Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

cMBP gaming and battery question

weemanpow3

weemanpow3

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 14, 2008
284
15
Hi, I have a 2012 15" 2.6GHz MBP and have a question about the battery when gaming.

When I game, I use Bootcamp (latest updates/drivers/tweaks) and have my Mac plugged in. I noticed that charger cord light would frequently change from green to orange charging the battery (seems like when it goes down to 95% it would charge back up to 100%). I plugged in my Kill A Watt meter and noticed the power consumption is over 90 watts (90-93 watts). I thought it could only max out at 85 watts. The charger was so hot, I thought it was gonna melt.

Will this kill my battery?
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
weemanpow3 said:
Hi, I have a 2012 15" 2.6GHz MBP and have a question about the battery when gaming.

When I game, I use Bootcamp (latest updates/drivers/tweaks) and have my Mac plugged in. I noticed that charger cord light would frequently change from green to orange charging the battery (seems like when it goes down to 95% it would charge back up to 100%). I plugged in my Kill A Watt meter and noticed the power consumption is over 90 watts (90-93 watts). I thought it could only max out at 85 watts. The charger was so hot, I thought it was gonna melt.

Will this kill my battery?
Click to expand...
No, it won't kill your battery. It's normal for your MBP to draw power from both AC and battery during periods of extreme demand, such as gaming or other multimedia operations. This can cause your battery to stop charging or even drain, even though it's plugged in. Read the AC POWER section of the following link. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions:
 
I

inhalexhale1

macrumors 65816
Jul 17, 2011
1,101
745
PA
weemanpow3 said:
Hi, I have a 2012 15" 2.6GHz MBP and have a question about the battery when gaming.

When I game, I use Bootcamp (latest updates/drivers/tweaks) and have my Mac plugged in. I noticed that charger cord light would frequently change from green to orange charging the battery (seems like when it goes down to 95% it would charge back up to 100%). I plugged in my Kill A Watt meter and noticed the power consumption is over 90 watts (90-93 watts). I thought it could only max out at 85 watts. The charger was so hot, I thought it was gonna melt.

Will this kill my battery?
Click to expand...

No need to worry, that's normal. When gaming, the demands on the laptop are higher, and your MacBook can drain the battery even when plugged in.
 
I

icewing

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2008
375
0
St Louis
weemanpow3 said:
The charger was so hot, I thought it was gonna melt.
Click to expand...

My charger also gets that hot when gaming, seems normal. Once it had slipped between cushions on the couch, and it was VERY hot. Since then when gaming I always try to prop it up so there is plenty of air circulation around it.
 
T

theBostonian

Suspended
Apr 15, 2012
317
238
The battery is good for 1000 cycles until it goes down to 80% capacity so think of this as giving your MBP a little exercise and keeping the electrons in tiptop shape.

In my previous MBP my battery health was 100% even though it was never unplugged; I attributed that to the use of battery when I did CPU+GPU intensive tasks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom