Power usage is very high with Publisher 2: can I control it?

[MiriamNZ]

I live in my motorhome, powered by a battery, so I can see how much power is being used up.

When I use Publisher 2, the power use is phenomenal. About 4x normal computer usage.

The only settings I have found for power are the 

" If your Mac has an additional discrete graphics card, checking the Use only integrated GPU will not allow access to it, therefore reducing power consumption and conserving battery life (useful for unplugged MacBook Pros)."

 

I have a 2019 MacBook Pro, 15", 
Radeon Pro 555X 4 GB | Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB  | 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory | Ventura 13.0.1 

Is there any other way of limiting the power draw?

[Dan C]

Hi @MiriamNZ,

Unfortunately there aren't any other specific options in Affinity to limit the power draw from your MacBook as far as I'm aware, my apologies.

You may wish to disable Metal Hardware Acceleration in the same Performance dialog as the option mentioned above, as well as change the Retina Rendering from 'Automatic (Best)' to 'High Quality (Slowest)' - as this second option will mean the canvas renders in a singular pass, rather than a quick pass and then a second slower pass.

These options may reduce battery/power consumption, although they haven't been directly tested by our team to achieve such results, so your mileage may vary depending on your document setup and remaining battery life, etc.

I hope this helps

[R C-R]

16 hours ago, MiriamNZ said:

When I use Publisher 2, the power use is phenomenal. About 4x normal computer usage.

Out of curiosity, what other apps do you normally use? Is it possible few or none of them require a lot of CPU and/or GPU power?

[MiriamNZ]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

Out of curiosity, what other apps do you normally use? Is it possible few or none of them require a lot of CPU and/or GPU power?

It is only when I am using Publisher that power is a problem. Partly because I don't spend a lot of time on the computer otherwise (mostly on my phone), and partly because I work on the computer for 3-6 hours after sunset (no solar coming in), when I am using Publisher. DTP takes long hours; being retired now, nothing else requires this intensive effort from me, nor has the urgency that has me working into the night.

The other things I do on the computer are not particularly taxing for the laptop, and tend to be just for short times, or I choose not to do them after sunset if power is an issue. DTP has deadlines, so I work longer and later.

I have a backup battery, but Affinity uses power faster than the battery can replenish it.

This is only a problem in winter, when solar is limited. 

[MiriamNZ]

12 hours ago, Dan C said:

Hi @MiriamNZ,

Unfortunately there aren't any other specific options in Affinity to limit the power draw from your MacBook as far as I'm aware, my apologies.

You may wish to disable Metal Hardware Acceleration in the same Performance dialog as the option mentioned above, as well as change the Retina Rendering from 'Automatic (Best)' to 'High Quality (Slowest)' - as this second option will mean the canvas renders in a singular pass, rather than a quick pass and then a second slower pass.

These options may reduce battery/power consumption, although they haven't been directly tested by our team to achieve such results, so your mileage may vary depending on your document setup and remaining battery life, etc.

I hope this helps

Thanks, good to know, even if it is not the answer I wanted! I will work on getting a better backup battery.

[carl123]

I don't have a Mac but you may want to have a look at any options for dimming the screen (especially at night) if not already done

I know you said Publisher is what is draining the battery but if nothing can be done there, then little things elsewhere may help

 

[MikeTO]

I know your MacBook is still very recent but the battery life is night and day different between the Intel and Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. Yours was rated at 10 hours by Apple while the newer ones are rated at 18 hours but of course that's for light usage, not what we're all doing.

I'm a very heavy user of my MacBook Pro (14" M1 Pro) and it's rare for me to run out of battery before I'm done for the evening. I've never had a laptop that lasted like this.

[v_kyr]

There are some known issues with MBP 16" 2019 models in terms of battery draining ...

• MacBook Pro 2019 power drain
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252557369
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251318567?page=2
• https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/comments/i2rfex/the_real_battery_life_on_2019_macbook_pro_16_is/
• ...

A MBP 16" 2019 model is listed to use about 96W or 140W and it's estimated power needed daily is ~ about 768 or 1120 Watt-hours.

Also take a look over some of these power saving hints for your 2019 MBP 16" ...

• 2019 MacBook Pro power usage saving
• https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-fix-macbook-battery-draining-fast
• https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/optimize-your-mac-battery-life-mh35848/mac
• https://www.idownloadblog.com/2022/02/15/how-to-save-macbook-battery/
• https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-fix-macbook-battery-draining-fast
• ...

NOTE: however that certain things, like setting up external drive and network sleep modes, are not that much recommended for the Affinity Publisher software here, as it is vulnerable to data loss when using & loosing (due to sleep mode and latencity etc.) external drive connections.