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MacBook Pro - Gaming in windows - REMOVE BATTERY!

Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
36
I find that the battery charge light would turn orange (become partially discharged?) if I play demanding games in windows, even with battery fully charged (shows green light) before I switch to windows.

So recently I actually took out the battery when I boot into windows (careful not to disconnect magsafe. Eureka! Not only does the MBP run cooler while gaming, when I put the battery back the battery is still fully charged.

Have anyone else had the same issue with the charge light / battery? Let me know if this helps.


MBP Santa Rosa 17", tested with 2gb and 4gb of ram.
10.4.11
(production machine so Leopard is on external for now)
 
Without the battery the clock speed lowers, at least on OSX, maybe its the same in Windows...
 
psychofreak said:
Without the battery the clock speed lowers, at least on OSX, maybe its the same in Windows...
Click to expand...

If that's true then it's doh! Can you post some URLs with the info?

Well I did got the high score in one of the TF2 games so didn't do all that bad. =)

Maybe I have to build that silent cooler using dual 120mm silent fans after all...
 
Removing Battery

Hi,
It's the same under windows and OS X, the magsafe does not provide enough power when using very demanding apps or the full power of both CPUs and GPU(ie some games among these scenarios) and the battery is called upon. This is typical behavior for laptops with standalone GPU, not just MBP.

You are probably getting less FPS in your game but cooler temp by not fully using CPU and having a better airflow without the battery.

As long as you are satisfied with your performance by removing your battery you expose it to less heat and ensure that it does not discharge prolonging it's useful life by a bit.
 
i would think that if the battery discharges slightly while gaming, it means that you're using more than 85W (the power adapter's throughut), so it pulls power from the battery. If there's no battery the machine and you use more than the 85W apatper can give it, it would have to either slow down to draw less power, or you'd get the equivalent of a brown out.
 
my MBP does not lose battery power, though I will try what you said in hope of it helping with the cooling. My machine gets too hot to touch on the bottom..
 
Thanks for the info! Makes sense that the whole system might need more juice than 85 watts at peak. I originally thought it's temperature affecting battery charge. Any links?


recoman3 said:
my MBP does not lose battery power, though I will try what you said in hope of it helping with the cooling. My machine gets too hot to touch on the bottom..
Click to expand...

I've noticed it happen with windows games:
- COD4
- Team Fortress 2
- probably other demanding games
 
Well: I play UT3, quake wars, and AoEIII on windows.. all is well, save one bug:
When I get into windows, even if the battery is connected, the small icon in the bottom right indicating my battery shows it as the battery is not connected. I just disconnect the charger and stick it in again, and I get the power cord symbol (which is how it should be).
Oh, and just once, when I was playing AoEIII my comp shut down without warning. I attribute that to overheating, but it only happened once.
 
fwhh said:
Apple says so:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305336-en
Click to expand...

Cool. Well guess the battery is going back.

I have tried laptop coolers but they are always equipped with tiny and noisy fans that don't push a lot of air.

I am currently using the mStand which allow pretty good passive airflow. Anyone have any suggestions for cooling such as QUIET fans (around Acoustic Noise: 20 dB(A) that push good amount of air) and how to mount them (and look presentable)?

Some fan suggestions:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html
 
Consultant said:
Cool. Well guess the battery is going back.

I have tried laptop coolers but they are always equipped with tiny and noisy fans that don't push a lot of air.

I am currently using the mStand which allow pretty good passive airflow. Anyone have any suggestions for cooling such as QUIET fans (around Acoustic Noise: 20 dB(A) that push good amount of air) and how to mount them (and look presentable)?

Some fan suggestions:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html
Click to expand...

I use this: http://meritline.stores.yahoo.net/laptop-cooling-fan-3.html
It's sort of cheaply made, but I think it does it's job. There's no actual bottom on it (you can see that here: http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/meritline_1983_134843414), so you can't use it on your lap or anything.
It's not super loud, but not super quiet either. The website says it runs at 21 dB.

This is of note though: when my CPU is running at full speed, my first rev MBP still has a CPU temp of ~190+ºF. The difference is that my fans run at about 4k RPM, instead of 6k RPM. (temp and fan speed data courtesy of iStat Pro widget)

Also, even though the actual CPU is still running as hot as it otherwise would, the outside of the computer DOES feel cooler. iStat's giving me an "Enclosure Bottom" temp. of 85º right now.
 
zirkle2007 said:
Okay, if you go to that page and look at the keywords...what the **** is Apple on?

Keywords: ktech kmb kmbp kmosx

What do those have to do with using your Mac without the battery??? :confused:
Click to expand...

Heh. It's a cute little cheat they use for the Knowledge Base search engine.

knowledge-technical, knowledge-MacBook, Knowledge-MacBook Pro, Knowledge-MacOS X.

Clearer?:cool:;)
 
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