laptop charging questions

[Ba-Riedo]

I recently picked up a new macbook pro for school and work. In order to maximize the battery lifetime is it better to leave it unplugged and drain the battery fully before I charge it? Or leave it plugged in while I am at home and not worry about charging it fully or partially. I want the battery to last a few years and still hold a good charge. So far I have let the battery drain totally before I charge it, this is sorta a pain since I am traveling in Switzerland right now.

-Alex

 

[themangeraaad]

For a new system you shouldn't really worry about it too much, but I wouldn't let the battery fully drain if you can avoid it. Older batteries were NIMH (nickle metal hydride) which would maintain a long life better if allowed to fully discharged/recharged rather than recharging them as often as possible. New batteries are Li-ion (Lithium Ion) which do not need to be fully discharged, and it's almost better to keep them topped off. For years during college I kept my personal laptop topped off and never had an issue, now I do the same with my work laptop and again, no problems.

The biggest difference I have found will be with the quality of the battery itself and how the computer is used. Keep the screen brightness turned down and the battery will last longer. Or use the computer for just email and web browsing and it will last longer than if used for watching movies and playing games (or other things that put more stress on the CPU). My personal laptop had a good one and the battery which lasted quite a while with mixed use, my work battery sucks and dies in less than 2 hours with just email running (and has done so ever since it was new).

 

[kastein]

Look up the battery chemistry used (probably lithium ion or lithium ion polymer) and find out what they "like" for living conditions. I know that two years of being used almost constantly in a docking station has nuked my work laptop's battery, which is li-ion or lipo, I suspect it's the temperature more than the charge/discharge cycle but I'm not sure.

 

[RichP]

Most of the new systems have a battery tender that will exercise the battery, we don't have any mac laptops here but all my thinkpads have this.

 

[joe_peters]

While lithium ion or lithium ion polymer batteries are a great improvement over nickle metal hydride, and don't develop a "set" if they aren't fully discharged/recharged, they still have a limit on the number of charges they will accept. I would like a laptop/notebook that would allow me to run off of wall power without automatically putting a charge on the battery.

 

[RichP]

While lithium ion or lithium ion polymer batteries are a great improvement over nickle metal hydride, and don't develop a "set" if they aren't fully discharged/recharged, they still have a limit on the number of charges they will accept. I would like a laptop/notebook that would allow me to run off of wall power without automatically putting a charge on the battery.

Take the battery out.

 

[joe_peters]

Take the battery out.

Ah yes, the low-tech answer is usually the best.