I just switched my main computer to a 2010 MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard. Since I use EF very often, I leave it running all the time. It turned out, that EF triggers the NVidia graphics mode, which uses much more current than the Intel mode, so the battery drains substantially faster.
Although I do not see why this happens (might be from the integration of Core Animation), the only way outside the application was to switch manually to Intel mode (this is a pain, since if you run programs requiring the NVidia graphics, don’t forget to change it back!).
I use a utility from codykrieger.com (gfxCardStatus) which is free.
Any ideas how to suppress the switching from within EF? Any hidden Pref?
Did I miss something?
Thomas