra screen) entirely in this case, regardless of slider position.

I just threw Infinite Space into the 3DS. The 3D turns off completely, even the little light on the side.

As an aside, I messed up one of the charts when I built them. Test 5 should have included a different time for the 3DS comparison. I have corrected the mistake.

Also, this was Nick's idea and his tests. Good job to him.

[Bboy]

Wow, great article. This will really be a good reference for a long flight.

[Ceric]

Can you do this with the Nyko extended battery when you review it?

[Traveller]

I'm sure we could update this to include that.

[Crimm]

I'll see what we can do for the Nyko front.

[Oblivion]

This is all very useful info. Care to try the battery when listening to music with the headphones and the 3DS closed? I need to know how long it lasts so I can take it on a trip with me.

[Traveller]

I could. I may end up doing a few more tests.

[StrawHousePig]

What's the Power Saver for, why should I turn it off, i mean it saves power doesen't it? what are the cons on the power saver, what exactly is it?
I read the manual but I didn't get it so well

Some sort of dynamic brightness/contrast. Looks great with it off, but the battery is already overworked so I always kept it on...


Until I picked up the Nyko battery. Much betterer. Certainly not ODS or DS lite performance, but definitely puts an end to that feeling of WTF every time the power LED turns red. Although it reduces portability significantly and adds noticeable weight while playing. I was already worried about marks left on the 3D screen by the touch screen rim pressing against it when placed in a hip pocket. With the extra girth of the Power Pak+ carrying a 3DS like that is not something you'll want to do.

[Ceric]

What's the Power Saver for, why should I turn it off, i mean it saves power doesen't it? what are the cons on the power saver, what exactly is it?
I read the manual but I didn't get it so well

Some sort of dynamic brightness/contrast. Looks great with it off, but the battery is already overworked so I always kept it on...


Until I picked up the Nyko battery. Much betterer. Certainly not ODS or DS lite performance, but definitely puts an end to that feeling of WTF every time the power LED turns red. Although it reduces portability significantly and adds noticeable weight while playing. I was already worried about marks left on the 3D screen by the touch screen rim pressing against it when placed in a hip pocket. With the extra girth of the Power Pak+ carrying a 3DS like that is not something you'll want to do.

Thats actually funny.  When I got mine I actually started to carry my 3DS with me more in my pocket. It really doesn't add that much more.  It was annoying to redo the time and like.  I may turn off Powersaver to see if I noticed the difference though when I switched to the PowerPak all my games suddenly seemed like they were looking better.  I used seem because a battery upgrade shouldn't do that. (Though I know putting something that cleans the power for a TV and sound system will make it look and sound better.)

[Hyawatta]

If you could, I would like to see how the 2000mAh battery compares to the stock 1300mAh and the Nyko 2600mAh batteries. I got a couple of the 2000mAh's for my brother and myself from ebay, and I would like to know how much benifit we are getting out of using them. Thank you.
 
http://3DS2000mAhBattery.Scurtek.net

[MegaByte]

If you already got them, can't you do the tests yourself?
I'm working on the Nyko tests.

[NintendoFanboy]

I wonder if there is any difference in whether u are suspending software of pauseing it.
Example im out and my battery light goes red.
Do i have better standby if i hit home and close the lid  compared to closing the lid
with the game running.
Is there a difference in time available to get to a power source?

[SilverQuilava]

I could play Rayman 2 The Great Escape for hours on end and have. It's in my top 5 fav games of all time, and if Rayman 3D is the exact same thing or better, I definitely think I could manage. I can't even get a 3DS till June though. That and Paper Mario is all want for it. For now.