Battery Cycles :/

[ki2594]

I really don't know if I should worry when my battery cycles go up....its at 27 now. Sorry I don't know about the cycles.

[EngBrian]

Cycles are the number of times that your battery has gone from fully charged to discharged and back to charged (one cycle). You can also have a bunch of partial cycles that add up to a full cycle ie. you discharge to half and recharge and then do it again...that will only count as one cycle.

In the last 10 months I have gone through 80 cycles with no adverse affects to my battery. I would say I am a light user without being plugged in as I am sure there are users with higher cycle counts.

I don't have a reference but I believe apple says that after 300 cycles you should still have 80% of your original battery life.

check out the Coconut battery app (search google) and it will give you how many cycles you have done and a comparison of your current battery health to the original.

cheers

[ki2594]

though in a few years when i have gone through 300+ cycles and my battery charge begins to go down, will just buying a new battery solve the problem?

[leekohler]

though in a few years when i have gone through 300+ cycles and my battery charge begins to go down, will just buying a new battery solve the problem?

Usually, a battery will last you 3 years. And yes, you can just buy a new one.

[OrangeSVTguy]

Just use Coconut Battery (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/27425) to check on the current stats of your battery. You should also Calibrate your battery (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284) at least once a month too to make sure it stays in top shape and for best performance.