hey all. i just recently bought my macbook (white 2.16 ghz) and like anyone who is sane, i would like to keep my investment in good condition and performing well. i read in other threads that its best to use the power adapter and calibrate your battery every now and then, but how often should i let my macbook run on its battery? and is it best to just bring my battery to about 50% and take it out and just let my laptop run on the power adapter?
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yes. another BATTERY question.
- Thread starter ericbeezy
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Using your battery in the way you see fit seems best to me.
Frankly, *using* your battery, well, that's what it's for, and if that shortens battery life, no biggie: it won't shorten it by more than 10% or so, and the convenience of using it how you see fit, free of fears and worries will actually be a better use of your time.
Wasting five hours of your time nursing the battery, with your time being worth $20/hr to you, would pay for a new battery.
Frankly, *using* your battery, well, that's what it's for, and if that shortens battery life, no biggie: it won't shorten it by more than 10% or so, and the convenience of using it how you see fit, free of fears and worries will actually be a better use of your time.
Wasting five hours of your time nursing the battery, with your time being worth $20/hr to you, would pay for a new battery.
No it is not. Deep cycling Lithium Ion batteries shortens their life.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com
I wouldn't stress too much about it. Your battery probably has a life of 400-500 cycles in it. That's 18 months if you drain it once a day or 2 times a day to 50% or three times a day to 66% and so on. Its better for the overall life of the battery to take it down a little bit and then recharge than to take it down all the way (deep cycling) and then recharge but as I said, don't feel stressed about it. Calibration is just a way of telling the charging circuits what state you battery is really in. Do it once every 30 full cycles or so.
Do you need to calibrate the battery again after a fresh OS X Installation? I read somewhere on these forums it is used so that the OS knows how much is left in your battery for accurate measurement
Do you need to calibrate the battery again after a fresh OS X Installation? I read somewhere on these forums it is used so that the OS knows how much is left in your battery for accurate measurement
No. Calibration affects the charging circuitry in the battery only. You do need to do it after you get a new battery or once every 30 cycles (or so).
The way I see it, since lithium ion batteries begin to degrade from the moment of manufacture, it's best to get your money's worth by using it. With that in mind, I recommend a few basic guidelines. Along with time, temperature extremes are the biggest enemies of lithium ion batteries, so keep your computer as close to room temperature as possible. Use the battery at your convenience, but avoid frequent deep discharges. If you typically leave your computer plugged in most of the time, remember to cycle the battery at the very least once a month. Beyond that, I wouldn't worry about it.
one more question. i leave my power adapter in when my battery is 100% fully charged. should i just continue doing that with the occassional battery discharge. or should i take out my battery and just use the power adapter if im just going to leave it in and run off of that.
Leave the battery in. It will slowly discharge over the course of a few days to about 95% of full and then the charger will kick in and recharge the battery to 100%. If you remove the battery, the CPU will slow down considerably.
So in general:
1. Calibrate your battery
2. Use your mac via the charger as much as possible
(if i understand everything correctly)
1. Calibrate your battery
2. Use your mac via the charger as much as possible
(if i understand everything correctly)